Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

Raymond:

Do I read your response correctly that Jews, 
too, look for ten commandments in Exodus 20?

I find this interesting, as I thought that 
only Christians were looking for ten 
commandments, because no where in Torah is 
there any indication that there should be ten 
commands.

In the context of Exodus 34:28 and Deuteronomy 
4:13, I read Exodus 20 as a legal document, 
with an introduction statement identifying the 
parties thereto, followed by nine commands, 
making a total of ten statements. I thought 
this was also the Jewish understanding. Am I 
wrong?

I didn’t respond earlier as that reading is 
not obvious from a discussion of an obscure 
grammatical point.

Karl W. Randolph.

----- Original Message -----
From: Raymond de Hoop <rdehoop AT keyaccess.nl>

> On 29 feb 2004 at 0:25 Yigal Levin wrote:
> 
> > I would assume that the setumot and petuhot are pre-Masoretic. As for 
> > the
> > 10th commandment, note that in the Ex. 20:17 version there is no 
> > setumah.
> >
> > Yigal
> 
> Shalom,
> In our discussion of a few weeks ago on "Ta`am `Elyon of the 
> Decalogue", I referred to the setumah in Exod. 20:17, which is not 
> printed in BHS, but still is in Codex Leningradensis (cf. Dothan, 
> Biblia Hebraica Leningradensis, pp. 109, 1227; I checked it in the 
> facsimile edition, to be sure).
> 
> This tradition is related to the tradition that reads Exod. 20:2-6 / 
> Deut. 5:6-10 as one commandment (note that there is NO setuma or 
> petucha found in these verses), which would result otherwise in nine 
> commandments, but now --with setumah in Ex.20:17 / Deut.5:21-- in ten.
> 
> For the division of the text by means of cantilation accents, there are 
> two systems (found in BHS) which suggest the first verse (20:2/5:6) to 
> be a separate verse from the following four; and one tradition that 
> reads 20:2-3/5:6-7 as one verse, separate from the following verses 
> (though without setuma or petucha). However, there is a third tradition 
> that even reads the five verses (20:2-6/5:6-10) as one Masoretic verse, 
> with a revia at the end of the first verse. This tradition is not found 
> in BHS (nor Codex Leningradensis and other mss), but in many Jewish 
> Bible editions, starting with Miqra'ot Gedolot (Venice 1526).
> Since the last mentioned tradition is an obvious late one, and is in 
> line with the setuma and petucha tradition in the text, I would suggest 
> that this setuma-tradition of the ten commandments is also a late 
> tradition.
> 
> Kol Tuv,
> Raymond
> 
> ——————————————————————————
> Dr Raymond de Hoop
> Lecturer of Classical Hebrew
> Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies
> University of Groningen
> Oude Boteringestraat 38
> 9712 GK Groningen
> +31 503 635 574
> R.de.Hoop AT theol.rug.nl
-- 
___________________________________________________________
Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com
http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm