According to Exodus, how long did Moses remain on Mount Sinai when receiving the stone tablets?

According to Exodus, Moses remained on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights when receiving the stone tablets.

Exodus describes Moses ascending the mountain after the Israelites agreed to the covenant. He stayed there while God gave him instructions concerning the covenant, worship, priestly duties, and the construction of the Tabernacle. The period is presented as an extended sacred encounter rather than an ordinary visit.

The same length of time appears at more than one point in the Exodus narrative. Moses later returns to the mountain after the first tablets are broken following the golden calf episode, and he again remains there for 40 days and 40 nights. This repetition can cause readers to confuse the separate mountain visits.

The number is also associated with other wilderness episodes in the Bible, including the Israelites' 40-year wandering. However, the question about Moses on Sinai concerns days, not years. Exodus uses the phrase “forty days and forty nights” for Moses's stay while receiving the tablets.