12. the Book of the Covenant, Part 2

8/12/2019 12. the Book of the Covenant, Part 2

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Lesson #12Book of the Covenant, Part 2

(Exodus 22: 624: 18)


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In Lesson #10, we learned that the covenant stipulations (the Ten

Commandments, or ten principles) must be appliedin specific

cases, and we began exploring the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20:

2223: 33) to learn how those principles are applied.

Drawing on the Code of Hammurabi as a source and structural

template, the Book of the Covenant may be divided into four parts:

1. Cultic ordinances (20: 22-26);

2. Legal prescriptions (21: 122: 16);

3. Religious, moral and cultic instructions (22: 1723: 19); and

4. Epilogue (23: 20-33)

Exodus 24: 1-18 then ratifies the covenant as a whole.


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In Lesson #12 we continue exploring the legal prescriptions,

working our way to the end of the Book of the Covenant,

where we conclude with God ratifying the covenant.


2. Legal prescriptions (21: 122: 16);3. Religious, moral and cultic instructions (22: 1723: 19);

and

4. Epilogue (23: 20-33)

Conclusion: God ratifies the covenant (24: 1-18)


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As we enter Lesson #12 we continue where we left off

midway in Lesson #11 at Exodus 22: 6.




4. Epilogue (23: 20-33)


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This seemingly random miscellany of laws that spans 21: 122:

16 has a structural logic to it that is easy to miss, unless you

know where to look!

As Robert Alter suggests, the order of

these laws is largely determined by

recurring key words or thematic

associations:

A close look reveals a convention used inbiblical narrative of linking two adjacent units

using the same word twice, but with two

different meanings. In 22: 4, for example, the

verb hivir(to cause to graze) is used, and in

22: 5 it is used in its other sense, to set a fire.

As for thematic association, verses 4 & 5 arelinked to the cluster of verses at the end of

chapter 21 which deal with damages caused by

ones livestock.


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Legal prescriptions regarding stolen or damaged property

(22: 6-16)


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The Book of the Covenant




4. Epilogue (23: 20-33)


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You shall not let a woman who practices sorcery live.

(Exodus 22: 17)

As we move from legal prescriptions to

religious, moral and cultic instructions, the

laws are no longer casuistic, but

imperative.

The Hebrew word for one who practicessorcery (a witch, medium, or

sorceress) is grammatically feminine,

since such people were predominately

women, as was the witch of Endor who

advises King Saul in 1 Samuel 28: 8-25.

The biblical world believed in the efficacy

of sorcery, but sorcery intruded into the

spiritual world, which was the exclusive

realm of God, and hence a serious offense.


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Whoever sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord

alone, shall be put under the ban (22: 19)

Baal, (bronze, 14thcentury B.C.) and Ashteroth

(alabaster, 3rdcentury B.C.). Both statuettes are

in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

Baal, god of the heavens, and

Ashteroth, goddess of fertility and

sexuality become Gods primary

rivals in the hearts and minds of

the Israelites as our story

continues.

Ahab, 7thking of Israel (874-853

B.C), and his wife Jezebel, build a

vast temple to Baal in Samaria and

maintain 450 prophets of Baal intheir royal residence in Samaria.


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The Book of the Covenant has alreadyexpressed a humanitarian concern for

animals:

When you notice the donkey of one

who hates you lying down under its

burden, you should not desert him; youmust help him with it (23: 5).

Thus, the prohibition of boiling a young

goat in its mothers milk, a

fundamentally cruel thing to do to an

animal.

This is the source of isolating meat and

dairy in a kosher kitchen!

Keep Kosher,

my friends!


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Meat

Cheese


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The Book of the Covenant




4. Epilogue (23: 20-33)


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Given the strongly anthropomorphic

imagery throughout Exodus, we might

imagine this messenger as an agent

of God, perhaps in human form; thusSt. Paul identifies the messenger with

the pre-incarnate Christ:

[Our ancestors] all ate the same

spiritual food, and they all drank the

same spiritual drink, for they drankfrom a spiritual rock that followed

them, and that rock was the Christ.

(1 Corinthians 10: 3).Desis Mosaic, depicting Christ Pantrocrator (c.1261),

South Gallery, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Epilogue, Reward for Fidelity (23: 20-33).


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Biblical Interpretation

Codex Vaticanus(ink on vellum), c. 325-350.

Vatican Library, Rome.This and Codex Sinaiticus are the two most important

4th-century biblical manuscripts.

Christian biblical exegesis

understands that Scripture has

levels of meaning beyond the

literal words of the text. Such

understanding dates back to

Greek platonic philosophy andthe early rabbinical schools of

Judaism.

Embracing multiple levels of the

text is a fundamental precept ofRoman Catholic biblical

interpretation.


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Sandro Botticelli. Saint Augustine in His

Study (Tempera on panel), 1494. Uffizi

Gallery, Florence.

St. Augustine, prior to his conversion a

Professor of Rhetoric in Milan, was woefullydisappointed in Scripture since it lacked the

style and elegance of Cicero, probes beneath

the surface of Scripture in Books 11-13 of his

Confessions (A.D. 398). Reading the creation

story, Augustine goes beyond the literal

meaning of the text to discover a deeper, moresatisfying allegorical meaning.

Augustine develops this allegorical approach to

Scripture in De doctrina christiana (A.D. 397-

486), in which he describes how to interpret

and teach Scripture.

Augustines methodology profoundly affected

Scriptural interpretation through the Middle

Ages, and his influence continues.


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Such an approach toScripture deepens our

understanding and greatly

enriches our experience ofthe biblical text.


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1. Cultic ordinances (20: 22-26);2. Legal prescriptions (21: 122: 16);

3. Religious, moral and cultic instructions (22: 1723: 19);

and

4. Epilogue (23: 20-33)

Conclusion: God ratifies the covenant (24: 1-18)


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Moses then went up . . . [and] beheld the God of Israel. Under his feet there

appeared to be sapphire tile work, as clear as the sky itself (24: 9-10).


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Copyright 2014 by William C. Creasy

All rights reserved. No part of this courseaudio, video,

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12. the Book of the Covenant, Part 2

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