Religious Scholarship & Literacy's video: UULA Adult RE BS L 20: The Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant Exodus 19-24

Recording of the Biblical Scholarship and Literacy class given Sunday, January 19th at 11:15am. We will cover Exodus 19-24. The subject will be the Decalogue (a fancy term for the 10 commandments) and "The Book of the Covenant" (Exodus 20:22–23:33). Outline: 19: The Covenant Proposed 20:1-17: The Decalogue 20:18-21: The Reaction to God’s Fiery Presence 20:22-23:33: The Book of the Covenant 24: Ratification of the Covenant According to the narrative, when the Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai, they were to consecrate themselves and prepare to receive the Law. According to the text, all of Israel heard God speak the "Ten Words/things" of the Decalogue. Then Moses received further instructions that he later wrote down. These later instructions are called "The Book of the Covenant". After this, the people entered a covenant to keep theses laws through sacrifice. We note how the three-fold gradations of holiness set up around Mt. Sinai mirror the pattern from the tabernacle and later temple. The Decalogue was said to have been written on two stone tablets. The writing of law codes on these sorts of memorial tablets is a common feature in the Ancient Near East, most famously seen in the Law Code of Hammurabi. The internal evidence suggests that The Book of the Covenant (or Covenant Code) represents an older law code, before cultic worship was centralized at the Jerusalem temple, as it assumes that multiple altars will be constructed (a fact which contradicts the laws found in other parts of the Bible). We compare these instructions with what we find at the Early Israelite temple at Arad. Covenant and Law were common in the Ancient Near East, and we have many examples of law codes that dramatically predate those found in the Bible (such as the famous Law Code of Hammurabi, which is only one of many such codes with parallels in these verses). Laws in the Ancient Near East were typically given in long lists of rules (thou shalt not) and case laws (If someone does X, then Y should happen). Many of the laws in the Bible have striking parallels from earlier law codes found among Israel's neighbors. Given these parallels, the Biblical law codes should not be seen as "timeless" statements of eternally applicable morality. Instead, they have a clear cultural context and a historical background. It is also significant that Israel's law code was embedded within a larger narrative framework. Both the laws, and the stories were intended to provide instruction for our lives. In this case, the narrative of deliverance forms the prologue to the laws. For Israel, law was seen as the result of deliverance. not the other way around. Because YHWH saved them in the Exodus, YHWH could provide them with laws that they should follow. The ratification of the covenant in Exodus 24 has many similarities to the story of Abraham and Isaac found in Genesis 22, indicating a connection between the two stories in the mind of the author. These lectures are part of our Biblical Scholarship and Literacy course. Recordings of previous lectures and links to additional resources are available on the course web-page: https://sites.google.com/view/biblicalscholarshipandliteracy/home