Reading for Friday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial: St Sharbel Makhluf, Priest

From: Exodus 20:1-17

The Ten Commandments
[1] And God spoke all these words, saying, [2] "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

[3] "You shall have no other gods before me.

[4] "You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; [5] you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, [6] but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

[7] "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

[8] "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9] Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; [10] but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; [11] for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.

[12] "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

[13] "You shall not kill.

[14] "You shall not commit adultery.

[15] "You shall not steal.

[16] "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

[17] "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's."
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Commentary:
20:1-21. "Decalogue" comes from the Greek, meaning "ten words" (cf. the literal sense of Deut 4:13). It consists of the Ten Commandments or moral code, recorded here and in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. The Decalogue is dealt with in a very special way here: for one thing, it is embedded in the account of the theophany, slotted in between 19:19 and 20:18; for another, attached to the concise commandments (identical in Exodus and Deuteronomy) are other more elaborate commandments (giving reasons and explanations) which differ as between the two versions. The fact that the Decalogue (and not any other legal code of the Pentateuch) is repeated practically verbatim in Exodus and Deuteronomy and has from ancient times been reproduced separately, as the Nash papyrus (2nd century BC) shows, indicates the importance the Decalogue always had among the people of Israel as a moral code.

On the supposition that the versions in Exodus and Deuteronomy can be reduced to a single original text, the variations between them can be explained in terms of the applications of the commandments to the circumstances of the period when each version was made; the final redaction, which we have here, is the one held to be inspired. The apodictic form (future imperative, second person: "You shall not kill") is that proper to biblical commandments and it differs from the casuistical type of wording that Israel shares with other Semitic people, as can be seen from the Code of the Covenant (chaps 21-23).

The Ten Commandments are the core of Old Testament ethics and they retain their value in the New Testament. Jesus often reminds people about them (cf. Lk 18:20) and he fills them out (cf. Mt 5:17ff). The Fathers and Doctors of the Church have commented on them at length because, as St Thomas points out, all the precepts of the natural law are contained in the Decalogue: the universal precepts, such as "Do good and avoid evil", "which are primary and general, are contained theirin as principles in their proximate conclusions, while conversely, those which are mediated by the wise are contained in them as conclusions in their principles" ("Summa Theologiae", 1-2, 100, 3).

The commandments tend to be divided up in two different ways: thus, Jews and many Christian confessions divide the first commandment into two--the precept to adore only one God (vv. 2-3) and that of not making images (vv. 3-6); whereas Catholics and Lutherans (following St Augustine) make these commandments one and divide into two the last commandments (not to covet one's neighbor's wife: the ninth; and not to covet his goods: the tenth).

There is nothing sacrosanct about these divisions (their purpose is pedagogical); whichever way the commandments are divided, the Decalogue stands. In our commentary we follow St Augustine's division and make reference to the teaching of the Church, because the Ten Commandments contain the core of Christian morality (cf. the notes on Deut 5:1-22).

20:2. Hittite peoples (some of whose political and social documents have survived) used to begin peace treaties with an historical introduction, that is, by recounting the victory of a king over a vassal on whom specific obligations were being imposed. In a similar sort of way, the Decalogue begins by recalling the Exodus. However, what we have here is something radically different from a Hittite pact, because the obligation that the commandments imply is not based on a defeat but on a deliverance. God is offering the commandments to the people whom he has delivered from bondage, whereas human princes imposed their codes on peoples whom they had reduced to vassalage. The commandments are therefore an expression of the Covenant. Acceptance of them is a sign that man has attained maturity in his freedom. "Man becomes free when he enters into the Covenant of God? (Aphraates, "Demonstrationes", 12). Jesus stressed the same idea: "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Mt 11:30).

20:3-6 "You shall love God above all things" is the wording of the first commandment given in most catechisms (cf. "Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2083) summarizing the teaching of Jesus (cf. Mk 12:28-31, which quotes the text of Deuteronomy 6:4-5. In the ten commandments this precept covers two aspects -- monotheism (v. 3) and the obligation not to adore idols or images of the Lord (vv. 4-6). Belief in the existence of only one God is the backbone of the entire Bible message. The prophets will openly teach monotheism, holding that God is the sovereign Lord of the universe and of time; but this ban on other gods itself implies the sure conviction that there is only one true God. "You shall have no other gods before [or, besides] me", implies a belief in one God, that is monotheism.

The ban on images was something that marked Israel as different from other peoples. The ban not only covered idols or images of other gods, but also representations of the Lord.

The one true God is spiritual and transcendent: he cannot be controlled or manipulated (unlike the gods of Israel's neighbors). On the basis of the mystery of the incarnate Word Christians began to depict scenes from the Gospel and in so doing they knew that this was not at odds with God's freedom nor did it make for idolatry. The Church venerates images because they are representations either of Jesus who, being truly man had a body, or of saints, who as human beings were portrayable and worthy of veneration. The Second Vatican Council recommended the veneration of sacred images, while calling for sobriety and beauty: "The practice of placing sacred images in churches so that they be venerated by the faithful is to be maintained. Nevertheless their number should be moderate and their relative positions should reflect right order. For otherwise the Christian people may find them incongruous and they may foster devotion of doubtful orthodoxy" ("Sacrosancturn Concilium", 125).

20:5-6. "A jealous God": an anthropomorphism emphasizing the uniqueness of God. Since he is the only true God, he cannot abide either the worship of other gods (cf. 34:14) or worship of idols. Idolatry is the gravest and most condemned sin in the Bible (cf. "Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2113). Those in charge of worship in the temple are described as being "jealous" for the Lord (cf. Num 25:13; 1 Kings 19:10, 14), because they have to watch to ensure that no deviations occur. When expelling the money-changers from the temple (Jn 2:17), Jesus refers to this aspect of priests' responsibility; "Zeal for thy house has consumed me" (Ps 69:9).

On the Lord's merciful retribution, cf. the note on Ex 34:6-7.

20:7. Respect for God's name is respect for God himself. Hence this prohibition on invoking the name of the Lord to gain credence for evil, be it at a trial (by committing perjury), or by swearing to do something evil, or by blasphemy (cf. Sir 23: 7-12). In ancient times, Israel's neighbors used the names of their gods in magical conjuration; in such a situation the invoking of the Lord's name is idolatrous. In general, this commandment forbids any abuse, any disrespect, any irreverent use of the name of God. And, to put it positively, "The second commandment 'prescribes respect for the Lord's name'. Like the first commandment, it belongs to the virtue of religion and more particularly it governs our use of speech in sacred matters" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2142).

20:8-11 Israel's history evidently influenced the formulation of the sabbath precept, given that the usual apodictic mode is not used and that the prescriptions concerning this day are very well developed.

The commandment includes three ideas: the sabbath is a holy day, dedicated to the Lord; work is forbidden on it; one reason for it is to imitate God, who rested from creation on the seventh day.

The sabbath is a holy day, that is, different from ordinary days (cf. Lev 23:3) because it is dedicated to God. No special rites are prescribed but the word "remember" (different from "observe" in Deuteronomy 5:10) is a word with cultic associations. Whatever the etymology or social origin of the sabbath was, in the Bible it is always something holy (cf. 16:22-30).

Sabbath rest implies that there is an obligation to work on the previous six days (v. 9). Work is the only justification for rest. The Hebrew word "sabat" actually means "sabbath" and "rest". But on this day rest acquires a cultic value, for no special sacrifices or rites are prescribed for the sabbath: the whole community, and even animals, render homage to God by ceasing from their labors.

20:12 The fourth is the first commandment to do with interpersonal relationships (the subject of the second "table" as ancient Christian writers used to term these commandments: cf. "Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2197). Like the sabbath precept, it is couched in a positive way, its direct reference is to family members. The fact that it comes immediately after the precepts that refer to God shows its importance. Parents, in effect, represent God within the family circle.

The commandment has to do not only with young children (cf. Prov 19:26; 20:20; 23:22;; 30:17), who have a duty to remain subject to their parents (Deut 21:18-21), but to all children whatever their age, because it is offenses committed by older children that incur a curse (cf. Deut 17:16).

The promise of a long life to those who keep this commandment shows how important it is for the individual, and also the importance the family has for society. The Second Vatican Council summed up the value of the family by calling it the "domestic church" ("Lumen Gentium", 11; cf. John Paul II, "Familiaris Consortio", 21).

20:13. The fifth commandment directly forbids vengeful killing of one's enemy, that is, murder; so it protects the sacredness of human life. The prohibition on murder already comes across in the account of the death of Abel (cf. Gen 4:10) and the precepts given to Noah (cf. Gen 9:6): life is something that belongs to God alone.

Revelation and the teaching of the Church tell us more about the scope of this precept: it is only in very specific circumstances (such as social or personal selfdefense) that a person may be deprived of his or her life. Obviously, the killing of weaker members of society (abortion, direct euthanasia) is a particularly grave sin.

The encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" spells out the Church's teaching on this commandment which "has absolute value when it refers to the 'innocent person'. [...] Therefore, by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors, and in communion with the Bishops of the Catholic Church, 'I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral'" (John Paul II, "Evangelium Vitae", 57).

Our Lord taught that the positive meaning of this commandment was the obligation to practise charity (cf. Mt 5:21-26): "In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord recalls the commandment, 'You shall not kill' (Mt 5:21), and adds to it the proscription of anger, hatred and vengeance. Going further, Christ asks his disciples to turn the other cheek, to love their enemies (cf. Mt 5:22-28). He did not defend himself and told Peter to leave his sword in its sheath (cf. Mt 26:52)?" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2262).

20:14. The sixth commandment is orientated to safeguarding the holiness of marriage. In the Old Testament there were very severe penalties for those who committed adultery (cf. Deut 22:23ff; Lev 20:10). As Revelation progresses, it will become clear that not only is adultery grave, because it damages the rights of the other spouse, but every sexual disorder degrades the dignity of the person and is an offense against God (cf., e.g., Prov 7:8-27; 23:27-28). Jesus Christ, by his life and teaching, showed the positive thrust of this precept (cf. Mt 5:27-32): "Jesus came to restore creation to the purity of its origins. In the Sermon on the Mount, he interprets God's plan strictly: 'You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart' (Mt 5:27-28). What God has joined together, let not man put asunder (cf. Mt 19:6). The tradition of the Church has understood the sixth commandment as encompassing the whole of human sexuality" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2336).

20:15. Because the Decalogue is regulating inter-personal relationships, this commandment condemns firstly the abducting of persons in order to sell them into slavery (cf. Deut 24:7) but obviously it covers unjust appropriation of another's goods. The Church continues to remind us that every violation of the right to property is unjust (cf. "Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2409); but this is particularly true if actions of that type lead to the enslavement of human beings, or to depriving them of their dignity, as happens in traffic in children, trade in human embryos, the taking of hostages, arbitrary arrest or imprisonment, racial segregation, concentration camps, etc. "The seventh commandment forbids acts or enterprises that for any reason--selfish or ideological, commercial or totalitarian -lead to the "enslavement of human beings", to their being bought, sold and exchanged like merchandise, in disregard for their personal dignity. It is a sin against the dignity of persons and their fundamental rights to reduce them by violence to their productive value or to a source of profit. St Paul directed a Christian master to treat his Christian slave 'no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother...both in the flesh and in the Lord' (Philem 16)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 24 14).

20:16. Giving false testimony in court can cause one's neighbor irreparable damage because an innocent person may be found guilty. But, given that truth and fidelity in human relationships is the basis of social life (cf. Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 26), this commandment prohibits lying, defamation (cf. Sir 7:12-13), calumny and the saying of anything that might detract from a neighbor's dignity (cf. Jas 3:1-12). "This moral prescription flows from the vocation of the holy people to bear witness to their God who is the truth and wills the truth. Offenses against the truth express by word or deed a refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness: they are fundamental infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of the covenant" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2464).

20:17. The wording of this precept is different from that in Deuteronomy: there the distinction is made between coveting one's neighbor's wife and coveting his goods (cf. Deut 5:21). "St John distinguishes three kinds of covetousness or concupiscence: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life (cf. 1 Jn 2:16). In the Catholic catechetical tradition, the ninth commandment forbids carnal concupiscence; the tenth forbids coveting another's goods" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2514).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.