Hebraic Musing - How do the Jewish Sages view their first
commandment?
Insight #29 in my Hebraic Insights book asks the question –
“Which Ten Commandments?” The Jews,
Catholics and Protestants each have their own rendering with interesting
differences. The biggest difference –
The Catholics and Protestants recite the first commandment similarly – “I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have
other gods besides me”. The Jewish
Sages say the first commandment is “I am
the Lord your G-d who has taken you out of the land of Egypt”.
According to the Sages, that is the meaning of the First
Commandment – we are obligated to know that God is part of our lives at every
single moment. Knowing that God is present at all times will completely define
how we live our lives. While this
‘commandment’ does not start with a ‘shall’ or ‘shall not’, it certainly sets a
tone for our lives, and affects how we listen/hear the remaining nine lessons
on how to live.
Q - Why does God refer to Himself as the “God who brought you out of Egypt” and
not the God who created the world?
Creation would seem to be the greater act, but maybe He wants us to know
and remember that He is also the ‘Sustainer’.
To us modern day Christians or Jews or Messianics, the fact
that He “…brought you out of Egypt” may not register as significantly as it did
to the Israelite nation at the foot of the mountain thousands of years ago. However,
is there an Egypt, or a land of idolatry, or a form of slavery that He brought
you out of?
Point
to ponder
How would
remembering
“I am the Lord your G-d who has taken you
out of the land of Egypt”
influence your life and attitude and obedience.
Shalom March 12, 2013
Yosef a.k.a. Joe Brusherd
Author “Hebraic Insights – 95 messages
exploring the Hebrew Roots of Christian faith”
Author “Biblical Marriage” (to be published in
June 2012)
If interested – from “Hebraic Insights – 95
messages exploring the Hebrew Roots of Christian faith”
29. Which
Ten Commandments?
We want the Ten
Commandments to be put back in our
public schools. Here is an interesting question: Which Ten Commandments should we put up—Jewish, Catholic, or
Protestant?
Let’s explore the evolution.
We need to keep in mind that these
were not products
of the same time period.
The Jewish Ten Commandments were in place many centuries
before the Roman Catholic Church came into
being in the late fourth century. In Christianity the Roman Catholic
version was the only version for well over 1,000 years. Remember, it
wasn’t until the sixteenth century that the first Protestant
churches
were established. And there are word and translation differentiations in the various Bible translations (some of which are denominationally
driven). And, of course, each of the different
religious authorities tells its
followers that their version is God’s Word and God’s will.
So, whose version should
be displayed?
Examine the three different versions of the Ten Commandments and answer the following
questions:
1) What are the differences between them?
2) What changes did the Catholic
Church make to the Jewish
version? And why was
it changed?
3) What changes to the Catholic
version did the Protestants make? And why was it changed?
4) Is the Protestant version more similar to the Catholic
or the Jewish version?
5) Which
version would Jesus have
known?
6) Could it be that the words of the Bible
have been manipulated by theologians?
7) How
many manipulations, inconsistencies, or misinterpretations can you
find?
I don’t have all the answers. So send your answers to me by e-mail. Yosef1@cox.net
|
Jewish
|
Catholic
|
Protestant
|
|
I am the Lord
your G-d who has taken you
out
of the land of Egypt.
|
I, the Lord,
am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.
|
You shall have no other
gods but me.
|
|
You shall have no other gods but
me.
|
You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.
|
You shall not make unto you
any graven images.
|
|
You shall not take the name of the Lord your G-d in vain.
|
Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
|
You shall not take the name
of the Lord your God in vain.
|
|
You shall remember the Sabbath
and keep it Holy.
|
Honor your father
and your mother.
|
You shall remember the Sabbath
and keep it Holy.
|
|
Honor your mother and father.
|
You shall not kill.
|
Honor your mother and father.
|
|
You shall not murder.
|
You shall not commit adultery.
|
You shall not murder.
|
|
You shall not commit adultery.
|
You shall not steal.
|
You shall not commit
adultery.
|
|
You shall not steal.
|
You shall not bear false witness.
|
You shall not steal.
|
|
You shall not bear false witness.
|
You shall not covet your neighbor’s
wife.
|
You shall not bear false witness.
|
|
You shall not covet anything that
belongs to your neighbor.
|
You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
|
You shall not covet anything that
belongs to
your neighbor.
|
Point to Ponder
This would make an interesting discussion group topic!
