Bible Exegesis: Exodus 20
Prior to beginning this assignment, I had already found a passionate interest in theology, primarily the logical historical analysis of the Old Testament. I had read several books on the topic, but still had a thirst for more knowledge. With that said, my preceding assumptions predominantly consisted of skepticism towards the religious interpretation of the Old Testament. I believed that Exodus 20 was a prime example of the religious establishment interpreting an ancient text as to be divine. I felt that the Ten Commandments were nothing more then a moral code of antiquity, established as an ethical compass by spiritual leaders in a religious society.
Exodus 20 is a hot button topic in today’s polarized political climate. Conservatives want the Ten Commandments displayed in all schools and Liberals argue that it’s a violation of the separation of church and state. With this debate not likely to reach a compromise in the near future, I feel that the scholarly education of this chapter and the Old Testament in general, is needed to advance this quarrel beyond petty mud-slinging.
Contrary to sectarian belief, the much theorized author of Exodus is not believed to have been Moses. Instead, the consensus is that the text is a mixed bag of penned interpretations, consisting of the Yahwist (J writer), Priestly (P writer), and Elohist (E writer), with the E writer considered the primary architect of the book. Although we can hypothesize based upon the literal thumbprints written into the text, it is impossible to determine the definitive author of Exodus 20. Even the date of origin causes significant debate amongst experts. While it’s known th ...