Exodus 19-25:9; 32; 40; Deuteronomy 34 Jon Levenson, 26-31 in Sinai and Zion.

At the beginning of the reading, in Exodus 19 the lord speaks to Moses and they establish his covenant with Israel. As the reading continues, we learn of the terms of this covenant. The terms of this agreement are what we know to be the commandments. The first one and one of the most important rules that we see on in Exodus 20: 3 is “You shall have no other gods to rival me”. This is known as the 1st Commandment, and was established in order for God to know that his people trust in him and will remain loyal.

There were some parts of the reading that shocked me like Exodus 22:15-16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married, he will pay her brideprice and make her his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to let him have her, he will pay a sum equivalent to the bride price of a virgin”. I found this to be very surprising because I had never heard of something like this in the bible before.

Another part that I recognized and is definitely important is Exodus 23:12 “For six days you will do your work, and on the seventh you will rest, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the child of your slave-girl have a breathing space, and the alien too.” This obviously correlates to 4th commandment of remembering the Sabbath day, and keeping it holy. But the wording in which is is described was fascinating. I feel like this version of the bible is very explicit and straight forward. It is definitely not a children’s bible.

In answering the question of: “Are there consistent moral ideas or does God simply want submission and obedience from the Israelites?” I feel like it’s a bit of both. God for the most part is consistent with his beliefs and what he stands for, but I also feel like it is a bit over-powering. Through these laws, it is evident that God wants control of everything and wants all to be under his control no matter what. God of course is caring, kind, and wonderful, but I get the feeling of dictatorship a bit given that the Israelites have no say in regards to negotiation with these terms.