The Ten Commandments

Ethics for the Twenty-First Century

Mark Rooker

• Publisher: B&H Academic
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781433671562
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

In this new volume from the New American Commentary Studies in Bible & Theology series, Mark Rooker discusses one by one the language of each of the Ten Commandments and its complete meaning in the ancient context. Adding a depth of understanding that can't be obtained by looking only at the commandment itself, he shows how each commandment echoes elsewhere in the Old Testament, how it was violated in Israel's history, and how it surfaces again in the New Testament. In conclusion, Rooker includes an extended section on the theological significance of each commandment and its contemporary implications.

Chapter 1

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT

Do not have other gods besides Me.

Introduction

The ancient Near Eastern world was steeped in the belief and worship of many gods. God revealed Himself to Moses and the children of Israel in the midst of this pagan, polytheistic culture. In pagan thought, no one god was ultimate, and gods were believed to be finite and not absolute. No one god was believed to possess unlimited wisdom or power. Rather, they were considered to be more like superhumans than sovereign deities. They had impulses and desires and committed evil acts.¹

The characteristic mark of pagan thought was the belief in the existence of a primordial realm above the gods that had control over activities of the gods. The gods were dependent on this realm from which they emerged. It was believed the gods were merely personal embodiments of seminal forces, all on a par with one another and all rooted in the primordial realm.² The gods were thus believed to have origins; many of them were believed to have come into being through procreation. The same ancient Near Eastern mythological literature that addresses the creation of the world also speaks of the creation of the gods.³ All aspects and forces of the natural world were believed to be associated with some deity, as nature was nothing but the manifestation of the divine. In many ways pagan worship was the worship of the forces of nature.⁴

The notion that gods were subject to the primordial realm led to the belief that gods could be influenced by magic and ritual. Rituals were performed to manipulate the gods to act in one’s favor. Pagan worshippers would try to please or placate a god by providing a sacrifice of food or drink. If the god was satisfied with the offering, it was believed, he would be appeased and perhaps act to benefit the devotee. In a world that adhered to pagan beliefs, man sought to control the gods for his own advantage.

The Meaning of the First Commandment

In the first commandment we find a prohibition against the worship and service of any other god than Yahweh, the true God and Lord of Israel. The Hebrew formula l

yihyeh (l

) (“do not have”)⁵ means to keep or refrain from having a relationship with. The positive (nonnegated) statement yihyeh (l

) was a comma idiom for the establishment of a marriage. The positive statement later became the formulaic expression for the unique covenant relationship between God and Israel,⁶ as the terminology for marriage became the classical terminology for Israel’s covenant relationship with God.⁷ The most intimate of all relationships on the human plane became the analogy for God’s intimate relationship with His people. This commandment implies that there may be no third parties in a person’s relationship with God, just as there may be no intruding third parties in a marriage. Indeed, the expression of not pursuing

l

hîm

rîm (“other gods”) is reminiscent of a wife pursuing

îš

a

r (“another man,” Deut 24:2). As Jeffrey Tigay has noted:

In practical terms the commandment means that Israelites may have no relationship of any kind with other gods; they may not build altars, sanctuaries, or images to them, make offerings to them, consult them, prophesy or take oaths in their names, or even mention their names.⁸

The Lord (Yahweh) will brook no rival in His universe because the Lord is the God who brought the people out of the house of bondage.⁹

Exclusive Monotheism

The prescription for the first commandment is for God’s people not to have any other gods

al p

n

(a)y (“besides Me”). This last phrase has been the subject of much discussion. Suggested renderings include: (1) “next to me,” (2) “except me,” (3) “over me, to my disadvantage,” (4) “in front of me,” (5) “opposite me, before my face,” and (6) “in defiance of me.”¹⁰ Illustrations from biblical usage can be garnered for each of these meanings. The object of the preposition (translated “Me”) is the Hebrew word p

nîm, “face.” This word occurs more than 2,100 times in the Old Testament and is often used metaphorically, as here, referring to the person as a whole.¹¹ The rendering “besides Me” is harmonious with the early versions of the LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and Aramaic targums.¹² The use of the personal pronoun places a stress on the personal nature of the command (see Exod 20:2). Men may be able to evade the eyes of other men, but they will not be able to escape the notice of God as they pay homage to other gods.

The Bible and Monotheism

Many critical scholars maintain that what we find here in the prohibition to worship other gods is a tacit acknowledgement that the Israelites believed other gods existed, but now they are called on to worship Yahweh as the only God.¹³ Yet the Bible is clear that there is but one God (see Isa 40:12–31; 43:8–13; 45:5–6; 46:5–13). “Today, recognize and keep in mind that the LORD is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other” (Deut 4:39); “I am the first and the last. There is no God but Me” (Isa 44:6). As one reads Pss 95–99, psalms that enthusiastically speak of the one God who reigns as king and judge over all the earth, there is no room for polytheistic thoughts.¹⁴ There are no other gods in reality. The belief in other gods, however, was ingrained in ancient Near Eastern society, and the Israelites were tempted to adopt pagan concepts and views. The gods were something only in the sense that the people of God had to contend with the idea of them. The temptation to acknowledge and show allegiance to something other than the true God is real in the human experience. As Yehezekel Kaufmann says: “In reality there are no other gods. Belief in the existence of other gods was real and ingrained in the polytheistic world of Israel’s day though in fact other gods did not exist. A believer would not have a relationship with another god, real or imagined.”¹⁵ The first commandment does not affirm that other gods exist even though it refers to them. They are merely constructs of the human imagination or belong to the created order.¹⁶ This law addresses the beliefs of people from a culture inundated with the polytheistic view of the world; it does not affirm that other gods actually exist.

The First Commandment in the Old Testament

The teaching of the first commandment permeates the Holy Scriptures, both Old Testament and New Testament. The prohibition regarding worship of other gods is seen in Exod 22:20[19], which forbids sacrificing to another god; Exod 23:13, which bars mention of the names of other gods; Exod 34:14, which forbids bowing down to another god; and Deut 11:16, which forbids serving or worshipping other gods. The violation of the first commandment in the making of the golden calf was such a gross transgression of God’s law that Moses smashed the tablets that contained all the Ten Commandments (Deut 9:17). But the worship of illicit gods did not stop in this early stage of Israel’s history.¹⁷

Worship of Foreign Gods in Israel’s Early History

The history of Israel was plagued by the sin of worshipping other gods. From the time of entering Canaan, the Israelites came under the influence of Canaanite religion and worshipped gods and goddesses such as Baal, Asherah, and...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Endorsements
• Title
• Other Books in Series
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• Series Preface
• Author Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Name Index
• Subject Index
• Scripture Index