“And the tables were the work of God” (Exod. xxxii. 16), that is to
say, they were the product of nature, not of art; for all natural
things are called “the work of the Lord,” e.g., “These see the works of
the Lord” (Ps. cvii. 24); and the description of the several things in
nature, as plants, animals, winds, rain, etc., is followed by the
exclamation, “O Lord, how manifold are thy works!” (Ps. civ. 24). Still
more striking is the relation between God and His creatures, as
expressed in the phrase, “The cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted”
(ib. 16); the cedars being the product of nature, and not of art, are
described as having been planted by the Lord. Similarly we explain,
“And the writing was the writing of God” (Exod. xxxii. 16); the
relation in which the writing stood to God has already been defined in
the words “written with the finger of God” (ib. xxxi. 18), and the
meaning of this phrase is the same as that of “the work of thy fingers”
(Ps. viii. 4), this being said of the heavens; of the latter it has
been stated distinctly that they were made by a word; comp. “By the
word of the Lord were the heavens made” (ib. xxxiii. 6). Hence you
learn that in the Bible, the creation of a thing is figuratively
expressed by terms denoting “word” and “speech.” The same thing which
according to one passage has been made by the word, is represented in
another passage as made by the “finger of God.” The phrase “written by
the finger of God” is therefore identical with “written by the word of
God”; and if the latter phrase had been used, it would have been equal
to “written by the will and desire of God.” Onkelos adopted in this
place a strange explanation, and rendered the words literally “written
by the finger of the Lord”; he thought that “the finger” was a certain
thing ascribed to God; so that “the finger of the Lord” is to be
interpreted in the same way as “the mountain of God” (Exod. iii. 1),
“the rod of God” (ib. iv. 20), that is, as being an instrument created
by Him, which by His will engraved the writing on the tables. I cannot
see why Onkelos preferred this explanation. It would have been more
reasonable to say “written by the word of the Lord,” in imitation of
the verse “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.” Or was the
creation of the writing on the tables more difficult than the creation
of the stars in the spheres? As the latter were made by the direct will
of God, not by means of an instrument, the writing may also have been
produced by His direct will, not by means of an instrument. You know
what the Mishnah says, “Ten things were created on Friday in the
twilight of the evening,” and “the writing” is one of the ten things.
This shows how generally it was assumed by our forefathers that the
writing of the tables was produced in the same manner as the rest of
the creation, as we have shown in our Commentary on the Mishnah (Aboth,
v. 6).