Moses is the prophet who received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. In the biblical account, the Israelites camped at Sinai after leaving Egypt, and Moses went up the mountain to receive God’s commandments on stone tablets.
The revelation begins in Exodus 19–20 amid thunder, lightning, a heavy cloud, and a loud trumpet blast. Moses later spends forty days and forty nights on the mountain. When he returns and sees the Israelites worshipping the golden calf, he breaks the first tablets in anger. God subsequently instructs him to prepare two replacement tablets.
The commandments form the central covenantal laws in the biblical narrative, covering duties toward God and other people. They are also known as the Decalogue, from a Greek term meaning “ten words.”
A common mix-up is confusing Moses with Aaron or Joshua. Aaron was Moses’ brother and spokesman, while Joshua later succeeded Moses as leader. Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions all associate Moses—known as Musa in Islam—with receiving divine commandments at Sinai.