The Ten Commandments
A Short History of an Ancient Text
-
- USD 2.99
-
- USD 2.99
Descripción editorial
Are the Commandments really written in stone? A biblical scholar offers an "engrossing and enlightening guide to one of the world's great legal codes" (Booklist).
In this lively, provocative book, Michael Coogan takes us into the ancient past to examine the Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue. How, among all the laws reportedly given on Mount Sinai, did the Ten Commandments become the Ten Commandments? When did that happen? There are several versions of the Decalogue in the Old Testament, so how have different groups determined which is the most authoritative? Why were different versions created?
Coogan discusses the meanings the Ten Commandments had for audiences in biblical times and observes that the form of the ten proscriptions and prohibitions was not fixed—as one would expect since they were purported to have come directly from God—nor were the Commandments always strictly observed. In later times as well, Jews and especially Christians ignored and even rejected some of the prohibitions, although the New Testament clearly acknowledges the special status of the Ten Commandments. Today it is plain that some of the values enshrined in the Decalogue are no longer defensible, such as the ownership of slaves and the labeling of women as men's property. Yet in line with biblical precedents, the author concludes that while a literal observance of the Ten Commandments is misguided, some of their underlying ideals remain valid in a modern context.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Few people question what is meant in The Ten Commandments. Displays of the tablets in courtrooms and on religious structures promote a vision of two tablets, written by the finger of God, eternal and unchangeable. But Coogan (A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament), a Hebrew Bible specialist and director of publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum, begs to differ. In this brief but potent treatise, the author explains how religious and secular scholarship has served to challenge a simplistic understanding of the Decalogue, causing us to rethink popular presuppositions. Talmudic scholars have contended for centuries over the meaning of the commandments. Coogan juxtaposes the various traditionally understood readings (three interpretations in all) and shows how, even in Scripture, Israel's understanding of the commandments morphed and matured. In fact, Coogan insists that they weren't written by God at all, but rather developed as Israel's covenant with Yahweh evolved. The author insists that public posting of the commandments does an injustice to the dynamic nature of this fundamental set of moral laws, enshrining them in stone rather than letting them breathe new life to every generation. A thoughtful, challenging study.
