A few years ago, I discovered aspects about the Ten Commandments that deeply concerned me. I’m finally putting pen to paper with my concerns and in the process hoping to make sense of it all.

In this article I will discuss Moses’s encounter with the God of the Mountain, where he was handed a Moral Code. As a Christian I used to believe it was a Moral Code for all of humanity but soon discovered that to the ancient Israelites it was a comprehensive Law Code which was specifically for them. Judaism teaches that it was at that precise moment that God handed Moses not only written Laws but a huge compilation of Oral Laws which make up the Torah/Talmud. Judaism and Christianity part ways almost immediately at this point, as Christians do not accept that the Talmud (Oral Traditions) were handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai.

I am astounded that with all the experience and knowledge acquired by Christians over the last 2000 years, they still haven’t raised the issue about the variances in the Ten Commandments. I will explain these variances in detail in this article. Jews and Christians have totally different concepts of the Ten Commandments. I will conclude with what I believe are the most important Commandments for Christians to follow, from a New Testament perspctive.

A Jewish Perspective on the Ten Commandments:

“The Ten are so closely interwoven, that the breaking of one leads to the breaking of another.”

“The first commandment: “I am the Lord, thy God,” corresponds to the sixth: “Thou shalt not kill,” for the murderer slays the image of God. The second: “Thou shalt have no strange gods before me,” corresponds to the seventh: “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” for conjugal faithlessness is as grave a sin as idolatry, which is faithlessness to God.” Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews (Complete). Book Masters. Kindle Edition.

Please read my comment about the “Thou shalt not kill” Commandment further down in this article. In my opinion Jews view this as only killing their own, that is fellow-Jews, this Commandment does not apply to outsiders.

A Jewish Mystical Perspective of the Ten Commandments:

Ten Commandments:” (twrbdh trç/Eseret ha-Dibrot). The two tablets on which God inscribed the commandments were first carved from the Foundation Stone (Tanh. Kedoshim 10). When Moses shattered the first tablets, the letters flew back up to heaven (Avot 5:6; AdRN 2:11; Shab. 146a; Eruv. 54a; Deut. R. 15:17). God required Moses to make the second tablets with mortal hands, so the second stones did not have the same potent power, though the second stones were actually sapphire (PdRE 44).

“Surprisingly, while the Ten Commandments are a frequently cited text, they are rarely used in Jewish rituals of power.”

Dennis, Geoffrey W. The Encyclopaedia of Jewish Myth, Magic & Mysticism (p. 416). Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD. Kindle Edition.

“Again, the first six letters of the book of Genesis, BRAShIT, Berasit, translated “In the beginning,” but more properly “In wisdom,” are the initials of the words BRAShIT RAH ALHIM ShYQBLU IShRAL TURH, read “Berasit rauah Elohim shyequebelu Israel torah,” which mean “In the beginning, God saw that Israel would accept the Law.”

“Two old conceits were that the Tenth wave of the sea is always larger than others; and that birds laid the 10th egg of a larger size than the others. The word Ten was used by the Hebrews, instead of “a large number,” so that care must be exercised in translating this; thus, Nehemiah interprets “ten generations” of Deuteronomy xxiii. v. 3 to mean “for ever.” Nehemiah xiii. 1. The Kabbalists called 5, 6 and 10 circular numbers, because when squared, the result shows the same number in the unit figure, thus: 5 times 5 are 25 and 5 times 25 are 125 6 times 6 are 36  6 times 36 are 216 10 times 10 are 100   10 times 100 are 1000.” William Wynn Westcott. Numbers, Their Occult Power and Mystic Virtues (pp. 27, 94). Global Grey. Kindle Edition.

Never underestimate Kabbalah’s influence in modern-day Judaism, it is significant.

What is Kabbalah? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabbalah

A Christian Perspective of the Ten Commandments:

Albert Edersheim in Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah believed that for the Christian the Ten Beatitudes mentioned in Matthew Ch. 5 were given as a substitution for the Ten Commandments under the New Covenant.

“In the first part of the Sermon on the Mount the Kingdom of God is delineated generally, first positively, and then negatively, marking especially how its righteousness goes deeper than the mere letter of even the Old Testament Law. It opens with Ten Beatitudes, which are the New Testament counterpart to the Ten Commandments. These present to us, not the observance of the Law written on stone, but the realisation of that Law which, by the Spirit, is written on the fleshly tables of the heart.” Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah – Enhanced Version (p. 529). Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

In some texts the Ten Commandments have been edited to make them flow:

“The Samaritan Pentateuch harmonises the different wording of the Ten Commandments in the Masoretic text of Exod. 20 and Deut. 5.”

“It counts these commandments as nine and adds a tenth: “And it shall come to pass when the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land of the Canaanites whither thou goest to take possession of it, thou shalt erect unto thee large stones, and thou shalt cover them with lime, and thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this Law, and it shall come to pass when ye cross the Jordan, ye shall erect these stones which I command thee upon Mount Garizim.”

“And thou shalt build there an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones, and thou shalt not lift up upon them iron; of perfect stones shalt thou build thine altar, and thou shalt bring up upon it burnt offerings to the Lord thy God, and thou shalt sacrifice peace offerings, and thou shalt eat there and rejoice before the Lord thy God.” Scott, J. Julius, Jr.; Scott, Julius J… Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament. Baker Book Group – A. Kindle Edition.

Let’s hear from some experts about the Ten Commandments or the Ten Words in Judaism:

“The concept of Torah-law is the fourth essential area of the Hebrew faith. The biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy contain 613 written laws or instructions to direct every facet of the life of the Hebrews. These laws include injunctions and directives in several broad areas. Later writers (mostly Christian) divided the Old Testament law into ceremonial (religious ritual), civil, and moral (including the Ten Commandments). Such a division may be helpful in identifying the areas covered by the Old Testament instructions, but it can also be misleading. To the Hebrews the law was one, and all parts were of equal importance.” Scott, J. Julius, Jr.; Scott, Julius J… Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament. Baker Book Group.

If I’m understanding Scott, the Pentateuch contains the 613 Laws of Judaism. Although, what I discovered is contrary to that. The 613 Laws of Judaism or 613 letters are not throughout the Pentateuch they are in the Ten Commandments. Judaism teaches the number 10 is symbolic for much greater numbers, 613 for instance and 620 which I will explain later. Again, Christians totally misunderstand numbers in the Hebrew Scriptures. They take everything in a literal sense when in fact it is not.

The entire Hebrew Scriptures consists of numbers and symbols, they are books of symbolic numbers and not just words. You have to be able to read the numbers, not just the words.

“In these Ten are included the 613 Commandments. If you count the letters in the Ten Commandments, you will find that there are 613 letters. They contain all 22 letters except Tet, which is missing in them. What is the reason for this? This teaches us that Tet is the belly — and it is not included among the Sefirot.” Kaplan, Aryeh. The Bahir (p. 47). Red Wheel Weiser. The Bahir also mention 620 laws within the Ten, the 7 additional laws are mostly associated with The Noachides. In my opinion The Noachides will be required to obey 620 laws and the followers of Judaism 613. The Ten Commandments are irrelevant if this is the case as the only numbers that matter are 613 and 620.

Also, this from Louis Ginsberg: “The Ten Commandments, which God first revealed on Mount Sinai, correspond in their character to the ten words of which He had made use at the creation of the world. The first commandment: “I am the Lord, thy God,” corresponds to the first word at the creation: “Let there be light,” for God is the eternal light. The second commandment: “Thou shalt have no strange gods before me,” corresponds to the second word: “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews (Complete). Book Masters. Kindle Edition.

As we can see the number 10 is very significant in Hebrew literature:

Did Moses write the Ten Commandments?

It appears Moses’s delivery of the Ten/613 Commandments are set in concrete. But outside of the religious texts, what evidence do we have that Moses wrote the Ten Commandments or wrote anything for that matter? It goes without saying that archaeologists have dug up the entire Middle East looking for anything that would remotely confirm Moses. Sadly, nothing has been found to verify that he ever existed. Yet both the Hebrew Scriptures (Christian Old Testament) and the New Testament bear witness of his existence. Personally, I believe Moses existed but I’m rather suspicious about some of the things written about him in the religious texts. Or should I say the things he wrote about himself, like he was a very humble man and about his own death. So, what did Moses write?

The Maximalists all agree Moses wrote The Pentateuch, the Minimalists argue Moses wrote nothing, the in-between people believe he wrote only the Ten Commandments. “Moses is supposed to have lived about 1400 B.C.; these writings, say the destructive critics, were first produced in part about 730 B.C., but were mainly written after the Exile (about 444 B.C.), almost a thousand years after the death of Moses. “Strict and impartial investigation has shown,” says Dr Knappert, “that … nothing in the whole Law really comes from Moses himself except the Ten Commandments. And even these were not delivered by him in the same form as we find them now.” Gladden, Washington. WHO WROTE THE BIBLE? (non-illustrated) (p. 26).

Proof that the books attributed to Moses were written a long time after his death is very strong. Places, people groups and events written in past tense were clearly not written by him and occurred hundreds of years after his death. And that’s pretty much the truth about Moses.

What we find intwined in Moses’s Law is other ancient Laws that existed at that time, such as Hammurabi’s Law. These Laws still exist in stone for real, unlike Moses’s Law which tells us it was written in stone. I don’t understand why believers freak out at the thought of Universal Laws being incorporated into religious texts. It’s just life that Laws would be inherited into our everyday lives, whether religious or otherwise. The question we have to ask ourselves is this: Do we still have to follow Inherited Laws? The answer is empathically, “No.” If they are brutal, cruel, barbaric and belong in the era they were created and not in any modern day society. 

Interjections of Hammurabi’s Law into Moses’s Law, although some scholars believe similar laws may have existed hundreds of years even before Hammurabi. 

https://youtu.be/_rC5V5vEprs?si=dISCpE5dMdQPaFQs

The versions of the Ten Commandments:

Exodus Ch.19:3. “And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel.” Exodus Ch.19:20. “And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.”

Exodus Ch.20 Moses is given the Ten Commandments:

• You shall have no other Gods before me.
• You shall not make for yourself any image in heaven, earth, under the earth, to bow down to them or serve them.
• Not take the Name of the Lord in vain.
• Keep the Sabbath Day Holy.
• Honor your father and your mother.
• You shall not murder.
• You shall not commit adultery.
• You shall not steal.
• You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
• You shall not covet.

Directly after the Ten Commandments were given, we find ourselves faced with slavery, sex with servent girls. An aul through the ear confirming ownership of another human being (Exodus 21:6). Under Hammurabi’s Law code the ear was cut off.

There is also a clear advantages to being a male. After God stating that “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” The male is given permission to take another wife, provided he continues to provide food to the first.” Which in essence is polygamy (Exodus 21:10).

“Thou shalt not kill” takes on a whole meaning when precedence’s were established to do just that, kill people.

• Death for injury causing death Exodus 21:12
• Death for stealing Exodus 21:16
• Death for injuring father or Mother Exodus 21:15
• Death for cursing father or Mother Exodus 21:17
• “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, foot for foot.”
• Death for a witch Exodus 22:18
• Death for Bestiality Exodus 22:19
• Death for sacrificing to other gods, worshipping other gods Exodus 22:20
• Death for breaking the Sabbath even if you light a fire Exodus 35:2

Now go back and read the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me” and consider this, that in Judaism and Islam, Christians are considered Idolaterers for believing Jesus is God, or the Son of God.

I’ve heard that Murder/Killing is supposed to be different words, but are they? Of course not, it is a lie to justify killing. The KJV says ‘Kill’ modern translations say ‘Murder.’

The word ‘murder’ is carefully selected in modern translations, but it is used interchangeably with ‘kill’ throughout the Tanakh (Old Testament).

“Strong’s Definitions: øÈöÇç râtsach, raw-tsakh’; a primitive root; properly, to dash in pieces, i.e. kill (a human being), especially to murder: —put to death, kill, (man-) slay(-er), murder(-er).”

Exodus Ch.21 is very much an interjection of Hammurabi’s Babylonian Law, or Inherited Law, the Law of the land at that time which clearly demanded ‘Revenge’. Revenge is completely contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ. Revenge cannot be a good thing because it will eventually lead to destroying your enemies and yourself in the process.

Hammurabi ‘s Law: 300-400 years approx. before Moses.

I think you get the idea by now that none of the Ten Commandments were taken seriously then or now. Which makes it laughable that Christians in the United States are trying to have them displayed in Public Schools. We all know Trump keeps the Ten Commandments, right?

Comparison of the Ten Commandments God gave to Moses:

Exodus Ch.19: Exodus Ch.24 and Exodus Ch.31.

In Exodus Ch.19:3 Moses went up to the mountain. Then in Exodus Ch.20 Moses received 10 Commandments. Exodus Ch.32 While Moses was on the mountain, Aaron and the people make the Golden Calf.

Exodus Ch.34:1-2 Moses broke the first set of Commandments. This is very significant, because look what happens next. Talmudic Judaism (Ginsberg) gets written into the text. Even though Moses was punished for his temper tantrum, God says, “Hey, don’t fret, because now you have the opportunity to collect a whole lot of new laws.” Yippee!

This is what Louis Ginsberg said, “Then God said to him: (Moses) “Grieve not for the loss of the first two tables, which contained only the Ten Commandments.”Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews (Complete). Book Masters. Kindle Edition. It appears to me that the breaking of the original commandments was a good thing in hindsight, because it provided an opportunity for ancient Israel to obtain the entire new Torah, which includes Talmud and according to Ginsberg even Midrash. Christians freak out when I say the Old Testament contains Midrash. It does and it is most obvious in the Ten Commandments, and I will prove it to you.

The whole smashing the tablets thing is a little confusing to say the least. Personally, I get Moses went up the mountain and communed with God. That while he was away the people worshipped the Golden Calf. I get that Moses was horrified at what was going on and smashed the tablets in a fit of rage. I mean, which one of us hasn’t thrown something at some point? However, this incident of the smashing of the tablets led to the receiving of a much bigger volume of laws, the compilation of Talmudic Law. Which had to be a good thing for the Israelites, I guess, if you like lots and lots of laws.

In Deuteronomy Ch.9:10,11,17. Moses admits he broke the first lot of tablets.

Now I don’t know about you but unless God suffers from amnesia or something, if He gave Moses Ten Commandments and Moses broke them and if God says…” Come back up the mountain and I will re-write them.” God should remember what He wrote the first instance. That’s sounds logical to me, although, that’s not what happened.

Then God said to him: (Moses) “Grieve not for the loss of the first two tables (tablets), which contained only the Ten Commandments. The second tables (tablets) that I am now ready to give thee, shall contain Halakhoth, Midrash, and Haggadot.” At the new moon of the month Elul, Moses had the trumpet sounded throughout the camp, announcing to the people that he would once more betake himself to God for forty days to receive the second tables from Him, so that they might be alarmed by his absence; and he stayed in heaven until the tenth day of Tishri, on which day he returned with the Torah and delivered it to Israel. Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews (Complete). Book Masters. Kindle Edition.

Please note people that Torah is Halakhoth, Midrash, Haggadot, Talmud and everything that pertains to Jewish Law.

Deuteronomy Ch.10:4 says, “And he wrote on the tables (tablets) according to the First Writing, the Ten Commandments, which the LORD Spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me.” We can clearly see that this is not the case. Because in the Hebrew Scriptures the Christian Old Testament we are presented with a completely new set of commandments. In this instance Ginzberg is right and the new set of Commandments contained Midrash.

A whole new set of Commandments! Here’s the twist…These are the 7 Laws for Noachides. Remember I told you 613 for the Jews 620 for the Noachides. Noachides will be strictly judged on Idolatry (which includes a belief in Jesus Christ). And they will be required to keep the Feasts.

• No other Gods
• No molten Gods (Idols)
• Keep theFeast of Unleavend Bread on the month of Abib
• First born is mine (humans, cattle, finance).
• Keep the Sabbath
• Keep the Feast of Weeks
• Keep the Passover

That’s it! Is this in fact an abrogation of the original Ten Commandments given by God, re-written by a Jewish Rabbi/Scribe? “Exodus 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables (tablets) the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.” (“4. The Ten Commandments Are a ‘Covenant’ Document”)

Exodus Ch.34:28 says they are the Ten Commandments, despite there being only Seven Commandments. Even if you can count Ten, they are a total different set of Commandments that replaced the original.

Exodus Ch. 24 MOSES AND JOSHUA GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN (40 DAYS)

In Exodus Ch.19:3 Moses goes up alone and in Exodus Ch.24:12-13 Moses went up with Joshua. Exodus Ch.19:3. “And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel.” But in Ch.24, Moses went up the mountain with Joshua. Exodus Ch.24:12-13. “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the Law and Commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.” (This is where the Oral Traditions were written into the text). So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.” Forty days and forty nights. 

There Moses and Joshua are given the design and requirements for The Tabernacle in the Wilderness. 

Exodus Chapter 31:18 “And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” In Exodus Ch.24 the emphasis is on Moses and Joshua going up to the mountain and being up there forty days and forty nights. The instructions given to them on two tablets of stone, written with the finger of God was the instructions for The Tabernacle in the Wilderness. The only mention of anything to do with the Ten Commandments written in Exodus Ch.20 is The Sabbath (Exodus Ch.31:13-17). 

Was the Ten Commandments or the instructions for The Tabernacle written on stone? 

6) cf. Rabbi Levi in Berakhoth, fol. 5a; Rabbi Iochanan in Megillah, f.19b.(7) To prove this they appeal to Exodus Ch. XXIV, 12: “And the Lord God said to Moses, come up to me into the mountain, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.” They assert that in this passage the words “tables of stone” mean the ten commandments, that “a law” means the Pentateuch, “commandments” mean the Mischnah; “which I have written” the Prophets and the Hagiographers; and “that thou mayest teach them” the Gemarah. cf. Berakhoth, fol. 5a. The Talmud Unmasked.

Exodus Ch.32 While Moses is on the mountain, Aaron and the people make the Golden Calf. Except Aaron is also on the mountain, right? Exodus Ch.24:1. “And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.”

Exodus Ch.33:11a “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. 

In Exodus Ch.33:20 “And he said, Thou cannot not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” 

And in Exodus Ch.24:7 “And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.”

Moses was reading and writing in books in 1500 B.C. and God was still writing on stone? ☹️ Exodus 24:4-7 Moses had a book “The Book of the Covenant.” Exodus Ch.34:1 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.”

In all fairness to the text: Moses’s Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy Ch.5:7-22 are the same as Exodus 20.

• Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
• No graven images
• Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord they God in vain.
• Keep the Sabbath Holy
• Honor thy father and they mother.
• Thou shalt not kill.
• Thou shalt not commit adultery.
• Thou shalt not steal.
• Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
• Thou shalt not covert thy neighbour’s wife, goods, servants etc.

“These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables (tablets) of stone and delivered them unto me.”

In the mouth of two or three witnesses, so it is my opinion that Exodus Ch.34 and Leviticus Ch.19 are incorrect and Exodus Ch.20 and Deuteronomy Ch.5 are correct.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN LEVITICUS Ch.19:2-18

In Leviticus the Ten Commandments are woven into the entire chapter.

• Be Holy
• Respect your parents
• Do not worship idols and images
• Offer peace offerings
• Reap in your own vineyard
• Do not steal
• Do not take the name of the Lord in vain
• Do not cheat and steal from your neighbour
• Do not put a stumbling block before your neighbour, before the blind or curse the deaf.
• In righteousness you shall judge your neighbour
• Do not be a talebearer or take vengeance
• You shall love your neighbour as yourself
• You shall keep My Sabbaths.

37 ‘Therefore, you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments and perform them: I am the LORD.’” This is what I mean when I say the Tanakh, the Christian Old Testament contains Midrash.

What is Midrash? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midrash

The New Testament Laws from Jesus Christ:

Matthew Ch.5:38-39.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

It is my opinion that God never intended his followers to kill, murder, maim, disfigure or pluck people’s eyes out. Yet the same God who said, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Suddenly became revengeful in the Old Testament.

When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them One Commandment and that was not to eat of the forbidden fruit. Eating of the fruit (which was both physical and spiritual) opened their eyes to Good and Evil. It was NOT God’s intention for them to have knowledge of Good and Evil. He wanted them to only know Good and for them to walk with Him in the Garden of Eden, which was a type of Heaven on Earth. Which he created especially for them.

Adam and Eve broke the One Commandment and from then on, they were faced with a choice between Two Ways or Paths. The Good Way and the Evil Way. Because we are the descendants of Adam and Eve and they are our human ancestors, we have inherited that choice. Daily, hourly, minute by minute we must choose between Good and Evil.

People think this is an outrageous claim to make, but just look back on your own family history, how one decision your ancestors made determined your destiny. Or you may have a wayward child, you tell them, “Don’t do that, don’t go with that person, he could lead you down the wrong path.” But they don’t listen, they go ahead anyway, and there’s a tragedy, and the entire family are affected for generations.

There was One Commandment for Adam and Eve. Just One Commandment, don’t eat of the forbidden fruit.

There were Ten Commandments for the Ancient Israelites which was given by Moses on Mount Sinai. They expounded the Ten Commandments to 613 Laws in Judaism. From the Ten Commandments they also extracted 620 Noachide Laws. They did this using a form of interpretation called Midrash.

For the New Testament Believers, the followers of Jesus.

It’s back to One Commandment “The Greatest Commandment” Galatians 5:14

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Galatians 5:14.

Jesus said, a New Commandment I give unto you: John 13:34-35

The Greatest Commandment: Matthew 22:36-40

Matthew 11:30 My Yoke is Easy and my Burden Light

Since I mentioned Albert Eldersheim and his statement that for Christians, the Beatitudes in Matthew Ch.5 are the Ten Commandments, I will now go ahead and finish with The Beatitudes, the Commandments of Jesus Christ to His followers.

• Blessed are the poor in Spirit
• Blessed are those who mourn
• Blessed are the meek
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
• Blessed are the merciful
• Blessed are the pure in heart
• Blessed are the peacemakers
• Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake
• Blessed are you when people revile you
• Blessed are you when people persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake

Blessings for those who choose to follow this path, no more curses. Each one of the Beatitudes comes with its own reward. I would highly recommend that at some point in your spiritual journey you read The Life and Times of Jesus Christ by Albert Eldersheim.

In concluding, I stated that Christians have new laws in the New Testament which condense into one Law, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” I quoted Albert Eldersheim, author of The Life and Times of Jesus Christ who taught that The Beatitudes were a replacement of the Ten Commandments. I stated there are three versions of the Ten Commandments in the Tanach (Christian Old Testament). This can only mean that the original version was interpreted and expounded on, using Midrash. The number 10, like many other numbers are used symbolically throughout the Bible. It could mean 10 or a large number, when the large number is unknown. In order to understand how these numbers influence the text, you must read Jewish literature, extensively.

Personally, I doubt the broken tablets of stone theory, and believe it was invented to justify new Laws being added to the text. There was also a lot of toing and froing for my liking, up and down the mountain, with Aaron, with Joshua, with the Seventy Elders. Which unnecessarily confuses the text and exposes weaknesses. Deuteronomy Ch. 5 and Exodus 20 have the same Ten Commandments. Exodus Ch. 34 and Leviticus Ch. 19, suggest that different items were written on the tablets. Much of Moses’s Law Codes are very similar to those that existed at the time. Hammurabi’s Laws for instance, and even his laws appear to have existed previously. I quoted experts on the Jewish concepts of Moses’s Law and quotes from Jewish mysticism. The reason for this study was to satisfy my own concerns and curiosity about the Ten Commandments.  

All Scripture used is from the KJV of the Bible.

Author: Cheryl Mason.