Lesson 22 – Covenant &
Commandments
1.
Ex. 17:8-16
Battle with Amalek the introduction of Josuah
2.
Ex. 18 the
meeting with Jethro, Moses' father-in-law and Jethro's advice to set up a
system of judges which Moses did.
1.
The Ten
Commandments also appear in Deuteronomy 5.
Deut. 5:12-15 relates Sabbath rest instead to deliverance form
What
do you make of this difference?
2.
The tenth
commandment (do not covet) also varies slightly between versions. Exodus
What
difference do you think this order makes?
1.
Christians
are happy enough to admit that most of the Torah’s 613 commandments don’t apply
to us. But almost all of us recognize
the Ten Commandments as a valuable expression of God’s intentions for
society.
If
you were writing a social charter, what commandments would you add to or delete
from the list?
“Hear, O
Bible
Background (taken from Journey through the Bible, Christian
Board of Publications, 1995, p. 72)
1The journey to
Sinai included one special peril: an attack by the people called Amalekites.
This group of fierce desert dwellers caused great trouble to the Israelites
over the centuries and came to be regarded as sworn enemies, enemies to the
death. (See Deuteronomy 25:17-19.) Apparently, the Amalekite story in Exodus 17
wishes to stress how important Moses' own personal leadership is for victory in
any engagement with desert peoples. The battles that God allows are defensive,
and Moses' presence assures God's presence and victory.
2The Israelites
arrive at
31t is important
to note that first God gives Moses a special word to present to the people, a
word that sums up all God's acts of salvation in
4And now comes
the special promise: If the Israelites will truly obey God, they will be a
special treasure in the world of the nations, though all peoples are God's
people. They are to be devoted to God and to God's cause, upholding God's way
in the world, and they may be assured of God's presence with them, a presence
born of divine love for
5This is the
context for the giving of the Ten Commandments and the making of a special
covenant between God and
6The Ten
Commandments open with a repeat of God's love and grace. It is the God who
delivered the slaves from
7Deuteronomy
6:1-9 and Leviticus 19:18b put things positively. The Deuteronomy passage is
like a creed for the Jewish community. It is the central, summary statement of
Exodus 19:1-25 & 20:1-21
On the third new moon
after the Israelites had gone out of the
on that very day, they
came into the wilderness of Sinai.
They had journeyed from
Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped
in the wilderness;
Then Moses went up to God;
the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying,
"Thus you shall say to the house of
Jacob, and tell the Israelites:
You have seen what I did to the Egyptians,
and how I bore you on eagles' wings
and brought you to myself.
Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep
my covenant, you shall be my
treasured possession out of all the peoples.
Indeed, the whole earth is mine,
but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom
and a holy nation. These are the
words that you shall speak to the
Israelites."
So Moses came, summoned
the elders of the people, and set before them all
these words that the LORD
had commanded him.
The people all answered as
one: "Everything that the LORD has spoken we will
do." Moses reported
the words of the people to the LORD.
Then the LORD said to
Moses,
"I am going
to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak
with you and so trust you ever after."
When Moses had told the
words of the people to the LORD,
the LORD said to Moses:
"Go to the people and consecrate them
today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes
and prepare for the third day, because on
the third day the LORD will come down upon
put to death. No hand shall touch them, but
they shall be stoned or shot with arrows;
whether animal or human being, they shall
not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may go up on the
mountain."
So Moses went down from
the mountain to the people. He consecrated the
people, and they washed
their clothes.
And he said to the people,
"Prepare for the third day; do not go near a woman."
On the morning of the
third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a
thick cloud on the
mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all the
people who were in the
camp trembled.
Moses brought the people
out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand
at the foot of the
mountain.
Now
in fire; the smoke went up
like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain
shook violently.
As the blast of the
trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God
would answer him in
thunder.
When the LORD descended
upon
LORD summoned Moses to the
top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Then the LORD said to
Moses,
"Go down
and warn the people not to break through to the LORD to look; otherwise many of
them will perish. Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate
themselves or the LORD
will break out against them."
Moses said to the LORD,
"The people are not permitted to come up to Mount
Sinai; for you yourself
warned us, saying, 'Set limits around the mountain and
keep it holy.'"
The LORD said to him,
"Go down,
and come up bringing Aaron with you; but do not let either the priests or the
people break through to come up to the LORD; otherwise he will break out
against them."
So Moses went down to the
people and told them.
Then God spoke all these
words:
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out
of the
house of slavery;
you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol,
whether in the form of anything that
is in heaven above, or that is on the earth
beneath, or that is in the water
under the earth.
You shall not bow down to them or worship
them; for I the LORD your God am a
jealous God, punishing children for the
iniquity of parents, to the third and
the fourth generation of those who reject
me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love
me and keep my commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name
of the LORD your God, for the LORD
will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work.
But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD
your God; you shall not do any
work--you, your son or your daughter, your
male or female slave, your livestock,
or the alien resident in your towns.
For in six days the LORD made heaven and
earth, the sea, and all that is in
them, but rested the seventh day; therefore
the LORD blessed the sabbath day and
consecrated it.
Honor your father and your mother, so that
your days may be long in the land
that the LORD your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house;
you shall not covet your
neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or
ox, or donkey, or anything that
belongs to your neighbor.
When all the people
witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the
trumpet, and the mountain
smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a
distance, and said to
Moses,
"You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or
we will die."
Moses said to the people,
"Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear
of him upon you so that you do not sin."
Then the people stood at a
distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Deuteronomy 5:1-21 [note – “Deuteronomy”
means the ‘the second telling.’]
Moses convened all
Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I am addressing to you today;
you shall learn them and observe them diligently.
The LORD our God made a
covenant with us at Horeb.
Not with our ancestors did
the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are
all of us here alive
today.
The LORD spoke with you
face to face at the mountain, out of the fire.
(At that time I was standing between the LORD and you
to declare to you the
words of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the
fire and did not go up the
mountain.)
And he said:
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out
of the
house of slavery;
you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol,
whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
You shall not bow down to them or worship
them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the
iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me,
but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and
keep my commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name
of the LORD your God, for the
LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his
name.
Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as
the LORD your God commanded you.
Six days you shall labor and do all your
work.
But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD
your God; you shall not do any work--you, or your son or your daughter, or your
male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or
the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest
as well as you.
Remember that you were a slave in the
Honor your father and your mother, as the
LORD your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go
well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
Neither shall you commit adultery.
Neither shall you steal.
Neither shall you bear false witness against
your neighbor.
Neither shall you covet your neighbor's
wife.
Neither shall you desire your neighbor's house, or field, or male or female
slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Now this is the
commandment--the statutes and the ordinances-- that the LORD
your God charged me to
teach you to observe in the land that you are about to
cross into and occupy, so
that you and your children and your children's children, may fear the LORD your
God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments
that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.
Hear therefore, O Israel,
and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you
may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the
God of your ancestors, has promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD
is our God, the LORD alone.
You shall love the LORD
your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your might.
Keep these words that I am
commanding you today in your heart.
Recite them to your
children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when
you lie down and when you rise.
Bind them as a sign on
your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the
doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Leviticus 19:18
You shall not take
vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your
neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
The summary statement of the covenant requirements between Yahweh and
1. Outline of contents
a. Historical-theological prologue, Exod. 20:1-2
b. Man's relation to God, Exod. 20:3-12
c. Man's relation to his neighbor, Exod. 20:13-17
2. Literary examination
a. Various versions of the Ten Commandments
b. Literary analysis of Exod. 20:1-17
c. Relation to the major traditions of the Pentateuch
3. The contents of the Ten Commandments
4. Date and authorship
5. Later history and significance
Bibliography
1. Outline of contents. a.
Historical-theological prologue, Exod. 20:1-2. The Ten Commandments are
presented in the form of a direct address of God to his people. Moses is not
the intermediary (Exod. 20:19-20; but contrast Exod. 34:28). The prologue is an
essential part of the commandments. Yahweh identifies himself and states the
premise on the basis of which he addresses his people and calls them to
obedience to his law: "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the
b. Man's relation to God, Exod. 20:3-12. Many attempts have been made to divide the contents of the Commandments into two types of law, suitable for division between the two stone tablets. The Roman Catholic and Lutheran, the Reformed, and the Jewish communities differ in their division of the commandments. While the question of their division is not of basic significance, it is defensible to distinguish between those commandments more directly concerned with man's relation to God and those concerned with relations between man and his neighbor.
The first five commandments (according to the Reformed tradition) may be
described in short form as follows: (a) against
polytheism; (b) against idolatry; (c) against dishonoring of God's name; (d)
on sabbath observance; and (e) on honoring of
parents. The last of these, on honoring of parents, belongs, strictly speaking,
to the following commandments dealing with relations between men. Yet it is
clear that the relation between a man and his parents in the OT is particularly
close. The obligations of son to parents is a deeply religious one and comes to
be used to describe the relation between
c. Man's relation to his neighbor, Exod. 20:13-17. These commandments sum up, in negative but inclusive fashion, the basic social and moral requirements for the Israelite community.
2. Literary examination. Literary analysis of the Ten Commandments has not led to any scholarly consensus. Opinions are divided as to whether or not one ancient form of the Ten Commandments underlies the various versions. Opinions also differ as to the number of such versions. Nor has any consensus been reached concerning the relation of these laws to the major sources or traditions of the Pentateuch.
a. Various versions of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments appear, with variations, in two places within the Pentateuch: Exod. 20:1-17; Deut. 5:6-21. The major variations occur in the sabbath command and in that against covetousness. (An explanation of the variations is suggested in § 4 below.) Exod. 34:11-26 is set forth as though it were intended to comprise the contents of the previous Ten Commandments given to Moses on the mountain, after he had broken the first tablets. Yet this collection can be divided into a set of ten commandments only with difficulty; furthermore, its contents differ basically from the contents of Exod. 20:1-17. This collection is more closely related to the Covenant Code (see LAW IN THE OT) than to the Ten Commandments. It is better understood as a festival calendar than as a variant form of the Ten Commandments.
The catalogue of curses pronounced by the Levites at the tribal gathering
between Ebal and Gerizim (Deut. 27:15-26) contains twelve curses, not ten. It
also differs widely in content from the Ten Commandments. It may be concluded, then,
that only two listings of the Ten Commandments have been preserved in the OT.
It is a separable question, however, how the various law collections are to be
related to the Ten Commandments, and whether or not different decalogues
existed in early
b. Literary analysis of Exod. 20:1-17. The Ten
Commandments in Exod. 20:1-17 are only loosely related to their literary
context. Exod. 19:25 depicts Moses as having returned to the people at the foot
of the holy mountain, once again to warn them against drawing too near to the
revelatory scene about to be enacted. Further, as indicated above, Moses plays
no direct role in the giving of the law as here described. Aaron, who was to
have accompanied Moses to the mountain (Exod.
The literary form of the Ten Commandments is of considerable importance for their understanding. There is general agreement that the early form of the Ten Commandments is best preserved in the first, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments. These commandments are in the form of a strong negative particle, al, followed by an active verb in the indicative, plus occasionally an object or an explanatory phrase. The explanations, justifications, and promises connected with the second, fourth, and fifth commandments and the itemization in the tenth commandment of persons or objects which are not to be coveted are considered to be later additions. It is precisely in respect to these additions that the differences between the two forms of the Ten Commandments are found.
It is not certain, however, whether the original form of the commandments was that of single verbs preceded by the negative particle—thus constituting a Decalogue of precisely ten words (Exod. 34:28)-or whether the original form consisted of short, categorical statements of varying length. The latter is the more probable. See LAW IN THE OT.
The early form of the Ten Commandments thus may be presumed to have consisted of short, categorical statements, primarily or perhaps exclusively in negative form, outlining the kinds of action disallowed within the Israelite community.
c. Relation to the major traditions of the Pentateuch. Literary-historical analysis of the Pentateuch during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries led to the conclusion that the Ten Commandments arose under the influence of the great eighth-century prophets and were most closely related to the N Israelite document designated by the symbol "E" (see PENTATEUCH). More probably, however, the Ten Commandments have no direct literary connection with any one of the major Pentateuchal sources or traditions. See § 4 below.
3. The contents of the Ten Commandments. The first commandment states the unconditional and exclusive claim of Yahweh upon his COVENANT people. The existence of other gods is not called into question, but they are to count for nothing with the people of Yahweh. The expression translated "before me," or "besides me," might better be rendered "in opposition to me." Yahweh will tolerate no rivals to his authority. Implicit in this commandment is the Israelite understanding of the unity of God (Deut. 6:4).
The second commandment prohibits all forms of IDOLATRY.
No image of the deity is to be made. The commandment is not merely directed
against the religious practices associated with temple worship in
The third commandment extends the argument expressed in the second. Just as
idolatry leads to the notion that the power of the deity can be controlled and
put in man's service, so also does the use of the divine NAME. The ancient Near Eastern peoples considered
the names of persons and things to be expressive of their nature or character (Gen.
2:19; 32:27-29; etc.). Once one knew the name of a person or thing, one had
entered into relationship with and had a certain control over this person or
object. In the case of Yahweh, however, this was not true. The name of
The commandment is, accordingly, a prohibition of the use of the divine name to invoke curses or blessings or to reinforce one's own false oaths by the invoking of the divine name. God's name is not to be placed, by man, into man's service and control.
The fourth commandment authorizes one day in seven as a day of rest. The
background of the Israelite SABBATH is
probably to be found in the ancient oriental notion of days of ill omen, days
on which it was considered dangerous to undertake important ventures. The
Israelite sabbath, however, is a day of reflection and rejoicing, on which man
and beast are to gain refreshment from the week's labors (Exod. 34:21; Deut.
It should be noted that this commandment authorizes both labor and rest from
labor. No other commandment in the OT, apart from the first, has had as
significant an effect upon the development of contemporary social life and
thought. Slave as well as master, animal as well as man, is to be given due
time for rest from toil. God himself rested on the seventh day, upon the
completion of the works of creation (Gen. 2:2-3; Exod.
The fifth commandment provides for the maintenance of the most fundamental
unit of society, the FAMILY. The OT is quite
explicit in describing what it means to honor (dbk)
parents: they are not to be struck (Exod.
The remaining five commandments also aim at the preservation of the holy community. The commandment against taking human life is not to be limited to willful homicide or murder; the Hebrew word (jxr) means either to kill or to murder, without distinction. The fundamental assertion is that life belongs to God; if human life is taken, it is to be taken in full awareness of this fact (Gen. 9:5-6). The commandment may have specifically in view the prohibition of the individual exercise of blood revenge: only the community may take the life of one of its members, under the divine sanctions provided. Such a specific interpretation, however, does not exhaust the meaning of the prohibition. The one who kills is acting as if he were God; all life is God's creation.
ADULTERY is categorically prohibited, since
it also represents an act in defiance of God. God made mankind male and female;
in marriage the two become one (Gen. 1:27;
The commandment against theft rests on no biblical understanding that the
right to private ownership of property is inviolable. Rather, the OT conceives
of property as a kind of extension of the "self" of its owner (Josh.
False witness also destroys the wholeness of the covenant community. The neighbor ([r) is anyone with whom one has dealings and relationships, of either a more permanent or a more casual sort. Later distinctions between the brother and the stranger do not obtain in this commandment. Falsehood before the judges not only damages the person against whom the evidence is given; it is falsehood before Yahweh, the ultimate lawgiver and judge in the OT.
The commandment against covetousness involves more than a lustful or avaricious desire for the person or the property of someone. The Hebrew verb dmj means to desire to take pleasure in someone or something; it also means to set about to secure these for oneself (Exod. 34:24). In this commandment, therefore, both an inward desire for persons and things not one's own and the objective actions planned or taken to secure them are condemned. The maintenance of the wholeness of the covenant community is once again the object in view.
It should be noted that these commandments, although formulated primarily as prohibitions, carry direct implications for positive action. Furthermore, by their largely negative cast they provide the largest possible area of freedom for the community to give implementation to them in their common life and under changing circumstances. The Ten Commandments give no warrant whatever for a legalistic religious orientation.
4. Date and authorship. As indicated above, the Ten
Commandments are only loosely connected with the narrative and legal context in
which they are found. It has often been contended that the lofty moral and
spiritual teaching contained in them must be a product of a much later time,
under the influence of the great prophets of the eighth century B.C. The present form of the Ten Commandments may
safely be assigned to the exilic period (587-530 B.C.)
or to the century following. No sound reason exists, however, for dating the
commandments in their presumed shorter form to such a late period. The prophet
Hosea appears to have quoted the beginning of the Ten Commandments (12:9;
13:4). The same prophet summarizes the sins of
Positive evidence confirming a date in the period before the conquest of
Considerable evidence exists to support the conclusion that the covenant
between
The Ten Commandments were useful, however, in other connections. They may appear separately in Deuteronomy because of their employment in the "catechetical" instruction of priests and Levites in the Israelite towns and villages throughout the centuries (see DEUTERONOMY; PRIESTS AND LEVITES). The Exodus version of the commandments would then have its present location as a result of its connection with the Sinai covenant and with the regular ceremony of covenant renewal, while the Deuteronomy version would have found its present place because of its use in the teaching of religious leaders in town, village, and rural areas.
As to authorship, nothing positive can be said. No argument against Mosaic
authorship is decisive, but none supporting Mosaic authorship can be taken to
be more than a plausible possibility. The OT documents in many ways the
critical importance of MOSES for Israelite
faith and history. No more appropriate author can be suggested. This, however,
does not constitute proof that the Ten Commandments came from his hand. If
Moses was not their author, he was the one who provided the understanding of
the relation between Yahweh and
5. Later history and significance. As Israelite
legal materials grew and developed, the Ten Commandments continued to have a
decisive place. In a hymn associated with the later ceremony of covenant
renewal (Ps. 81:1) the Ten Commandments are reflected, both as demand and as
promise to this later generation. In the NT, the Ten Commandments are referred
to by Jesus as simply "the commandments" (Mark
Bibliography. S. Mowinckel, Le
Décalogue (1927). L. Köhler, "Der Dekalog," Theol. Rundschau, I (1929), 169-84. A. Alt, Die Ursprünge des israelitischen Rechts (1934). S.
Mowinckel, "Zur Geschichte des Dekalogs," ZAW,
55 (1937), 218-34. J. Begrich, "Berit, ein Beitrag zur Erfassung einer
alttestamentlichen Denkform," ZAW, 60 (1944),
1-11. H. H. Rowley, Moses and the Decalogue, Bulletin
of the John Rylands Library, 34 (1951), 81-118, contains full bibliography. K.
H. Barnhardt, Gott und Bild, ein Beitrag zur Begründung und
Deutung des Bilderverbotes im AT (1952). G. E. Mendenhall, Law and Covenant in
W. J. HARRELSON