Thus I fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights,
as I fell down at the first
Which Jarchi says are the selfsame said above, ( Deuteronomy 9:18 ) , but doubled or repeated, because of the order of his prayer. The words "at the first" are not in the text; and, as before observed, we do not read that Moses fell down at the first forty days he was in the mount, unless it can be thought he did, ( Exodus 32:11 ) , wherefore this falling down seems to be as he fell down at the second forty days; and so this was a third forty days, according to the Jewish writers, and of which opinion were Dr. Lightfoot and others; (See Gill on Exodus 34:28),
because the Lord had said he would destroy you;
threatened them with destruction, and seemed as if it was his intention to destroy them; nay, even after Moses's first prayer, though he bid him go and lead the people on, yet he declared that he would visit their sin upon them, ( Exodus 32:34 ) .