Some 40 years after the revelation at Mount Sinai and the giving of the Two Tablets and their 10 commandments, Moses at age 120 reviews them in one of his final sermons.
The new
generation was not there at Sinai, and after having lived with these
people for many years, and anticipating their eminent entry into the Promised
Land, Moses thought it important to remind them of the key ten commandments on
those Tablets, tablets which still rested in the Ark of the Covenant.
Bible
critics: who believe the Chumash is
all man-made and the combination of at least 4 different ‘sources’, and the merging
of two if not three different ‘gods’ (the 4 letter tetragrammaton , אֱלֹהִים/אלּ and even י ד שּ ), have long noted that the Deuteronomy
list has major differences from the Exodus list in both wording and order.
They
consequently concluded the more ‘rambling’ Deut. ch 5: 6-17 version is
‘older’ and the more compact and different version of Exodus 20: 2- 13 was a later
‘revision’, ‘inserted’[i]
into the Mount Sinai story by a later editor[ii].
More recent scholars have made the situation even more complex, seeing repeat
portions in Exodus ch. 34, and Leviticus ch. 19 as ‘earlier versions’.[iii]
Rabbinic
tradition has long been aware of the differences between the Mount Sinai ‘10
Speakings’ and Moses’ review 40 years later.
The most famous difference is regarding the Sabbath Commandment as Exodus uses the Hebrew word for “Remember” זָכוֹר (the Sabbath) and Deuteronomy uses the word “Guard” שָׁמוֹר.
The rabbinic
solution is highlighted in the Friday night welcoming-the- Shabbath service, in
the 16th century song, Lecha
Dodi[iv],
verse 2:
שָׁמוֹר וְזָכוֹר בְּדִבּוּר אֶחָד
“Guard” and “Remember” where said simultaneously (by God’s thunderous voice)
In other
words, the Children of Israel heard “Remember” at Mount Sinai as recorded in
Exodus 20, while Moses simultaneously heard “Guard”– as found in Deut. ch.5.
As Rashi
notes to Deut. 5:12[i]:
שמור OBSERVE [THE SABBATH DAY] —
But in the former Ten Commandments (i.e. where they were first promulgated, in
Exodus XX.), it states, “Remember [the Sabbath day]"! The explanation is:
Both of them (זכור
and שמור) were
spoken in one utterance and as one word, and were heard in one hearing (i.e.
were heard simultaneously) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:8:1).
The argument
is that the single Divine ‘voice’ of God could be ‘understood’ by human minds
differently. Moses ‘hearing’ one
version, while the ordinary people ‘heard’ a slightly different version.
I.e., The
actual obligations in these commandants are identical in both, but with different wordings reflect different levels of human ‘understanding’.
This is the
view noted by Hertz in his The Pentateuch
and Haftorahs (1958), page 766 commentary to verse 12, and in the Art Scroll Chumash (7th ed. 1997) page
969 commentary to verse 12.
This
‘solution’: to reconcile the two texts, would apply to all the changes between the two versions.
But such an
ancient and pious resolution makes little sense and is, I believe, a ‘misunderstanding’
of Moses’ intent in Deut. 5.
Yes, there are some other minor single word changes aside
from “Remember” replaced with “Guard”.
·
In
Commandment #9, Exodus uses שָׁקֶר
עֵד ‘be a lying witness”, but in Deuteronomy it
becomes שָׁוְא
עֵד “ a false witness”.
· Commandments 7-8-9-10 in Deuteronomy
each begin with an added conjunctive AND ” וְ “. i.e., וְלֹא.
·
Commandment
#10 keeps Exodus’ “COVET” תַחְמֹד for the ‘wife’ but switches to
“DESIRE” תִתְאַוֶּה for a neighbour’s ‘other possessions’.
·
And
#10 also adds one word as well: mentioning a neighbour’s agricultural land שָׂדֵהוּ. (See highlighted quote below.)
Now one could argue that at Mount Sinai these slight changes
in wording are a normal human experience.
People, when in the same room – if far apart from each other and also
from the speaker at the front -- often hear sounds slightly differently and may
end up inserting into the message synonyms.
But this would not explain all the other, far more
significant differences:
· Commandment #10 in Deuteronomy mentions ‘wife’ FIRST in its own sentence. In
Exodus she goes SECOND – after the husband’s
‘house’.
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Exod. 20:13
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Deut. 5: 17
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·
Commandments
#4 and #5 have extra wording and clauses added in spots
·
and
Commandments #4: re Shabbat, has a totally different ‘justification’ as to why it
should be observed.
Exodus cites the creation of the World in 6 days, but Deuteronomy talks
about Egyptian slavery and the Exodus.
The changes are highlighted in RED below.
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Exodus 20 |
Deuteronomy 5 |
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These
differences are so substantial that they cannot simply be explained away by
‘mishearing’ the same ‘voice’ speaking.
In fact, as
noted by the more academic Soncino Chumash:
the five books of Moses with Haftaroth (1947 ed.) commentary pages 458, Ibn
Ezra long ago dismissed this rabbinic resolution as “contrary to reason”.
Ibn Ezra
suggested Exodus 20 was the actual wording heard by all: including Moses, and that the Deuteronomy version is Moses’ personal ‘recap’ with additions
added to prevent possible misinterpretations.
Ibn Ezra’s
explanation fits Deut. 5 changes by and large.
But he does not list or explain what the potential ‘misunderstandings’
would be.
He also
ignores the fact the change to commandment #4, the Shabbat, is significant and
unrelated to any ‘misunderstandings’.
Below is a
detailed analysis of all the changes in Deut. 20 and why I believe they were
made by Moses.
The first
point is the new context: a new generation about to enter the Promised Land without
Moses for guidance.
They were
not at Mount Sinai and Moses feel he needs
to remind them of the Divine ‘voice’ and revelation, and -- on a practical level -- how those 10 commandments ‘apply to them’.
After all,
Deuteronomy ch. 5 is part of a series of sermons Moses gave to the new
generation in the last weeks before his death and their crossing the Jordan.
And, like
any minister giving a sermon, the ‘content’ must be phrased in a manner to
maximize relevance to and impact on the audience.
Word
Changes
·
“Remember”
זָכוֹר (the Sabbath) is
replaced in Deuteronomy with “Guard” שָׁמוֹר .
Anyone who pays attention to Moses’ word choices in Deuteronomy is aware
he uses “Guard”
שָׁמוֹר all the time[v].
Deut. ch.2:4; ch.4:2,6,9, 15, 23, 40; ch. 5: 1, 10, 12, 29, 32; ch. 6 :
2, 3, 12, 17 (twice), 25; Ch. 7: 8, 9 (twice), 11, 12 (twice); ch. 8: 1, 2 , 6,
11 (twice); ch. 10: 13; ch.11: 1, 8,
16, 22, 32; ch. 12: 1, 13, 19, 28, 30, 32; ch. 13: 4, 18: ch. 15: 5, 9: ch. 16:
1, 12: ch. 17: 10, 19; ch. 19: 9; ch. 23: 9, 23; ch. 24: 8 ( three times); ch.
26: 16,17,18; ch. 27:1: ch. 28: 1; 9,13,15,45,58; ch. 29: 9; ch. 30: 10, 16; ch. 31: 12: ch. 32: 46; ch. 33: 9.
It is, in brief, Moses’ ‘watchword’:
that commandments must not just be ‘remembered’ – as in Exodus 20 – but
‘preserved’ and ‘protected’ in actions.
· Conjunctive AND ” וְ “, i.e., וְלֹא for # 7, #8, #9, #10 (twice).
I suspect Moses, after mentioning #6 – murder, decided to link to it the next four commandments with ‘AND’ for emphasis: to remind the new generation that there are other crimes against society beside murder and that they all are extremely important.
The change, I believe, was on purpose: to make the new generation take Commandment #9 ‘more seriously’.
For the word שָׁוְא is used in Commandment #3 TWICE as the watchword for angering God by using His name “in vain”.
Both in Exodus 20:6 and here in Deut5. 5:10
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י לֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת-שֵׁם-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לַשָּׁוְא: כִּי לֹא יְנַקֶּה יְהוָה, אֵת
אֲשֶׁר-יִשָּׂא אֶת-שְׁמוֹ לַשָּׁוְא |
10 Thou shalt not take the name
of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will
not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. {S} |
Put simply, Moses decided to use the same word from Commandment #3 to
remind the new generation that ’lying’ when taking an oath is a DOUBLE SIN: a
sin against your neighbour and the harmony of society, and, simultaneously, a
sin against God!
The standard English witness oath is:
“I swear to tell the truth and nothing but
the truth so
help me God.”
·
Commandment
#10 undergoes 3 changes:
And Moses uses
Exodus’ וְלֹא
תַחְמֹד (= do not Lust) for her, but for other possessions of a neighbor, the
milder תִתְאַוֶּה וְלֹא (= do not desire) is
used.
וְ
Moses may seem more of a feminist
in this dual change, but I suspect he motive was simple.
Looking at the new
generation, he saw a group of young men who are mostly single at the
conquest.
Sexual desire can be more
intoxicating and dangerous than even greed for property and wealth.
2. The addition of ּ,שָׂדֵהו his
agricultural fields, is logical and a necessary addition as the conquest is just about to
start and is all about gaining land and fields (and cities).
At Mount
Sinai, 40 years in the past, that may have been a desired ‘dream’, but now it
is imminent reality – and an immediate, potential source of neighbourly envy.
·
Commandment #4,
the Sabbath, has 4 changes of note: including the most drastic change from
Exodus 20.
1. The ‘justification of Exodus – Creation in 6 days, is replaced with
the miracle of the Exodus as
justification.
Why? Because for the new generation, the Creation
of the world thousands of years in the past, is less relevant than the Exodus
miracle just 40 years ago – and which directly resulted in the current situation,
i.e., they are about to cross the Jordan and conquer Canaan.
Put simply, Moses understands the young and their
tendency to think ‘short term’. His
Deuteronomy answer speaks directly to them and their situation.
That the observance of Shabbat has this ‘dual history’
and dual purpose is acknowledged in
the Friday night Kiddush ceremony:
Blessed are You, the Eternal, our God, King of
the Universe, who has blessed us
with His commandments, and has chosen us, and has given us His holy Shabbat in
love and goodwill as a heritage: in remembrance of the
work
of Creation; the first of the holy festivals, and commemorating the Exodus from Egypt.
(Adapted by me from https://drive.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://w2.chabad.org/media/pdf/33/RhwR331025.pdf )
2. Moses adds to verse 13 more details re: the
animals that are also to rest on the Sabbath: naming oxen and asses. They were the two animals of burden of the
Ancient World: used for transportation and ploughing fields.
To ensure no one accidentally would, in
future, violate the Holy Sabbath now that they are about to become land owners
and farmers, Moses names oxen and asses EXPLICITLY:
to preclude faming on Shabbat or prohibited long distance transportation.
3. Moses similarly adds at the end of the same verse “that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.”
The Exodus 20 version and Deut. 5 first part of verse 13 already mention these two
groups. But Moses decided to emphasize them
TWICE.
He
is reminding the new generation that within days or weeks they will become
owners of captured slaves: male and female, and that under Torah Law, God’s
law, they too must have a day of rest.
Moses,
to put it simply, is elaborating and more fully explaining God’s commandment:
to clarify its implications for the soon to be
conquerors of the Holy Land.
Namely,
conquerors and the conquered – and every domesticated animal -- needs a weekly
rest day.
He
is reminding the new generation that within days or weeks they will become
owners of captured slaves: male and female, and that under Torah Law, God’s
law, they too must have a day of rest.
Moses,
to put it simply, is elaborating and more fully explaining God’s commandment:
to clarify its implications for the soon to be
conquerors of the Holy Land.
Namely,
conquerors and the conquered – and every domesticated animal -- needs a weekly
rest day.
4. Moses also, near the start, inserts a
reminder “as the LORD thy God commanded thee.”
This is repeated in
Commandment #5 re: Parents.
The inserted clause
proves Moses is not trying to ‘quote‘ the tablet commandments from Mount Sinai
word for word, but, instead, is at times paraphrasing and elaborating on them.
It is a ‘cross reference’,
to the acknowledge it is not the ‘original text’ itself.
·
Commandment #5 – Parents. Here
there are 2 additions.
1.
“as the LORD thy God
commanded thee.” This is already explained above.
2. “that it may go well with thee,
upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
Moses’ addition is in
RED.
Exodus already promised long life but Moses added ‘a happy life’.
Why? Again, his audience are the young, and ‘growing old’ is not an ideal prospect -- unless there is an added promise: a long life filled with happiness.
After listing the how he suffered when fleeing
King Saul and others, how he almost died from as horrendous illness, and how he
had to face the tragedy of outliving 3 sons (Bath Sheba’s first born, Amnon and
Absalom), he ends by saying:
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יב הָפַכְתָּ מִסְפְּדִי, לְמָחוֹל לִי:
פִּתַּחְתָּ שַׂקִּי; וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי שִׂמְחָה. |
12 Thou didst turn for me my mourning into dancing; Thou didst
loose my sackcloth, and gird me with gladness. |
As David states, Life has
its ups and downs, and growing old is only desirable if there is happiness and joy.
Moses understood this, and
made clear that honouring one’s parents would lead to a joyful and happy long
life for the children.
CONCLUSION
The differences between the Tablet commandments
in Deuteronomy and Exodus are not due to man-made multiple author ‘versions’ as
proposed by Bible critics of the Documentary Hypothesis.
Nor due to the Rabbinic tradition of ‘different
hearings’ by Moses and the people at Mount Sinai – which also does not hold up
to scrutiny.
Ibn Ezra was right. Deuteronomy 5 is not an attempt at ‘quoting’
Exodus 20
‘gone wrong’ or ‘off the rails’ by a man now 120
years old.
It is homiletic and tailored by Moses to
his current audience and current situation.
It is the effort of the Good Shepherd trying to
keep his new and youthful sheep from going astray.
Remember: the commandment
obligations are still one and the same as in Exodus 20. No ‘requirement’ has been deleted and nothing
added.
Only elaborated to meet the
new situation and prevent – God forbid -- violations of the Tablet commandments
‘in error’.
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[i] See right sidebar at https://www.sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.5.12?lang=bi&with=Rashi&lang2=en
[iii] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments later part on Crit6ical Historical Analysis
[iv] https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED443755.pdf, summarized on pages numbered 3-6.
[v] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lekhah_Dodi#:~:text=Lekhah%20Dodi%20means%20%22come%20my,%5BShabbat%5D%20bride%22).
[vi] List below is from Strong’s
concordance. The verse numbering is from the Christian tradition and at times
differs from the Hebrew Masorit tradition.
