Tool Beta
Is It Actually in the Bible?
Phrases people quote as Scripture. The real verse, or the honest answer that there is not one.
God says "I will commune with thee" (Exodus 25:22) from above the mercy seat, which sounds like a reference to a religious commune or Communion.
"Commune" simply meant "talk with" or "converse": it has nothing to do with a commune or the Communion meal.
Exodus 25:22
Exodus 25:22, in every translation this tool compares.
What is actually going on
In Exodus 25:22 and Genesis 18:33 ("as soon as he had left communing with Abraham"), "commune" is a plain verb for conversation. Modern translations render both simply as "speak with" or "finished speaking to."
"Commune" comes from the same root as "communicate" (to share words back and forth) and in 1611 was an ordinary verb for talking, well before English narrowed related words toward communal living groups or the Eucharist.
