How many times did Moses ascend Sinai?
Question: How many times did Moses ascend Sinai?
Answer: The Christian tradition tells that Mosheh (Moses) ascended Mount Sinai two times (each 40 days): the first time was to receive the original tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments written on them (which he broke), and the second time for the new tablets of the Renewed Covenant. So, according to the tradition Mosheh was with YHVH total of 80 days on the mountain summit.
However, a careful reading of the Biblical account of that crucial event of Israel’s history will tell us that Mosheh ascended the mountain not two, but three times, and he was with YHVH not 80 days, but total of 120 days. And when he returned to the camp, he returned on one of the appointed times of YHVH which will be known later as one of the most revered days in the calendar. (Read more in chapter The First Year at Mount Sinai of the present author’s book The Reckoning of Time and in this article from the series The Appointed Times of YHVH.