Ten Commandments, Dixie Style

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Commandment I – Ex. 20:1-6

I am YHVH thy god (elohim), who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of bondage.

The Unpronouncable Name represented by YHVH was unpronounceable in the sense that only the Kohanic priests (by definition patrilineal descendants of Aaron the brother of Moses) were allowed to pronounce it, and that only sotto voce, when called for in the divine services which they alone were permitted to conduct.  The only thing that is known for sure about the tetragrammaton (the four letters yod he vaw he, represented as “Lord” in the King James translation) is that it was meant to conceal the actual pronunciation of the Name.  The Y and V are variously transliterated as J and W, depending on how the Hebrew letters are equated to Roman letters.  Since the letters were not meant to spell the actual Name, the issue is moot.

Out of a sense of the sacredness attached to any written reference to their god, observant Jews read “adonai” for both YHVH and Elohim, and in their ordinary Bibles (as opposed to sacred scrolls) that is the word that is printed – except one or two vowels are replaced by a punctuation mark, as a reminder of the sacredness of the word.  This is even carried over into translations and original compositions in other languages, which is why Orthodox publications in English are littered with “L*rd” and “G*d,” neither of which is ever given its proper English spelling.

“I am the Lord thy god” is typographic sacrilege to Orthodox Jews.  Even if the Louisiana law were amended to permit “I am the L*rd thy g*d” on the mandated posters, the many other omissions in the Lousiana text would probably leave it objectionable to the Orthodox, but the spelling of that which must not be spelled is a quandary of which we may be certain that the lawgivers Dodie Horton and her companions were and are entirely unaware.

When the new law is challenged in court, it is likely the objections of pious Jews will receive a more sympathetic hearing than Muslims demanding “I am Allah thy god” or Hindus calling for “We are Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva thy gods.”

The pronunciation of the tetragrammaton was revealed, among Cohanim, from father to son.  Since the destruction of the Second Temple, the knowledge of the correct pronunciation has been lost, as was proven when a number of Cohanim were recently brought together by Third Temple enthusiasts in Israel.  It was discovered that various traditions did not agree.  Considering that (Lev. 10:1) YHVH sent fire out from the altar to consume Aaron’s first set of sons because they offered incense when it was not called for by the rubrics, one would think that caution is called for.  Nobody likes having his name mispronounced.)

The tradition treating the Name as a sacrosanct arcanum revealed to Moses at Mount Horeb is, however, hard to square with the fact that men had been calling on it since the days of Adam’s grandson.  Gen. 4:26.

In the abbreviated and bowdlerized version whose publication is decreed by the Louisana legislature, the KJV convention, YHVH = theLord (in large and small capitals), is observed only in its truncated first commandment.  Elsewhere YHVH is simply “Lord.”  Giving the new law the Talmudic attention it deserves, it will be noted that the authors have cleverly sidestepped controversy by adopting Ten unnumbered Commandments.

But the very words “I am (particular name represented, or rather misrepresented, by YHVH) thy god (Elohim, elsewhere – including in the next verse – translated as “gods”) reveal a problem in our understanding of ancient Hebrew religion.  If it was monotheistic in a modern theological sense, the First Commandment was in effect “I am God your God,” an assertion which falls flat without the “cloud and majesty and awe” that had the Hebrews begging Moses to make Him be quiet.

Ye shall have no other gods before me.

Here the pronoun translated as “before” has the primary lexical meaning “above.”  A god allowing the possible existence of other gods but claiming primacy over them, among Hebrews, for having brought the Hebrews out of Eqypt is different from God, the Ground of Being, knowledge of Whom makes the idea of other deities irrelevant, if not absurd.  “Before,” as in “in My Presence,” and “above,” as in “superior to Me” are two very different meanings.  But pronouns are not uncommonly challenging for translators.

Anyway, if YHVH is to be the supreme god of the Hebrews because he brought them out of bondage in Egypt, what does that mean for other nationalities?  Couldn’t proud Teutons reply “We are the sons of Siegfried and have never been slaves to any man”?

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

The gloss “graven image = cult statue = idol” would solve any problem with this verse, but for the obvious generality of “any likeness.”  Very few today, and probably just as few in ancient Israel, would think it sinful of a child to draw a picture of his pet dog or cat.  This commandment is a fine example of the “off again” side of the on-again, off-again literalism of today’s Christian fundamentalists.  As in many other instances, the Muslims can lay better claim to vital piety as measured by this commandment.  As for the Louisiana lawgivers, they have simply repealed all after “graven image.”

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Commandment II – Ex. 20:7

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Considering all the mystery surrounding the sacred Name YHVH, it is far from clear what all might have been encompassed by taking it “in vain” to the ancient Hebrews.  Actually, the word here rendered “in vain” generally means “falsely.”

Perhaps the commandment refers to “swearing” in a sense similar to modern English, though it seems a bit of a stretch.  The human tendency to acknowledge deity and at the same time invoke it irreverently is witnessed by, among many other examples, the incessant  “mehercle” (my Hercules) that served as an all-purpose intensive in classical conversation.  No doubt it reflects an improperly irreverent attitude, and on that account ought not to be indulged in.

Maybe this injunction got the status of its own commandment because the sacred Name was not so universally treated with reverence as later Jewish sources would have us believe.  The interpretation “If you make a vow to YHWH by name, keep it or else” would imply that the sacred Name was uttered for other than liturgical purposes.

Commandment III – Ex. 20:8-11

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The Seventh-Day Adventists and other sabbatarians, including all observant Jews, are qute correct in condemning the dishonesty of “sabbath” in this supposed translation.  The word simply means “seventh,” referring to the seventh day of the week – that is, Saturday.

Whether one believes that the church did well or ill in transferring the one-out-of-seven observance to Sunday, the weekly Feast of the Resurrection, mystifying the simple word “seventh” into a mysterious “sabbath” is clearly not honest translation.

The lawgivers of Louisiana omit all but verse 8, while retaining the non-translation “sabbath.”

It will be noticed that our contemporary literalists, even the most extreme fundamentalists, apparently have no strong objections to the two-day weekend, despite the divine injunction to labor six days out of seven.

There is no need to interpret the words “and rested the seventh day” as implying that Omnipotence gets tired and needs an occasional rest.  Rather, having caused the coming-to-be of a moral agent other than Himself, God fulfilled His creative purpose. 

This commandment may be accurately translated, and appropriately summed up, as “Remember to make your Saturdays special.”

Commandment IV – Ex. 20:12

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

We arrive at last at a recognizably moral command, even if a prudential rationale is attached.  Note that it is a positive command, as distinct from the “thou shalt nots” which constitute the remaining recognized commandments.

Commandment V – Ex. 20:13

Thou shalt not kill.

It is not clear why King James’ scholars chose “to kill” to render the Hebrew verb here.  Although the lexical meanings are not quite so clear-cut as the corresponding modern English verbs, the Hebrew verb used is certainly better translated as “to murder” rather than “to kill,” a much broader and simpler concept.  Where humans are concerned, the Hebrew word is used of violent, wrathful or vengeful slayings.

Commandment VI  – Ex. 20:14

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

The Hebrew term seems to have required that the female participant be married to someone other than the male for this offense to be committed – in other words, this commandment does not forbid fornication with an unnarried woman. On the other hand the word is used for conduct ranging from idolatry to _.

Commandment VII  – Ex. 20:15

Thou shalt not steal.

Of course the concept of theft requires a developed sense of personal property ownership, but to the extent that the furtiveness  of the act is implied, knowledge that others would object to the act as wrongfully depriving someone of the thing stolen renders theft immoral however underdeveloped the concept of property might be.

Commandment VIII  – Ex. 20:15

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

This commandment leaves plenty of room for “white lies,” little or big.  If no one is injured, the commandment is not violated.  Moralists will argue that a knowing untruth is like a stone thrown into a pond.  The extent its ripples will travel cannot be known, but truth-telling and trust themselves are diminished.  However, embroidering on the Commandments is virtually a cottage industry.

Commandment IX & X  – Ex. 20:17

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

The lawgivers of Louisiana follow the Roman Catholics in dividing verse 17 into parts a (ending with “house”) and b (through “wife”) and c (all the rest).  Their version gives 17a in its entirety.  Then in 17b, they elide “nor his ox, nor his ass” into “his cattle.”  Does their knowledge of their juvenile captive audience give them the right to alter the Word of God?  What should be the fate of pious grade-schoolers who mark up their classroom poster to restore the Biblical words?

Various traditions use different divisions to stretch verse 17 into two or three commandments.  The discourse delivered directly by YHVH Himself, greatly annoying the Hebrews, is referred to more than once (though not in Ex. 20) as “the ten words.”  The problem is that if we don’t stop with verse 17, the next “thou shalt and shalt nots” come at verses 23 through 26:

23: Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

24: An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.

25: And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.

26: Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

Verse 23 doesn’t seem to add anything to verses 4 and 5, already comfortably ensconced in Commandment I.  Verse 24 would involve the State of Louisiana in requiring burnt offerings.  Verse 25 talks about “altars,” an uncomfortable subject for most Louisiana Protestants and it also raises the vexed subject of the pollution of stone by lifting up one’s tool upon it.  Worst of all is verse 26.  In Moses’ day, men didn’t wear pants (over or under).  If they walked on top of the altar, God could and apparently would peep up their skirts and not like what He saw.  No, all in all it’s clearly best to stretch verse 17 at any cost.