Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 4:12-13 
Context4:12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the middle of the fire; you heard speech but you could not see anything – only a voice was heard. 1 4:13 And he revealed to you the covenant 2 he has commanded you to keep, the ten commandments, 3 writing them on two stone tablets.
1 tn The words “was heard” are supplied in the translation to avoid the impression that the voice was seen.
2 sn This is the first occurrence of the word בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”) in the Book of Deuteronomy but it appears commonly hereafter (4:23, 31; 5:2, 3; 7:9, 12; 8:18; 9:9, 10, 11, 15; 10:2, 4, 5, 8; 17:2; 29:1, 9, 12, 14, 15, 18, 21, 25; 31:9, 16, 20, 25, 26; 33:9). Etymologically, it derives from the notion of linking or yoking together. See M. Weinfeld, TDOT 2:255.
3 tn Heb “the ten words.”
