Ángel
Manuel Rodríguez
Why
does the list of the Ten Commandments published in Jewish writings differ
from the common biblical one? There also seems to be a disagreement among
some Christian denominations on how to identify them.
There
is general agreement on the fact that there are 10 commandments, because
in Deuteronomy 4:13 they are called "the ten words." Some Bible translations
have rendered the phrase "ten commandments," but the Hebrew text reads
"words," that is to say, 10 divine legal sayings.
According
to Philo of Alexandria and Josephus, the first commandment is contained
in Exodus 20:2, 3, stating that Yahweh is one ("I am Yahweh") and the
only one to be worshiped ("You shall have no. . ."). The second would
be the prohibition against worship of images, and so forth. This division
was the one accepted by the Church Fathers and is basically the prevailing
one today.
The
common Jewish division of the Decalogue, which is probably the one you
found, considers verse 2 to be the first commandment, a command to believe
that there is only one God, Yahweh. The second one, recorded in verses
3-6, would command the exclusive worship of Yahweh. The rest of the commandments
would follow the conventional order. This organization of the first and
second commandments overlooks the fact that verse 2 seems to function
as an introduction to the commandments. In fact, it is rather surprising
that it is interpreted as a commandment because it lacks the imperative
force or tone present in the other commandments.
The
theological significance of the short historical prologue recorded in
verse 2 tends to set it apart from the first commandment. It states the
source of this particular law and the historical and theological relation
that already existed between this Being and the Israelites. This law comes
from "Yahweh, your God," who is the one "who brought you out of the land
of Egypt." The clear implication is that the demands of the law are preceded
by God's gracious act of redemption on behalf of His enslaved people.
Grace comes before law. Obedience to this divine law is a response of
gratitude from loving hearts to the Lord for the redemption already performed
on behalf of His people. Verse 2 is an extremely important introduction
to the Decalogue.
There
is a third way of grouping the Ten Commandments, usually followed by Catholics
and Lutherans. According to this interpretation, the first commandment
is recorded in verses 2-6 and includes the oneness of God and His exclusive
worship. The second commandment is against false oaths, and the third
is the Sabbath.
In
order to end with the required number 10, the tenth one was divided into
two: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house," and "You shall not covet
your neighbor's wife." It would appear that since the commandment is basically
a law against covetousness; dividing it into two commandments cannot be
supported.
One
should be willing to recognize that although there are some difficulties
in identifying each of the Ten Commandments, it is certainly not that
complex. The major problems are located in verses 2-6. If we are willing
to accept verse 2 as an introduction to the Decalogue, we should start
counting from verse 3 onward.
The
next problem is the relationship between verse 3 and verses 4-6. Are both
of these sections dealing only with the worship of the true God? In that
case we would have there only one commandment. In a sense that seems to
be true, but a closer look reveals a significant difference. The first
one rejects the worship of foreign gods, and the second prohibits making
any image of God or of any god. This radical rejection of any other god
except Yahweh was unique to Israel in the ancient Near East. The rejection
of an image of God was also unique. These two commandments contributed
directly to the singularity of the people of Israel.
In
conclusion, it really doesn't matter how we count the commandments as
long as we do not modify in any way their sacred content.
7/11/96
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