in antiquity, beyond the torah, how were the ten commandments received? the jewish apocryphal texts may offer some insight. while these texts are not part of the hebrew bible canon- the tanach- the torah, neveim, and ketuvim- these writing existed either prior to or shortly after the bible’s formalization. some of these writing address the ten commandments peripherally or directly. thus, this extra-biblical content sheds light as to the ten commandments’ reception within ancient society.
in the book of the maccabees, volume one, the ten commandments played a central role. the text suggests as to how the commandments were disseminated among the the general population. the book tells of a sabbath observance controversy and how its resolution. finally, the book describes how hellenistic society clashed with the judean society’s ten commandment observance with respect to monotheism and idolatry.
essentially, the book of the maccabees, volume one, tells of the post-alexander occupation of judea by the greeks. in part, the book introduces the reader into the hellenistic occupation playbook. from the book of the maccabees one could surmise that it included the possibilities of population replacement, genocide, and religious/cultural conversion. with the group of individuals labeled the maccabees, the greek assault on judaism ignited a flame of zealousness which transformed history.
in a past reading of maccabees 1, i employed the king james’ translation. pmr passage, chapter 1, lines, 56-7, states “and when they had rentin pieces the books of the law which they found, they burnt them with fire. and whosoever was found with any the book of the testament, or if any committed to the law, the king’s commandment was, that they should put him to death.”
recently, there is a new translation that came out in the 2020, the jewish annotated apocrypha, new revised standard version which is now available. this new version added more context to these particular lines. in the new translation, it states “the books of the law that they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire. anyone found possessing the book of the covenant, or who adhered to the law, was condemned to death by decree of the [greek] king. ” [emphasis added]
this passage, if accurate, is sheds light onto jewish practices at the time of the occupation. it would appear that the torah, the five books of moses, was not of popular use. rather, “the book of the covenant” was the common text among the observant jewish population. thus, it is worthy to speculate what was in “the book of the covenant” and why the torah was not the significant text at the time.
scholarship suggests that “the book of the covenant” consisted portions of exodus, leviticus and deuteronomy. in particular, the document contained the laws.
given these facts, one could therefore imagine that, at that time, the torah- as we currently have it- most likely presented itself as an unwieldy scroll to maintain. further, a full torah- in certain communities- may have been cost prohibitive. thus, it may have been more likely on an economical and practical basis for communities to commission scribes to make a shorter version of the torah that would satisfy their community’s need to know the law. thus, “the book of the covenant” may have been a readers digest-like version of the torah. the document would be a manageable scroll, far easier to use and more economical to widely distribute.
maccabees, volume 1, also contains a sabbath controversy. in chapter 2, after a horrific incident in which many died as a result of a greek sabbath attack on judeans who refused to fight on the holy day. maccabees 1:2:38. this incident led the priestly leadership to make a legal interpretation of the sabbath laws. “let us fight against anyone who comes to attack on the sabbath day; let us not all die as our kindred died in their hiding places.” macabees 1:2:41. prior to this decision, the priest mattathias and his friends spoke to their neighbors and provided a basis for interpreting the law. “if we all refuse to fight gentiles for our lives and for our ordinances, they will quickly destroy us from the earth.” macabees 1:2:39-40. thus, this moment documents a post-covenant need for torah interpretation.
finally, there maccabees volume one discussses concepts of idolatry and monotheism. the greek king “wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, and that all should give up their particular customs. all the gentiles accepted the commands of the king. many even from israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath. ” maccabees 1:1: 41-43. impliedly, this passage illustrated that three of the ten commandments being practiced at the time.
in sum, the first book of the maccabees offer some insight as to the societal practices of the ten commandments during that period of time. from the text, we have indications that a more compact version of the covenant which well distributed and known to the general population. the text offers us a glimpse into torah interpretation. this documented interpretation was based upon an analysis of a fact pattern, the need for a solution to the fact pattern, and a reasoned conclusion.
be well!!
The Ten Commandments Project 