Word Biblical Commentary Notes

Word Biblical Commentary

Exodus Chapter 20

vs. 1-2- And God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

- Best read in direct sequence to Exodus 19:19.

- this memory of Yahweh speaking from Sinai in the hearing of all the people is common to every account of the Sinai theophany.

It is an emphasis integral both to the Sinai narrative sequence as well as the larger.

- I am Yahweh is a basic phrase in OT narratives.

- It has been carefully studied, and has been realized as the primary formula.

- The phrase has been know as a self-presentation formula, or a salvation- grace formula.

- self confessional phrase is given, along with the second who they are phrase, in addition to the self giving.

- These words open the center and the focus of the whole Pentateuch.

vs. 3- You shall have no other gods before me.

- Basic to the nine that follow it and the relationship that it is to ensure.

- Sets forth an expectation of absolute priority.

- It (or there) is a singular phrase.

- There is not to be even one more god anywhere set froth by this commandment.

- This is an assertion of monotheistic conviction.

- The command does not specify that no one is to not have other gods, but Israel is not to have any others at all.

vs. 4-6- You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

- The second command follows and shows special dimensions of the relationship with Yahweh.

- Shows three specifications of how God is to be worshiped.

- The first is prohibition of use of images in worship. The second command is the earliest pronouncement about art, to assure loyalty to the invisible Yahweh.

- These were difficult for Israel to keep. And even today, Lutheran church is an example of this.

- No image conceivable by the Hebrews would serve as even close to the image of God.

- The plural pronoun "them" brings together the range of possibilities suggested by verse 4.

- jealous God is used 5 times elsewhere in the OT to describe God's love for Israel.

- The adjective is used twice, the noun 24, and the verb six times in reference to jealousy.

- In vivid contrast to this specific limitation of judgement is the unlimited response of Yahweh to those who love him, who keep their promise to set him in the first place, and so keep his commands.

vs. 7- You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

- Must be read against the background of the extended meaning of the "name" in the OT. There's a considerable amount of rhetoric and theology along with Yahweh's name.

- There was a lot of importance in the use of divine names in Israel's confession and their worship to God.

- Means, uplift, raise, carry, even wear.

- In general this command prohibits lack of seriousness, demonstrated through a false, misleading, or even pointless use of his name.

- This commandment is not directed for Yahweh's protection, but Israel's.

vs. 8-11- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the lord you God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor you son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

- Longest command in it all, because it is expanded the most.

- The probable reason for this expansion is because Israel had most difficulty keeping it.

- a qal infinitive absolute, is the equivalent of an emphatic imperative.

- A day of stopping is seen in the language, and is meant to be a fixed day of work.

- The Hebrew words have nothing to do with rest and relaxation.

- The "you" pronoun is surrounded by six supplementary sources of labor. You are not to work at all, neither anyone around you or in your control.

- A further justification for this requirement, beyond the assertion that the Sabbath belongs to God, is added. Yahweh is added.

- This is really a superlink between the Hebrews and what God did.

vs. 12- Honor you father and mother, so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

- Human relationships are important like the relationship with Yahweh.

- the father and mother are a channel of God's gift of life.

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