Post: Week 2

Price_Week 2

Price_Week 2

by Michelle Price -
Number of replies: 4

To begin, I never realized the Ten Commandments were called the Decalogue. However, what really caught my attention is that Collins explanation about some of them not necessarily dating back to Moses' time. The one that I picked up on was "You shall have no other God's before me" (Exodus 20:3). Collins shared, on page 83, that "...prophets in the ninth and eighth centuries who demanded the worship YHWH alone seem to have been a minority". It leaves me questioning exactly how pieces together the Old Testament truly is and why certain ones were added later.

I am not familiar with the name for The Book of the Covenant. These laws are different from the Decalogue in that they are if, then statements. The interesting piece was the final law Collins explained, on page 87, which is the law that Jews use to explain why they must keep meat and dairy separate. This was interesting because I've never really understood some of that reasoning.

The Ritual Impurity Laws (Leviticus 11-15) were interesting in that the title is a perfect fit. It is a slew of actions to help people remain clean through things like dietary and bodily issues. The discussion Collins shared, on page 95, in regards to explaining why certain animals were unclean was intriguing. Scholars are still trying to decipher why, ethical reasoning or fear of the unknown. The law in regards to purifying after childbirth was a section that stood out. I assumed it was due to sinfulness through childbirth. There are differences between having boys and girls, but this cleansing wasn't due to sin.  These laws are ritual which, according to Jonathan Kiawans, are not typically sinful in nature.


In reply to Michelle Price

Re: Price_Week 2

by Caroline Bashore -

Michelle - Thank you for being brave enough to flat out admit that you didn't realize the Ten Commandments were called the Decalogue! I did not know this either and was worried that I was the only one. For both the Decalogue and Book of the Covenant, I was also intrigued to learn that some of the laws may not have been from the time of the wilderness. This realization also leaves me with questions concerning why these laws were placed in Exodus and Leviticus; what purpose do they serve that they wouldn't have served if they were put in the books for the time period that they came about? I too would like to learn more about the final paragraph on 87 because the four sentences only peak my interest, not really provide me with answers. 

In reply to Michelle Price

Re: Price_Week 2

by Kevin Smith -

Michelle,

I too was surprised that the command "You shall have no other gods before me", was not of that time, but from the eight and nine centuries. We have already learned that the Tanakh was pieced together from different sources from different times, so we shouldn't be surprised.  But the Ten Commandments?  I thought even that was sacred? I am being sarcastic to illustrate my surprise that this was from different authors from a different time. Fascinating.

In reply to Michelle Price

Re: Price_Week 2

by Julia O'Brien -

Michelle, your post was great in getting to the heart of the historical issue that Collins is raising: none of these laws were likely written in the wilderness. They seem to come from a different time. As your peers discussed, that raises the question of why they were set in the wilderness if they were really composed later. We will talk about this!

In reply to Michelle Price

Re: Price_Week 2

by Neil D. Reeves -

Michelle, Thanks for discussing the Decalogue. It is a ritual that we cite in the AME church, every Sunday by some connectional AME churches. At my current church, we only do it the first Sunday which is also the day have communion. I too was unfamiliar with the Book of the Covenant and that Jews separate dairy and meat.