Customer Reviews

The Nine Commandments : Uncovering the Hidden Pattern of Crime and Punishment in the Hebrew Bible

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A theory so plausible and eloquently argued that you want to give yourself a V-8 forehead slap. Freedman looks at the Ten Commandments (yes, he addresses ALL ten of them) in relationship to the Primary History in the Bible (the nine books from Genesis through Kings, minus Ruth). Along the way he disburses some very interesting information that will enhance Bible readers' future experience with the Bible texts: he explains the practice of "the pairing of texts" in the Hebrew Bible, makes compelling points about Jeremiah's relationship to the Primary History, contrasts monotheism with henotheism and monolatry, and gives a fascinating explanation of how the Hebrew divining stones, the Urim and Thummim, probably worked.

I've always felt Bible readers have made the mistake of elevating the Torah/Pentateuch at the expense of the rest of the Old Testament. Freedman's thesis seems to defend the integrity of the Hebrew Scriptures as a whole. He shows how the Israelites broke each of the Commandments they received in the wilderness. Not only broke them, but with minimal adjustments to sequencing, Freedman shows that they broke them in order. This breaking of the Commandments constitutes a "scarlet thread" that runs through the Primary History and that ultimately explains why the Israelites suffered defeat and exile at the hands of God's enemies. But there are ten commandments and only nine books in the Primary History. Which commandment does not get represented by a specfic sinful act in a book of its own is a mystery Freedman does not answer until the last chapter. The suspense makes this highly accessible scholarly work, a bit of a page-turner.

If you read this book and enjoy it, you might also like the equally fascinating but more ambitious "Surpassing Wonder: The Invention of the Bible and the Talmuds," by Donald Harman Akenson.

No bones about it, this book is well-written. Freedman gives a quick review on the development of Hebrew monotheism out of the older Canaanite polytheism, and then proceeds onto his argument. The argument is well-written and at least superficially persuasive, but after thinking about it I'm not sure I'm convinced. Freedman makes too many assumptions about the "symmetry" of the Ten Commandments that have no precedent in the text itself; in his discussion of the symmetry of the Bible as a whole I was afraid he was getting dangerously close to numerology or such similar pseudoscience, but thankfully, as befits his reputation, he stuck to accepted methods of analysis in the end. But sticking to accepted standards does not make your argument air-tight: as Freedman himself admits, there are many exceptions to his "rule," which he dismisses, but which I find personally to be damaging to his thesis. The fact that he has to make covetousness a "background commandment" is, as has been noted, special pleading, as is the placing of the first two violations in Exodus, with none in Genesis (none that he counts anyway; in reality there are many in Genesis). This means that the nine commandments are broken in eight books instead of nine. His rearrangement of the order of commandments 6-8 is not as solidly based as he claims either, and there is actually no breaking of the fifth commandment (the example Freedman gives is in reality a law, not an actual event, but he makes an excuse for this as well). Overall, I think the "patterns" Freedman claims to detect are just coincidence, but this is a great book to read none-the-less because it is honest, scholarly, and novel.

David Noel Freedman does it again with this enoyable book. The title makes it sound more radical than it really is. What Professor Freedman does it take note of an interesting pattern that concerns the Ten Commandments and can be found in the Bible's "Primary History" (Genesis-2 Kings). His manner of presentation is easy to understand and interesting. Plus, there are a number of photos and illustrations and fascinating excurses. Highly recommended.

It's rare to find a well-written, well-informed, highly-original book on any subject, much less the heavily-mined territory of Biblical Studies. Unlike Bloom's The Book of J, this book is actually written by a respected biblical scholar.

The book explains many of the unusual word choices and locutions you encounter if you manage to read the whole thing, especially the differing order of commandments across the Old and New Testaments. Some of the discussion smacks of special pleading (can't make the commandment against covetousness fit your theory? must fit in as a 'background commandment' for the rest...).

Overall, however, the author makes a very persuasive case for an outside editor who edited in references to the 10 commandments thruout the early books of the Old Testament. The author treats the subject matter with reverence and tact, and the 'editor theory' helps explain the remarkable cohesiveness and literary quality to a book compiled over a millenium.

Nicely illustrated and written almost as a detective novel, this book is highly recommended. Plus, you now have only nine commandments to worry about (oops, forgot that covetousness one)!

Freedman's premise is a little stretched. He has to eliminate one commandment and shuffle the order of three others. Nonetheless his work is an intriguing, thematic study of the Hebrew Bible. His conclusions challenge conventional notions of Biblical authorship and compel the reader to dive in and explore both the narrative and the moral message of the Bible.

Re: the omitted "10th" commandment -- it's no mystery that coveting was also the commandment that tripped up the Apostle Paul (see Romans 7). While breaking the other commandments would be known by outward acts of disobedience, the commandment against coveting was the commandment that preceded and underlay the breaking of the others, yet remained hidden within a man's soul (and sometimes even hidden from himself) until it manifested itself by the breaking of one of the other commandments. James also lays the blame for man's sins on coveting (James 4:1ff). Freedman is right to single out this commandment from the other nine, as it's the scarlet thread (Freedman's oft-used term for his thesis) that ties the other nine -- indeed, man's whole fallen nature, INCLUDING the cause of the Fall (Eve's desire/coveting of the forbidden fruit) -- together. Recognizing this leads one to the Apostle's cry (and solution) in Romans 7:24-25. Failing to recognize this leads to the abortive attempts at righteousness that the Apostle also describes in Romans 10:3.

But back to the book: This is so well-written, so accessible, that the most ill-educated (biblically) layman or laywoman can read this with pleasure and understanding. Bravo, David Noel Freedman! Even if you don't agree with all of it, it's worth reading all of it.

David Noel Freedman's insights about the underlying themes of the Bible are elegant in their clarity and beautifully written. It isn't often that one has the feeling, while reading, of sitting at the foot of the master. This book is a great gift from one of the world's leading biblical scholars. Brilliant yet accessible, The Nine Commandments is a joy to read.

I found this book worth reading for understanding of the old testament ten commendments and its origins.