In Exod 19, the Israelites gather at the base of Mount Sinai as God comes down upon it. They request that God directly communicates with Moses, who will then relay God’s words to them. Moses, feeling fearful, agrees to this arrangement. Subsequently, Moses discloses numerous additional laws to God (Exod 20:19-23:19), followed by God detailing the future settlement of Israel and the responsibilities that will be placed upon them (Exod 23:20-33).
Moses then goes back to the Israelites,[1] recites these regulations in front of them, and they agree to them.
(Exod 24:3-8): After reading the laws to the Israelites, Moses performs a ritual sacrifice by sprinkling the blood upon them and the audience. Then, he accepts all of them and proceeds to write down these laws on a “scroll of the covenant”.
וַיִּכְתֹּב מֹשֶׁהסֵפֶר הַבְּרִית
Moses then wrotethe scroll of the covenant
Moses once again converses with God, at this juncture. However, the occurrences at the Mountain signify the anticipated culmination of this event.
לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר כָּתַבְתִּי
tablets of stone and the teaching and the commandment that I have written
What was inscribed on these stone tablets? However, Moses had to climb the Mountain again in order to receive the tablets written by God.
“The Instruction and the Directive” – The Ten Commandments?
Assuming that most commentators refer to the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments in our passage, it is clear that these tablets were uniquely inscribed by the divine finger, as we all know from passages such as Exodus 34:1 and 32:15-16, and Exodus 31:18.
Is it expected that the reader knows that this expression is referring to the Ten Commandments? Why is it strange to refer to the Decalogue as “the teaching and the commandment” without further explanation? It could be more appropriate to refer to it as “the legal teaching” or something similar (maybe a hendiadys: “the teaching and the commandment” referring to התורה והמצוה). However, instead of that, it explicitly refers to “the Ten Words” or “words of the covenant,” which the mentioned verse fails to include. This interpretation, however, poses a problem.
In the book of Chronicles, specifically in chapter 14:3, we read about the actions of King Asa of Judah. It is interesting to note that the Bible does not specifically refer to the Decalogue in this instance, or in other similar phrases used throughout the text.
Clearly, the mention is about obedience to the divine laws in general and not just the Decalogue alone.[5].
The same thing is implied in 2 Chronicles 31:21 where we read that Hezekiah was complete in his heart and sought to seek out God’s commandment and teaching, as well as worship in the temple.
Here, once again, the mention would appear to be to “the laws” in general.[6].
Educational Tablets
Given that Israel had already been instructed in the Ten Commandments by God, the phrase “the tablets of stone and the teaching and the commandment that I have written to teach them” gives the impression that something new is being presented that requires instruction. Additionally, this phrase suggests that Moses was intended to use the tablets, along with their teachings (torah), to educate the people, as stated in “they shall teach your laws to Jacob and your Torah to Israel” (יוֹרוּ מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לְיַעֲקֹב וְתוֹרָתְךָ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל; Deut 33:10). Furthermore,
The tablets of the Decalogue, which are stored in the ark, serve as an educational tool rather than just a testimony. According to the P texts, at least, they are kept away from the public eye and are associated with the covenant, as seen in Deuteronomy 5:1-10 and Exodus 20:40.
The Ten Commandments Signify all the Divine Laws (Rashi)
Rashi clarifies that the term “the teaching and the commandment” is used specifically in relation to the Decalogue, in order to signify that the “ten commandments” encompass all of the mitzvot.
The true meaning of the verse is clearly not this. However, God wrote all the commandments on stone tablets as if the Decalogue alone consisted of God’s personal writing. Even understanding this, the Decalogue alone consisted of God’s personal writing on the stone tablets.
The Tablets of the Ten Commandments Plus Studying Other Mitzvot (Ramban)
Ramban (Moses Nahmanides, 1194-1270) suggests that in addition to the stone tablets, the initial waw (“and”) of והתורה והמצוה should be understood as “copulative.” He distinguishes the stone tablets from the “instruction and commandment,” acknowledging that the commandments of the Torah could not have been inscribed on the same tablets as the Decalogue. He also notes that in Deuteronomy and Exodus 34:28, it is mentioned that God personally wrote the Decalogue by Himself.
In order to educate the people, Moses is tasked with receiving additional commandments orally from God. Additionally, he is required to retrieve the stone tablets engraved by God with the Ten Commandments, to put it differently.
However, it is not possible to “write tablets.” Instead, one can write “on tablets” (על לוחות), and one can “write” a scroll (ספר), in the style of biblical Hebrew. Additionally, the text does not support this interpretation. The verse does not indicate this. Ramban assumes, without any textual evidence, that the instruction and commandment were not written, but rather orally taught to Moses. While this interpretation resolves the conceptual difficulties.
The parsing of Ramban’s verse is grammatically awkward, as it attempts to separate the tablets from the teaching and commandment. Brevard Childs (1923-2007), the Bible scholar, states that while the suggestion of Ramban is logically valid, it is not possible grammatically.
A Perplexing Dietary Addition (Child’s)
Childs instead contends that the verse, as it currently exists, is the result of a subsequent addition.
Other words in the verse (in their original form) are bracketed, indicating that they are supplements to the stated and written Decalogue.
Additionally, God wrote these supplementary teachings and commandments, creating the erroneous perception that He composed a verse that disregarded the fact that the scribe, in the course of writing, intended to convey that God also bestowed upon Moses additional laws to guide the people for “whatever reason,” a subsequent scribe.
Finally, the reason for this convoluted explanation is to allow for the tablets to be carved with the Decalogue, as stated in Exodus 24:12. However, the phrase “writing tablets” suffers from the same stylistic problem as the Ramban pointed out, which is why God should only be referred to as “God” without the phrase “צוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה.” Furthermore, this theory posits that the scribe inadvertently stated something he did not intend to state, and it seems dubious to suggest that this was his last resort.
The Non-Decalogue: Spiritual Script of the Law in a Broad Sense
In Exodus 24:12, it is my view that Moses wrote down the commandments and teachings given to him by God on an unspecified number of tablets for the purpose of public instruction. However, it seems that later biblical editors understood it differently, as they associated the Decalogue with the 24:12 passage.
The Covenant Collection (Exod 20:19/21:1-23:19) embraced Israel’s affirmation ritual following Moses, right after presenting this fresh compilation of regulations. They were more similar to a legal codex or anthology, rather than serving as a concise synopsis of the fundamental principles of the covenant, as the Decalogue was seemingly interpreted by certain individuals.
Why did Moses need to write another set of laws on a scroll, when it is implied in Deuteronomy 5:19 that he already had the tablets of laws? In fact, when Moses was first sent from the mountain to preside over the covenant ceremony, he already had the law given to him by God and inscribed by God. So why would God suddenly need Moses to supply him with additional laws written by Moses himself?
A Different Custom
Presumably, the outcome of combining two distinct customs is the series of occurrences detailed above. In the account that follows the longer tradition, God unveiled the Decalogue to all of Israel (Exod 20) and subsequently shared the Covenant Collection with Moses (Exod 21-23). Moses then transcribed both the Decalogue and the Covenant Collection onto a scroll and oversaw the covenant ceremony (Exod 24:3-8).
Originally, the account of the Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant were unrelated. However, in contrast to this brief tradition in Exodus 15:24-12, it is now understood that Moses received the divinely inscribed law on stone tablets on the mountain as an instruction for the people.
Exodus 20-24:11 may be said to be an alternative and parallel tradition to reflect the passage of Exodus 24:12. Thus, it suggests that Moses is being called upon to go up the mountain, which is indeed the formulation of the first time to receive the law.
Law Inspired by a Divine Source
In the Bible, the divinely penned law appears elsewhere, for instance in Kings 2:17:37, where God admonishes the Israelites to follow his commandments.
וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר כָּתַב לָכֶם
and the teaching and the commandment that He wrote for you,
The bold words in our Exodus passage refer to the laws written by God, although it does not specifically mention tablets.
A Heavenly Torah (Midrash HaGadol)
I am proposing that the HaGadol Midrash, a known collection of Yemenite midrash from the fourteenth century, offers a reading of Exodus 24:12 that aligns with the spirit of the text.
Besides the Ten Commandments, which he inscribed on the tablets, the Midrash Hagadol interprets the תורה ומצוה of Exodus 24:12 as pertaining to the complete Pentateuch, which God authored as a celestial manuscript. The Midrash does not find it challenging to confirm that God composed a text encompassing far more than the Ten Commandments.[20].
The idea of a heavenly Torah appears in Rabbinic literature and dates back to the Second Temple period, with attested roots in Sumer and biblical passages. It is also well attested in post-biblical literature, serving various functions in tablets and books such as the book of Jubilees.
Second Part
Were the Cracked Tablets the Ten Commandments?
He smashes the tablets and throws them down upon seeing the Israelites sinning with the golden calf, as he had been told of their sin in Exodus 31:18. After staying on the mountain for forty days and receiving the divinely inscribed tablets (Exodus 24:18), Moses goes back to Exodus 24 and connects it to the story of the Golden Calf in Exodus 32. The heavenly tablets of Exodus 24:12 once again appear in the story of the Golden Calf.
These tablets were inscribed with the “commandment and teaching” of the Decalogue, as mentioned in Exodus 20. It is possible that this story is at least somewhat like the one in Exodus 24:12, where two tablets were needed for the small text. These verses clearly indicate that there is nothing in these tablets other than the Decalogue.
The (Second) Decalogue – Exodus 34
The initial collection possessed identical material as the upcoming collection that will be bestowed upon Moses, who is informed that he will receive a fresh collection of tablets after persuading God to spare the Israelites from destruction. Exodus 34 appears to associate the stone tablets from 24:12 with the Decalogue, albeit indirectly. One issue with the proposition that, according to Exodus, the tablets were engraved with something other than the Decalogue is raised.
שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת אֲבָנִים
two tablets of stone
(עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים): says chapter same this of verse but, tablets shattered those on was what explicitly say not does still passage this.
עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים
, the ten words
The tablets were first inscribed with the Decalogue, and then they were inscribed with the same content as the tablets that had the Ten Words. If the tablets with the Ten Words were replaced, it would be the same content. It is certainly referenced in Deuteronomy as the Decalogue, assuming the term “Ten Words” as well.
Discovered near the conclusion of the narrative of the second tablets is the initial and sole explicit mention in the book of Exodus regarding the divine inscription of the Decalogue of Exodus 20 on the tablets. Nonetheless, this inference is not as reliable as it seems.
In later chapters of Exodus, Moses writes that God will bring them up the mountain and tell him to carve tablets and write on them when he is told to do so. However, the opening of chapter 34 in Exodus contains an internal contradiction.
Consolidating Multiple Narratives into a Single Story
Richard Elliott Friedman argued that the tablets referenced in Exodus 32, which were written on the mountain, have been redacted to connect them to the account of the previous tablets mentioned in Exodus 34:1. It seems that these tablets are revealed after the Ten Commandments are spoken by God, and God tells Moses to carve them upon the tablets for the first time. Originally, God tells Moses to engrave the Words Ten upon the tablets.
The reference to “like the first” and God inscribing the tablets himself artificially connect this account with the previous account of tablets,.
The Cultic Ten Commandments: An Alternative Collection of “Ten Words”
Moses is instructed to inscribe these Ten Words on the tablets while he is with him (27-28). Following this, Moses receives instruction on a set of ten laws (vv. 11-26) and God promises to establish a covenant with Israel (v. 10). Moses is then commanded to ascend the mountain with the tablets (vv. 1-4)[29]. The chapter progresses smoothly from there: it becomes apparent that these Ten Words more appropriately pertain to the cultic laws listed in verses 10-26 of this very chapter. Once the account in Exodus 34 is separated from the other accounts, it becomes evident that the Ten Words in 34:28 are most likely not a reference to the Decalogue of Exodus 20.
And comes back with these tablets, engraves the Cultic Decalogue on them, and Moses ascends the mountain with carved tablets. However, he shatters them, Moses ascends the mountain, obtains tablets from God with inscriptions on them, in one instance, the editor of 34:1-4, by including that these tablets were intended to substitute the previous ones, is linking two unrelated narratives, in other terms.
Exodus 32 and 34: Two Distinct Tablets
Is this correct if the story in Exodus 32 and 34 is about Moses carving and receiving heavenly tablets, which were originally independent of each other until an editor wove them together?
This was never considered as a set of ten commandments, but the chapter, in its original version, mentioned an agreement made regarding the listed religious laws. Consequently, the final ten statements, mentioned in verse 28, were written by the same editor who worked on verse 1. Nevertheless, we should not disregard another potential explanation.
The Covenant Compilation, along with a parchment, was not inscribed on slabs whatsoever, but in accordance with the clear suggestion of Exodus 24:4, the Ten Commandments of Exodus 20 are not considering the narrative of heavenly slabs in ch. 32 or the earliest rendition of chapter 34, regardless of whether the term “Ten Words” is native to ch. 34 or not.
Three Categories of Laws in Exodus
When we disentangle the sources from their current context, we are left with three traditions aside from the editorial expansions. The editor of Exodus wove multiple traditions together in order to create one overarching timeline.
Shattered by Moses in response to the wrongdoing of the Golden Calf, these tablets of “instruction and commandment” are potentially the exact same ones.