There are many ways to date or mark time. With Christianity, the world’s current calendaring is based upon belief. As a result, look at the world with pre-Jesus and post-Jesus periods. With Judaism, time moved forward from “in the beginning” when the Universe. The Torah portion Yitro also dermacates time; there is a pre and post Mt. Sinai. This construct allows us to better understand the Ten Commandments. This post elaborates upon this notion.
The Hebrew Bible’s composition is surrounded by controversy. Beyond that controversy, there is debate surrounding the nature and extent of religious practice and observance during certain periods of time. Further, controversies surround extra-biblical sources which were incorporated into the Hebrew Bible.
With this concept, I have taken to analyze scripture and other writing with a Ten Commandments’ calendaring perspective. Do texts reflect awareness of the Commandments? Do texts reflect the importance of particular Commandments? Do texts reflect the application of the Commandments?
Regardless of when the writings were made, the scripture also tells us about the authors’ view of the Ten Commandments. Are they reporting what occurred in the past? Are the projecting their current practices into the past? Are the imagining what practices would have been in the past? Whatever they are doing, we learn something.
In sum, please take part of this blog’s journey through this analysis. I believe that there is much to be learned in the trek.
Be well!!
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The pre-Mt. Sinai period is one for which scholars believe was written later in time. The Book of Genesis, despite that, details upon people that harbored values that would be eventually set in stone at Mt. Sinai. Genesis contains many Ten Commandments’ moments. It highlights both Ten Commandments’ successes as well as failures. The text is a great teaching tool for values. As a Religious School Educator, I did not have to stray beyond the text for examples.
Taking Genesis as the exclusive teaching tool for the Ten Commandments, I, however, was a mistake. Rather, to teach the Ten Commandments, one must search for examples throughout the Torah. Further, going beyond the Torah, expanding the discussion to the complete Hebrew Bible is even better. Rather, than discussing stories that serve as inspiration for the Ten Commandments, there is much richness in exploring the conflicts that arise in a post-Mt. Sinai world. The application of the Ten Commandments, at times, can be difficult. It requires legal analysis and interpretation.
As a lawyer, I practice in a field of law that, from time to time, has new laws added to it. Despite laws being written and clear, there always seems to be instances that come up that are unanticipated which require judicial interpretation.
With Yitro, it is possible to divide time into two periods, before the Ten Commandments and from Mt. Sinai’s event moving onward.
Breaking up history within these two periods bring understanding as to scripture as well as other literature. For instance, the writings depicting observance of Ten Commandments’ related conduct prior to Mt. Sinai is enlightening. Further, extra biblical materials also depict laws that bare similarity to the Decalogue. Likewise, the scripture and literature post-Mt. Sinai, we learn about the collective knowledge of the commandments. As the Torah unfolds, only two adults present at Mt. Sinai will be present in the Promised Land to carry on the Mt. Sinai moment. Joshua, Caleb and some of their family existed as a bottleneck as to the events. The others, who would enter the promised land, would be
Presently, the world calendar is religiously based upon Christianity. In Judaism, the calendar is based upon the world’s age. To understand and appreciate the Ten Commandments, I would like to analyze religious concepts based upon the Mt. Sinai moment as being the focal point. Thus, we have a period of pre-Ten Commandments and post-Ten Commandments.
Religious scripture and writings were made in appreciate of Mt. Sinai and the Ten Commandments. Thus, writing discussing periods prior to Mt. Sinai were made under the impression that the Ten Commandmentns did not exist. Writings depcting the world after Mt. Sinai was to be assumed.
The Ten Commandments Project 