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Authors: Paul Johnson
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looting during a fire, breaking into a house, serious trespass by night, or theft of a wife, in the Mosaic law no property offence is capital. Human life is too sacred where the rights of property alone are violated. It also repudiates vicarious punishment: the offences of parents must not be punished by the execution of sons or daughters, or the husband’s crime by the surrender of the wife to prostitution. 92 Moreover, not only is human life sacred, the human person (being in God’s image) is precious. Whereas, for instance, the Mid-Assyrian code lists a fierce series of physical punishments, including facial mutilation, castration, impalement and flogging to death, the Mosaic code treats the body with respect. Physical cruelty is reduced to the minimum. Even flogging was limited to forty strokes, and must be carried out ‘before the face’ of the judge, ‘lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee’. 93 The fact is, the Mosaic code was far more humane than any other, because, being God-centred, it was automatically man-centred also.
The core of the Mosaic code was the Decalogue, the statements of God related by Moses (Deuteronomy 5:6-18) and entitled ‘the ten words or utterances’ (Deuteronomy 4:13). The supposed original versions of these commands is given in Exodus 20:2-14. There are many unresolved problems and obscurities in the texts. It seems likely that in their original form the commands were simple, even terse, and only later elaborated. The earliest form, as given directly by Moses, has been reconstructed as follows, falling naturally into three groups, one to four covering the relations between God and man, six to ten dealing with relations between men, and the fifth, acting as a bridge between the two, dealing with parents and children. Thus we get: ‘I am YHWH your God; You shall have no other gods besides me; You shall not make yourselves a graven image; You shall not take the name of YHWH in vain; Remember the Sabbath day; Honour your father andyour mother; You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not covet.’ 94 Some of these ethical rules are common to other ancient Near Eastern civilizations: there is, for instance, an Egyptian document known as the ‘Protestations of Guiltlessness’, in which a dead soul, at the final judgment, recites a list of offences not committed. 95 But for a comprehensive summary of right conduct to God and man, offered to, accepted by and graven upon the hearts of an entire people, there is nothing in antiquity remotely comparable to the Ten Commandments.
The Decalogue was the basis of the covenant with God, first made by Abraham, renewed by Jacob and now renewed again, in a solemn and public manner, by Moses and the entire people. Modern research shows that the Mosaic covenant, set out briefly in Exodus 19-24 and again more elaborately in the Book of Deuteronomy, follows the form of an ancient Near Eastern treaty, such as those drawn up by the Hittites. It has a historical prolegomenon, setting out the purpose, followed by the nature of the undertaking, the divine witnesses, benefits and curses, the text and the deposit of the tablets on which it is written. 96 But the Mosaic covenant is unique in being, not a treaty between states, but a God-people alliance. In it, in effect, the ancient Israelite society merged its interests with God’s and accepted Him, in return for protection and prosperity, as a totalitarian ruler whose wishes governed every aspect of their lives. Thus the Decalogue is merely the heart of an elaborate system of divine laws set out in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy and Numbers. In late antiquity, Judaic scholars organized the laws into 613 commandments, consisting of 248 mandatory commandments and 365 prohibitions. 97
This Mosaic legal material covers an immense variety of subjects. By no means
The core of the Mosaic code was the Decalogue, the statements of God related by Moses (Deuteronomy 5:6-18) and entitled ‘the ten words or utterances’ (Deuteronomy 4:13). The supposed original versions of these commands is given in Exodus 20:2-14. There are many unresolved problems and obscurities in the texts. It seems likely that in their original form the commands were simple, even terse, and only later elaborated. The earliest form, as given directly by Moses, has been reconstructed as follows, falling naturally into three groups, one to four covering the relations between God and man, six to ten dealing with relations between men, and the fifth, acting as a bridge between the two, dealing with parents and children. Thus we get: ‘I am YHWH your God; You shall have no other gods besides me; You shall not make yourselves a graven image; You shall not take the name of YHWH in vain; Remember the Sabbath day; Honour your father andyour mother; You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not covet.’ 94 Some of these ethical rules are common to other ancient Near Eastern civilizations: there is, for instance, an Egyptian document known as the ‘Protestations of Guiltlessness’, in which a dead soul, at the final judgment, recites a list of offences not committed. 95 But for a comprehensive summary of right conduct to God and man, offered to, accepted by and graven upon the hearts of an entire people, there is nothing in antiquity remotely comparable to the Ten Commandments.
The Decalogue was the basis of the covenant with God, first made by Abraham, renewed by Jacob and now renewed again, in a solemn and public manner, by Moses and the entire people. Modern research shows that the Mosaic covenant, set out briefly in Exodus 19-24 and again more elaborately in the Book of Deuteronomy, follows the form of an ancient Near Eastern treaty, such as those drawn up by the Hittites. It has a historical prolegomenon, setting out the purpose, followed by the nature of the undertaking, the divine witnesses, benefits and curses, the text and the deposit of the tablets on which it is written. 96 But the Mosaic covenant is unique in being, not a treaty between states, but a God-people alliance. In it, in effect, the ancient Israelite society merged its interests with God’s and accepted Him, in return for protection and prosperity, as a totalitarian ruler whose wishes governed every aspect of their lives. Thus the Decalogue is merely the heart of an elaborate system of divine laws set out in the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy and Numbers. In late antiquity, Judaic scholars organized the laws into 613 commandments, consisting of 248 mandatory commandments and 365 prohibitions. 97
This Mosaic legal material covers an immense variety of subjects. By no means
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