You're welcome... and I would encourage you to pursue the line of thought that I've bold and underlined above --- indeed, this overlap between the end of the "Book of the Covenant" and the ten words of the covenant in Exodus 34 is not a coincidence.
I was wondering if you could help me with the Hebrew words that are translated into English as ordinances, commandments, and laws. Is each English word a different Hebrew word? Are the definitions the same for each word or is there a distinction between the three?
The words spoken by God on Sinai to the Israelites are known to us as the 10 commandments. I think that is a good description of them although Exodus as far I can see, doesn't attribute that to them. It doesn't call them laws or ordinances either.
I left off at Ex 34. I have a different sketch I want to set before you that deals with the two tablets and what might have been written on them.
In Ex 20, God spoke from Sinai to the Israelites what is commonly known as the 10 commandments. I'll call them the
Ex 20 commandments.
In Ex 21:1, God said to Moses:
These are the ordinances that you shall set before them:...(I didn't count them all but they fall into these categories in section headers in Biblegateway.com in the NRSV) The lawconcerning slaves, The lawconcerning violence, Laws concerning property, Laws of restitution, Social and religious laws, Justice for all, Sabbatical year and Sabbath, The annual festivals, and then God's warnings and promises.
These Ordinances are found in Ex 21-23.
In Ex 24:3-4 Moses came and told the people
all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “
All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 4 And
Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. In Ex 24:7-8 Then he [Moses] took
the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said,
“All that the Lord has spoken we will do
, and we will be obedient.”
After the covenant was made between God and the Israelites, Moses went up the mountain to God again.
Ex 24:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and
I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment,
which I have written for their instruction.” These are the first 2 tablets. God had made the tablets and he had written on them himself. After this God gave Moses instructions on the tabernacle and its courtyard, the priesthood and their garments and the law of the Sabbath day and the names of 2 men who would lead the construction of all of these things. None of these were including in the Covenant book except the Sabbath day ordinances.
Exo 31:18 When God finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai,
he gave him the two tablets of the covenant, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
To sum it up so far: This is my speculation about what was written on the first set of tablets that God wrote and gave to Moses from the account in Exodus. The Ex 20 commandments were not included in the ordinances found in Ex 21-23 because they were spoken by God to all of the people before God spoke the Ordinances from Ex 21-23 to Moses alone. In Ex 24 Moses told the people "all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances." The words of the Lord are different than the ordinances. "The words" are the Ex 20 commandments. "The ordinances" are the ordinances given in Ex 21-23. In Ex 24 if Moses told the people ALL of the words and the ordinances then that would include Ex 20 commandments. Which means that the book of the Covenant included both the Ex 20 commandments and the ordinances in Ex 21-23. The words that God wrote on the tablets are the "OG" 10 commandments from Ex 20, imo. It makes sense that God would use the first words/commandments that He spoke to the Israelites to write on the first tablets.
Moving onto to Ex 34...
Ex 32- 33 explain how and why Moses broke the first two tablets of the covenant that God had made and written on.
Ex 34: 1The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and
I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke...4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the former ones; and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
It sounds like God is having Moses make two new tablets of stone to replace the ones that he had broken and that God is going to write on these 2 tables the same words that he had written on the former tablets that is the 10 commandments in Ex 20 given at Mt Sinai.
Then God said to Moses...I hereby make a covenant...
Observe what I command you today. (Ex 34:10,11) The following verses 14-26 contain those commands.
Is God making a new covenant or renewing the covenant found in the book of the covenant? Ex 34:14-26 are the commandments that God speaks to Moses. They were the last ordinances (except for 1) spoken by God to Moses before the book of the covenant was written and approved in Ex 24. Did God save the best ordinances for last?
Now these former ordinances are referred to by God as commands. Why? Why not take the first 10 ordinances from Ex 21? Why not take one or two ordinances from each topic and make it more a representative of ALL the ordinances in Ex 21-23 than just taking the last ordinances listed in Ex 23. In Ex 34 the #3 command-
All that first opens the womb is mine. I couldn't find in Ex 23. I found it in Ex 13: 2-15 where God gave Moses the instructions for the Passover. It is also found in Ex 22:29-30 The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep... It's out of order from the other Ex 34 10 commandments that are found in Ex 23. Why would God do that?
Ex 34:27 The Lord said to Moses:
Write these words; in
accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.
Again it sounds like God is talking about the words in verses Ex 34:14-26 and not the 10 commandments from Ex 20 or the other ordinances in Ex 21-22. In the book of the Covenant Moses wrote ALL of the words of the Lord and All of the ordinances. (Ex 24: 3-4) Why wouldn't the Ex 20 commandments be included with the ALL? And why did God choose these 10 from all the ordinances that he spoke to Moses?
Exo 34:26... And he [Moses] wrote on the tablets the
words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Moses wrote the words on the 2 set of stone tablets not God. (Ex 34:1)
Sadly, I can't get passed the "write these words", " in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and Israel", and "Observe what I command you today". It is likely that Moses wrote the Ex 34 commands. Even though I think it is absurd to use this section of the ordinances as the centerpiece of God's law.
The easier explanation that wouldn't invoke so many questions in my mind but causes more grief to my soul is to just say that the 10 commandments in Ex 20 were not included in the book of the covenant. When you get to Exo 34, you could just say that the verses in Ex 34:14-26 must be and are the original 10 commandments on the first 2 tablets that Moses made and therefore were also written on the first 2 tablets that God made.
How arbitrary is that?! Compared to the Ex 20 commandments it doesn't make sense. Compared to all of the other ordinances it doesn't make sense.
All good questions... I've bold and underlined perhaps the most important one, the answer to which -- according to the book of Exodus -- is surprisingly not clear.
I'm still not satisfied with it!
Where do we get the idea that the words on the first set of tablets correspond to Exod 20:2-17 if not from the text of Exodus itself?
I did find a couple verses in Deuteronomy.
Deut 4:12-13 Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, which he charged you to observe, that is, the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two stone tablets.
And perhaps from Jesus-- If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 19:17-19
I split the response because I had too many words.