beyond the torah, how are the ten commandments received into society? the jewish apocryphal texts offer some insight. while these texts are not part of the hebrew bible canon- the tanach- the torah, neveim, and ketuvim- they existed either prior to or shortly after the bible’s formalization. some of these writing addressed the ten commandments peripherally or directly. thus, it is interesting to examine these extra-biblical ten commandments’ content.
the book of susanna is one apocryphal text which offers ten commandments’ insight. the book, dated in perhaps the first or second century of the common era, is a tale of a woman’s valor. the jewish annotated apocrypha new revised standard edition. the story is one of two corrupt elders who are taken by the beauty of another’s wife. these elders situate and position themselves to view susanna’s nakedness. they then threaten her with the accusation of infidelity if she does not sleep with them.
she refuses these elders demands and is subject to accusation. the lord hears of her distress and instills upon a man daniel with arguably great lawyering skills. he moves to separate the two elders with respect to their testimony against susannah. with this, he exposes them as being deceiptful. the elders are punished with death and susanna’s innocence is known.
this cautionary tale touches on three commandments- false witness, adultery and coveting. the courtroom drama brings the reader to a moment of an imbalance of power- elders versus a young virtuous woman. this story carries with it that the master of the universe is an ever present guardian of the ten commandment.
susannah evidences the emergence of a tradition of literature promoting ten commandments’ values. in present times, movies are a medium offering such material. in recent years, a michael douglas’ fatal attraction is perhaps the most well known of adulterous material. actress glenn close’s stunning performance of a psychopathic lover may have been responsible for a generation of faithful husbands. the tale, however, lacked a religious message.
in sum, even in ancient times, extra-biblical texts supplemented the ten commandments to keep the concepts alive in popular culture. societies appear to have a constant need for popular consumable moral content. the question is who will step up to write and produce such material
The Ten Commandments Project 