Post: Week 2

Smith _ Week 2

Smith _ Week 2

by Kevin Smith -
Number of replies: 4

Regarding first, the Decalogue, what I was surprised to learn in the story of Exodus,  was that the Israelites time at Mt. Sinai did not sync up with when the commandments were written.  Most specifically, the 10th commandment, "Thou shall not covet your neighbor's house; your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."  They are in the wilderness, what do they own?  They don't own houses out in the wilderness.  I had never put that together.

The part of the Book of the Covenant that surprised me was in Exodus 21:22.  I knew an "eye for eye..." was in the Old Testament; Jesus quotes this verse, but I did not realize it was part of a specific sin example. The example, when a pregnant woman is accidently injured and loses the baby.  

Although, I knew that there was a story about a scapegoat in the Old Testament, and in general what it was about (see ESPN's Films: Catching Fire, inside the Bartman debacle), I didn't realize that they were sending the goat out to appease either another god (Azazel), an "angry" or "fierce god" - demonic figure (NOAB), or possibly the angry side of God (Kevin Smith's take). 

In reply to Kevin Smith

Re: Smith _ Week 2

by Ryan Tobin -

Kevin -

I hadn't thought about Exodus 20:17 / Commandment #10 as pertaining to physical structures. I realize now that I have mentally edited this verse to refer to a household, and all of the things within it. (As in: "Don't covet your neighbor's household: not his wife, not his slaves, not his animals, not anything else.") In my church's worship, it is shortened to "You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor" or, for the traditional folks, "Thou shalt not covet." (Book of Common Prayer, pp. 350 and 318, respectively).  But your reading is more faithful to the text.

With regard to whether or not they would have had property worth coveting, I think there is reason to believe that they would at least have some things of value. See Exodus 3:21-22 and 11:2, where it is part of God's plan that his people will "borrow" gold and silver from their Egyptian neighbors immediately before the final plague and their departure. Perhaps the Israelites who did not have wealthy Egyptian neighbors to plunder might covet the gold and silver that the more fortunate Israelites were able to get.

In reply to Ryan Tobin

Re: Smith _ Week 2

by Julia O'Brien -

Ryan, did you notice the date that Collins assigns to the Decalogue? He's suggesting that it was written much later than the wilderness, when there are fields and houses and slaves.

In reply to Ryan Tobin

Re: Smith _ Week 2

by Julia O'Brien -

Ryan, did you notice the date that Collins assigns to the Decalogue? He's suggesting that it was written much later than the wilderness, when there are fields and houses and slaves.

In reply to Kevin Smith

Re: Smith _ Week 2

by Julia O'Brien -

Kevin, "houses" is a good example of why scholars think the Decalogue was written long after the wilderness. Another example would be the mention of fields and slaves.