Ex 20:1-5
From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
The Old Testament > Exodus > Chapter 20
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Questions
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Lexical notes
- Before me. It seems that, in Hebrew, the word "before" (paniym) has the same ambiguity as in English—the other gods could be thought of before God in the sense of "taking precedence" over God, or as being simply being before God as in being in his presence. (See the NET note on this passage for more.)
Exegesis
On ten versus seven commandments
The traditional numbering of the commandments in this chapter is, of course, ten. Other scripture seems to support such a numbering (all biblical--penteteuchal, in fact: Ex 34:28, Deut 4:13, and Deut 10:4). However, there is, within this text itself, a possible interpretation that would render the commandments a list of seven (or perhaps six). The fruitfulness of such a reading is great, but might only be explored after the possibility is established.
Such a reading begins with the complexity of the first eleven verses of the chapter: it is--has been, historically--difficult to decide exactly where "one" commandment begins and "another" ends. The first four commandments seem to run into each other, etc. It has, in fact, been pointed out often that the first four are of one character, while the remaining six have a very different meaning. All of this suggests, at the very least, that the first four commandments ought to be considered very carefully, whereas the six commandments that begin in verse 12 are so perfectly listed that there is little reason to complicate them.
The first three commandments essentially establish the relation between God and the people (as does the fourth, though in a different manner). It has been suggested by some scholars, in fact, that these first commandments were written specifically for the priesthood (this might be corroborated by both D&C 59 and Abinadi's speech concerning the commandments). If the first commandments (the first three?) establish the role of the priesthood as mediating God and Israel, then the fourth commandment establishes (as the commandment concerning the sabbath--and, by extension, all the holy days and ritual cycles of Israel) the cultic complex that grounds that mediation. In other words, the fourth commandment, concerning the sabbath, seems to mark a transition from the first three commandments to the last six.
If this transition is well read, it might be noted that that very commandment makes something of the numbers seven and six. By setting apart the seventh, it leaves over the six days of work. It is most interesting that it is then followed by six commandments, all of which are understood to be the commandments concerning interpersonal relations. In other words, the mention of six days of normal, everyday work is followed by six specific tasks that are to make up the everyday fare of the Israelites. The connection is suggestive, and seems to be most fruitful.
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