Numbering the Decalogue: A Textlinguistic Approach

Anything that has to do with textlinguistics and the OT gets my attention, and this paper did not let me down. Jason DeRouchie was the speaker, and he discussed how we number the ten commandments. Everyone gets to ten, but there are various ways of getting there. The traditional Protestant method is combine all the coveting into one commandment and split up the first part, while the Catholic method is the opposite. DeRouchie argued for the Catholic view on textlinguistic grounds. He bases his argument on the Deuteronomic version, not the Exodus version. His arguments are as follows. First is the question of vav (and in Hebrew). The first part of verse 21 has a vav, and the next section also begins with a vav, but then the last few clauses of 21 do not. This implies two major sections in the verse, which fits with dividing it into two commandments. Second, a different word for covet is used in the first two clauses of verse 21 (although the same word is used in Exodus). Third, “your neighbor” is repeated in the first two clauses of 21, but not after that in verse 21, implying two commands. Fourth, earlier on in the chapter he views 5:7 as a title that is closely connected with the previous verse by “before me.” Hence, the rest of 5:8-10 is the first commandment. Fifth, the collection of first person speeches is now all put into one commandment, rather than two.

Overall, I find the arguments about verse 21 (the coveting commandment(s)) fairly convincing, but the arguments about the first part of the commandments not as persuasive. But it could very well be that I forgot to take notes on part of that section or that I am missing something. But there is enough here to make us go back and reexamine the commandments.

Why should we care, you might ask? Well, one reason is that this separates the wife from the rest of the household. The woman is not simply another possession, but deserves her own special commandment. The author of Deuteronomy has a fairly high view of women, and this will lead nicely into the next paper I discuss.

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