The Rest of the Story

Experience teaches us there are two sides to every story. Rare is the objectively transmitted tale. This is true with the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments. In 622 BCE, King Josiah of Judah (641-609 BCE) began extensive building work on Solomon’s Temple. During construction, the Book of the Law was discovered and was said to be the authentic law given to Moses at Mt. Sinai. According to Bedouin tradition, this is where God transmitted His laws to the Israelites (c. 1490 BCE).

Most scholars agree it can’t be. Moses lived during a time of oral tradition. There is no evidence that Yahweh’s teachings had been written down during this time frame. Think about it. Bedouins are moving from place to place, trying to survive. Writing is not exactly a key survival skill and writing was a hallmark of settled societies. More to the point, the first authors of the Bible, the priestly guys known as J and E, wrote Moses delivered it orally. (Check out Exodus 19:5-8.) Moses spoke Yahweh’s words to the people and they orally affirmed their submission to Yahweh. “All that Yahweh has spoken, we will do.” J and E did not mention the Ten Commandments.

So where do we get the image of Moses holding a stone tablet of the Big Ten? The majority of Bible scholars finger King Josiah. The scrolls were an early version of the what is now known as the Book of Deuteronomy. Instead of being an ancient document, this was an entirely new scripture. It described Moses delivering a second law in Greek Deuteronium to his people from Mt. Nebo shortly before his death. Scholars date it to the late 7th century BCE and is likely the product of the religious reforms mandated by King Josiah.

You see Josiah, whose country was enjoying a respite from being a vassal to Assyria now that Eqypt had run the Assyrians out of the Levant, decided to strut its independence. His people had not only been worshipping their national god, Yahweh, (who had been arbitrarily chosen from the pantheon of gods being worshipped way back when) but other gods such as Baal and Ashura. These latter gods were Assyrian. Josiah wanted to make a declaration of independence from all things Assyrian. The world of Yahweh was in danger and Josiah needed to save it.

Josiah had to persuade his people to only follow Yahweh. How did he do it? He enrolled in an continuing ed course called Establishing a New Religion 101. To impart a new religious teaching, you must attribute your words to a great figure of the past (or from on high.) The scribes, called the Deuteronomists, believed they were speaking for Moses. They wrote down the laws King Josiah wanted his subjects to follow and claimed them to be the long-lost words of Moses.

Since people rarely question anything, they believed it. After all the people in power say it is true. Must be.

All it took for me to believe was a picture of long-bearded (read: wise) Moses holding the slate on the mountain top (complete with ominous clouds and lightening) and I believed. It is so easy to lead people with an image. It is also easy to lead people if you say something emphatically enough. Madison Avenue and politicians know that. If images and sound bytes won’t work, celebrity will. (Yes even sacred figures are celebrities.) If so and so says that/buys that/wear that then it must be right/good/best/true.

So how did the Ten Commandments come to be mentioned in the Book of Exodus? Lather authors of the Bible wove it in, hoping to appear seamless, but thinking people actually caught on. Scholars question so now I know…. the rest of the story.

Sources: How the Bible Became a Book by William Schniedewind
The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong
Wikipedia
Harper’s Bible Dictionary by Paul J. Achtemeier
Deuteronomy NIBC by Christopher Wright