May 15th, 2007 From slave to master
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
Exodus 20:17 [show]<div class="esv"><h2>Exodus 20:17 <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F02020017" width="40" height="12" class="audio"><param name="movie" value="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F02020017" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object></h2> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p02020017.01-1"><span class="verse-num" id="v02020017-1">17 </span>“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p> </div> </div>
And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
Deuteronomy 5:21 [show]<div class="esv"><h2>Deuteronomy 5:21 <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F05005021" width="40" height="12" class="audio"><param name="movie" value="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F05005021" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object></h2> <div class="esv-text"><p id="p05005021.01-1"><span class="verse-num" id="v05005021-1">21 </span>“‘And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.’ (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p> </div> </div>
I was at a luncheon a couple months ago with Jim Jordan and seem to recall he made reference to the change made to the tenth commandment between Exodus and Deuteronomy. As you can see from the verses, the wife is moved from a position of being inside the house, one of the possessions of the man that are part of the household, to being outside/above the house, which would put her in a position of mastery over the house and its possessions.
Here’s an idea regarding this change in the command. When the ten commandments were first given, Israel had just left Egypt, the house of slavery (Exodus 5:2 [show]<div class="esv"><h2>Exodus 5:2 <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F02005002" width="40" height="12" class="audio"><param name="movie" value="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F02005002" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object></h2>
<div class="esv-text"><p id="p02005002.01-1"><span class="verse-num" id="v02005002-1">2 </span>But Pharaoh said, “Who is the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span>, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span>, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p>
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). The second telling of the ten commandments takes place right before Israel enters to possess the land (Deuteronomy 5:33 [show]<div class="esv"><h2>Deuteronomy 5:33 <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F05005033" width="40" height="12" class="audio"><param name="movie" value="http://www.esvapi.org/assets/play.swf?myUrl=hw%2F05005033" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /></object></h2>
<div class="esv-text"><p id="p05005033.01-1"><span class="verse-num" id="v05005033-1">33 </span>You shall walk in all the way that the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span> your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess. (<a href="http://www.esv.org" class="copyright">ESV</a>)</p>
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</div>) at the end of Moses’ life. I’m wondering if the tenth command mirrors this change in Israel’s status as they move from slaves in Egypt to a position of mastery in the promised land. I’m sure it has significance beyond this reference to the history of redemption, but it seems to tie in with Israel’s changing status.
May 15th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
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