"Moses spoke and God answered him with a voice" (Exodus 19:19). Rabbi Eliezer asks: what does this verse actually tell us? The answer reveals something remarkable about how the Ten Commandments were delivered at Sinai.
According to Rabbi Eliezer, God did not simply recite all ten commandments in a single unbroken speech. Instead, there was a back-and-forth. God would speak one commandment, then pause. During the pause, Moses would go to the people and confirm that they had heard, understood, and accepted what God had said. Only after Moses reported back — "Your children have accepted it" — would God proceed to the next commandment.
The verse "Moses spoke and God answered him with a voice" captures this rhythm. Moses spoke first, confirming the people's acceptance, and then God answered — meaning God continued with the next pronouncement. The divine voice was not a monologue. It was a dialogue, mediated by Moses, with the consent of the people required at every step.
This reading transforms the revelation at Sinai from a unilateral decree into something closer to a negotiated covenant. God did not impose the Torah on an unwilling or passive audience. He gave each commandment individually and waited for Israel's acceptance before moving to the next. The people were active participants in the process, not mere recipients.
Rabbi Eliezer's teaching also explains Moses's unique role. He was not merely a prophet who received and transmitted God's words. He was the essential link in a chain of consent — the one who carried the people's "yes" back to God, enabling the revelation to continue. Without Moses's mediation, the giving of the Torah could not have proceeded commandment by commandment. Each divine utterance required a human response before the next could begin.