After Moses descended from Mount Sinai, the Israelites heard the “Ten Words” from the midst of the fire and the cloud. (Ex 19:19–20:18; De 5:6-22) Jehovah here spoke to them through an angelic representative, as is made clear at Acts 7:38, Hebrews 2:2, and Galatians 3:19.

Afterward Moses, accompanied by Joshua, ascended the mountain, this time to receive further commands and the stone tablets containing the “Ten Words.” Not until the seventh day, however, was Moses invited to enter the cloud. It seems that Joshua continued to wait for Moses on the mountain, at a point where he could neither see nor hear anything that occurred in the Israelite camp. (Ex 24:12-18) However, whether Joshua, like Moses, did not eat or drink for the entire 40-day period is not stated. As Moses and Joshua at the end of this period descended Mount Sinai they could hear the festive singing in the Israelite camp. From the foot of Mount Sinai, Moses caught sight of the golden calf and the festivities. Immediately he threw down the two stone tablets, shattering them at the foot of the mountain.​—Ex 32:15-19; Heb 12:18-21.

Later, Moses was instructed to make two stone tablets like those he had shattered and again ascend Mount Sinai, in order to have the “Ten Words” recorded thereon. (Ex 34:1-3; De 10:1-4) Moses spent another 40 days on the mountain without eating or drinking. To make this possible, he doubtless received divine assistance.​—Ex 34:28; apparently this is the same 40-day period as that mentioned at De 9:18; compare Ex 34:4, 5, 8; De 10:10.