Ritual Decalogue

The Ritual Decalogue^[1] is a list of laws at Exodus 34:11–26. These laws are similar to the Covenant Code and are followed by the phrase "ten commandments" (Hebrew: עשרת הדברים aseret ha-dvarîm, in Exodus 34:28). Although the phrase "Ten Commandments" has traditionally been interpreted as referring to a very different set of laws, in Exodus 20:2–17,^[2] many scholars believe it instead refers to the Ritual Decalogue found two verses earlier.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Critical biblical scholars understand the two sets of laws to have different authorship.^[6] Early scholars, adopting a proposal of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,^[7] contrasted the "Ritual" Decalogue with the "Ethical" Decalogue of Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21,^[8] which are the texts more generally known as the Ten Commandments.^[9] Believing that the Bible reflected a shift over time from an emphasis on the ritual to the ethical, they argued that the Ritual Decalogue was composed earlier than the Ethical Decalogue.^[4]^[5]^[10]^[11]^[12] Later scholars have held that they were actually parallel developments, with the Ethical Decalogue a late addition to Exodus copied from Deuteronomy, or that the Ritual Decalogue was the later of the two, a conservative reaction to the secular Ethical Decalogue.^[13] A few Bible scholars call the verses in Exodus 34 the "small Covenant code", as it appears to be a compact version of the Covenant Code in Exodus 20:19–23:33; they argue the small Covenant code was composed around the same time as the Decalogue of Exodus 20, but either served different functions within Israelite religion, or reflects the influence of other Ancient Near Eastern religious texts.^[14]^[15]^[16]

The word decalogue comes from the Greek name for the Ten Commandments, δέκα λόγοι (déka lógoi; "ten terms"), a translation of the Hebrew עשרת הדברים (aseret ha-dvarîm "the ten items/terms").

^ Occasionally also called the Cultic Decalogue, the Ceremonial Decalogue, the Ritual Ten Commandments, the Cultic Ten Commandments, the J-Decalogue or Yahwist Decalogue, the Exodus-34 Decalogue or Decalogue of Exodus xxxiv, or the Small Covenant Code.
^
- 'Exodus 34:28 says, "And [Moses] wrote upon the tablets the words of the covenant, ten of the words" ... the text is not precise about what is written. The final phrase, "ten of the words," is awkward. Traditionally, it is taken as a reference back to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. (McEntire 2008:9)
- "[Exodus] 34:1–28 The Proclamation of the Covenant: [...] the covenant stipulations are not the same as those in chaps. 20–23. This is surprising, because it is the clear implication of v. 1 that the new tablets are to have the same thing on them that the broken tablets had, and v. 28 states flatly that Moses writes 'the ten utterances' on the tablets." (Mays 1988:143)
^
- "The Ten Commandments occur in three versions. Two are almost identical with each other [...], but the third, which apparently replaced the tablets that were broken, is quite different" (Alexander & Baker 2003:501)
- "What is the purpose of the Decalogue, commonly called the Ten Commandments, and why does the Pentateuch contain three versions (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5, and Exodus 34)?" (Aaron 2006:1)
^ ^a ^b "There is another and, acc. to many OT critics, older version of the 'Ten Words' preserved in Exod. 34:11–28, where much more emphasis is laid on ritual prescriptions." (Cross & Livingstone 1997:382)
^ ^a ^b "Another series is to be found in Exodus 34:14–26, sometimes referred to as the "Ritual Decalogue" in distinction from the "Ethical Decalogue"; it is called the "ten commandments" in v.28 and was inscribed by Moses at God's dictation on the second set of tablets that replaced the broken ones. The collection in Exodus 34 has some laws in common with the "Ethical Decalogue", but focuses more on cultic matters." (Whybray 1995:116)
^ ^a ^b [Exodus] 4:28. the Ten Commandments. The second set of the commandments appears here in vv. 14-26. ] In critical biblical scholarship we understand these two versions of the Decalogue to come from two different ancient sources. (Friedman 2003)
^ Levinson (July 2002)
^ Other names include the Moral Decalogue, the Ethical or Moral Ten Commandments, and the E-Decalogue or Elohist Decalogue.
^ Goethe appears to have been the first to consider these two dissimilar sets of Ten Commandments as a theological problem, but was not the first to notice them. Earlier observers include Houbigant (Biblia Hebraica, 1753) and the anonymous Greek author of the late-5th-century Tübingen Theosophy, who held that "two decalogues were written by Moses" in Exodus 20 and 34. (Albert Knudson, 1909. "The So-called J Decalogue", Journal of Biblical literature, vol. 28, p. 83; William Badè, 1915. The Old Testament in the light of to-day, p 89.)
^ Richard N. Soulen, R. Kendall Soulen. Handbook of Biblical Criticism, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001, p. 44. "Decalogue (Gk: lit., "Ten Words") is the Greek (LXX) name for the "Ten Commandments"... the term appears in Exod 34:28; Deut 4:13; 10:4; the commandments themselves in Exod 20 and Deut 5."
^ Levinson, Bernard M. (July 2002). "Goethe's Analysis of Exodus 34 and Its Influence on Julius Wellhausen: The Pfropfung of the Documentary Hypothesis". Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 114 (2): 212–223
^ "There are two lists of pithy prohibitions in Exod. 20:1–17 (paralleled in Deut. 5:6–21) and in Exod. 34:11–26 that occupy pivotal points in the theophany and covenant texts. The lists of Exodus 34 and Deuteronomy 5 are called "ten commandments" in the biblical text (cf. Exod 34:27 and Deut. 4:13; 10:4), and that title, or the equivalent Latin term Decalogue, has traditionally been applied to the list of Exodus 20/Deuteronomy 5. Biblical scholars often distinguish the Exodus 20/Deuteronomy 5 list from the Exodus 34 list on the basis of content by referring to the former as the Ethical Decalogue and the latter as the Ritual Decalogue." (The Hebrew Bible: A Brief Socio-Literary Introduction. Norman Gottwald, 2008:118)
^ Aaron (2006)
^ Julius Morgenstern 1927 The Oldest Document of the Hexateuch HUAC volume IV
^ Cite error: The named reference YehezkelKaufmann was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference JohnBright was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] Occasionally also called the Cultic Decalogue, the Ceremonial Decalogue, the Ritual Ten Commandments, the Cultic Ten Commandments, the J-Decalogue or Yahwist Decalogue, the Exodus-34 Decalogue or Decalogue of Exodus xxxiv, or the Small Covenant Code.

[RefExodus20-2] 
'Exodus 34:28 says, "And [Moses] wrote upon the tablets the words of the covenant, ten of the words" ... the text is not precise about what is written. The final phrase, "ten of the words," is awkward. Traditionally, it is taken as a reference back to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. (McEntire 2008:9)

"[Exodus] 34:1–28 The Proclamation of the Covenant: [...] the covenant stipulations are not the same as those in chaps. 20–23. This is surprising, because it is the clear implication of v. 1 that the new tablets are to have the same thing on them that the broken tablets had, and v. 28 states flatly that Moses writes 'the ten utterances' on the tablets." (Mays 1988:143)

[3] 'Exodus 34:28 says, "And [Moses] wrote upon the tablets the words of the covenant, ten of the words" ... the text is not precise about what is written. The final phrase, "ten of the words," is awkward. Traditionally, it is taken as a reference back to the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. (McEntire 2008:9)

[4] "[Exodus] 34:1–28 The Proclamation of the Covenant: [...] the covenant stipulations are not the same as those in chaps. 20–23. This is surprising, because it is the clear implication of v. 1 that the new tablets are to have the same thing on them that the broken tablets had, and v. 28 states flatly that Moses writes 'the ten utterances' on the tablets." (Mays 1988:143)

[3] 
"The Ten Commandments occur in three versions. Two are almost identical with each other [...], but the third, which apparently replaced the tablets that were broken, is quite different" (Alexander & Baker 2003:501)

"What is the purpose of the Decalogue, commonly called the Ten Commandments, and why does the Pentateuch contain three versions (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5, and Exodus 34)?" (Aaron 2006:1)

[6] "The Ten Commandments occur in three versions. Two are almost identical with each other [...], but the third, which apparently replaced the tablets that were broken, is quite different" (Alexander & Baker 2003:501)

[7] "What is the purpose of the Decalogue, commonly called the Ten Commandments, and why does the Pentateuch contain three versions (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5, and Exodus 34)?" (Aaron 2006:1)

[Cross-4] "There is another and, acc. to many OT critics, older version of the 'Ten Words' preserved in Exod. 34:11–28, where much more emphasis is laid on ritual prescriptions." (Cross & Livingstone 1997:382)

[Whybray-5] "Another series is to be found in Exodus 34:14–26, sometimes referred to as the "Ritual Decalogue" in distinction from the "Ethical Decalogue"; it is called the "ten commandments" in v.28 and was inscribed by Moses at God's dictation on the second set of tablets that replaced the broken ones. The collection in Exodus 34 has some laws in common with the "Ethical Decalogue", but focuses more on cultic matters." (Whybray 1995:116)

[Friedman-6] [Exodus] 4:28. the Ten Commandments. The second set of the commandments appears here in vv. 14-26. ] In critical biblical scholarship we understand these two versions of the Decalogue to come from two different ancient sources. (Friedman 2003)

[Levinson-7] Levinson (July 2002)

[8] Other names include the Moral Decalogue, the Ethical or Moral Ten Commandments, and the E-Decalogue or Elohist Decalogue.

[9] Goethe appears to have been the first to consider these two dissimilar sets of Ten Commandments as a theological problem, but was not the first to notice them. Earlier observers include Houbigant (Biblia Hebraica, 1753) and the anonymous Greek author of the late-5th-century Tübingen Theosophy, who held that "two decalogues were written by Moses" in Exodus 20 and 34. (Albert Knudson, 1909. "The So-called J Decalogue", Journal of Biblical literature, vol. 28, p. 83; William Badè, 1915. The Old Testament in the light of to-day, p 89.)

[10] Richard N. Soulen, R. Kendall Soulen. Handbook of Biblical Criticism, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001, p. 44. "Decalogue (Gk: lit., "Ten Words") is the Greek (LXX) name for the "Ten Commandments"... the term appears in Exod 34:28; Deut 4:13; 10:4; the commandments themselves in Exod 20 and Deut 5."

[11] Levinson, Bernard M. (July 2002). "Goethe's Analysis of Exodus 34 and Its Influence on Julius Wellhausen: The Pfropfung of the Documentary Hypothesis". Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 114 (2): 212–223

[12] "There are two lists of pithy prohibitions in Exod. 20:1–17 (paralleled in Deut. 5:6–21) and in Exod. 34:11–26 that occupy pivotal points in the theophany and covenant texts. The lists of Exodus 34 and Deuteronomy 5 are called "ten commandments" in the biblical text (cf. Exod 34:27 and Deut. 4:13; 10:4), and that title, or the equivalent Latin term Decalogue, has traditionally been applied to the list of Exodus 20/Deuteronomy 5. Biblical scholars often distinguish the Exodus 20/Deuteronomy 5 list from the Exodus 34 list on the basis of content by referring to the former as the Ethical Decalogue and the latter as the Ritual Decalogue." (The Hebrew Bible: A Brief Socio-Literary Introduction. Norman Gottwald, 2008:118)

[Aaron-13] Aaron (2006)

[ReferenceA-14] Julius Morgenstern 1927 The Oldest Document of the Hexateuch HUAC volume IV

[YehezkelKaufmann-15] Cite error: The named reference YehezkelKaufmann was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[JohnBright-16] Cite error: The named reference JohnBright was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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