The Ten Commandments

Excerpt

The Ten Commandments, in their present form in Exodus 20, reveal signs of later development and expansion from an earlier form. It is likely that the original form was very brief and much easier to memorize. Some believe that all of the commands were negative at first, even though two of them now are expressed in the positive. (See verses 8 and 12.) This Decalogue, as it is called, has been inserted into the narrative at this point in order to prove its divineauthority and its connection with Moses. In this way these commandments become a summary of “the people’s obligation” in the covenant that was established at Mount Sinai.

There is a close parallel account of the Decalogue in Deut 5:6-21, and the translator should be aware of the similarities and differences. Both accounts have the same form of law that is quite different from the laws listed in “The Book of the Covenant” (20:22–23:33). Here the laws are expressed as demands with no punishment listed. This form of law is known as categorical, or apodictic. In the Book of the Covenant, however, the laws are almost entirely in the form known as case law, or casuistic law. The usual pattern is “If … then …,” with the situation given in the “if” clause and the punishment described in the “then” clause. More

Osborn, Noel D., and Howard A. Hatton. A Handbook on Exodus. New York: United Bible Societies, 1999. Print. UBS Handbook Series.

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