Handing over of the Tablets of the Law

PROMULGATIO LEGIS SCRIPTE PER MOISEM

The fresco shows a series of some of the events regarding the Handing over of the Tablets of the Law. High up, in the centre is the episode to which the title refers ("PROMULGATIO LEGIS SCRIPTE PER MOISEM"). Moses, kneeling, is in the act of receiving the tablets from God (Exodus 24: 12-17; 31: 18). In the foreground we see the Prophet, on his return from Mount Sinai, enraged with his people for worshipping the golden calf (Exodus 32: 1-20), for which he punishes the idolaters and breaks the Tablets of the Law (Exodus 32: 25-35), subsequently receiving new ones (Exodus 34: 1-5). In this panel Moses is shown as the law-giver inasmuch as he is the intermediary between the Israelites and God. Joshua is constantly shown next to him.