Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 12:19

"and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which [voice] they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them;" — Hebrews 12:19 (ASV)

Though the word “mountain” is not in the original Greek, there is no doubt that the events on Sinai are in mind. The writer chooses to refer to what the mountain represented—the outward, the physical, and the material. The phenomena listed are all associated with the Sinai event . Elsewhere they are linked with the presence of God: fire (1 Kings 18:38), darkness (1 Kings 8:12), and tempest (Nahum 1:3); the trumpet (v.19) is associated with the end time when God will manifest himself (Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

The trumpet is spoken of repeatedly in connection with Sinai (Exodus 19:16, 19; 20:18), and on that occasion the people heard the voice of God . But the effect of it all was to terrify them, and they asked that they should hear God’s voice no more (Exodus 20:19). They were overcome with awe and wanted no further part in the wonderful events.