View source for Moses: the Ten Commandments

As leader of the [[Israelite]]s during the forty years between their leaving Egypt and their reaching the promised land of Canaan, '''Moses''' faced many difficulties, among them the necessity of ensuring an adequate supply of food and water for a large number of people in inhospitable terrain, and the hostility of some of the tribes through whose territory the [[Israelite]]s travelled and with whom they sometimes had to do battle - for more detail see [[Moses: the Years in the Wilderness]]. No less vital, however, was the need to prevent disorder and promote social harmony amongst the [[Israelite]]s themselves - as in any large group, some [[Israelite]]s behaved badly, harming or offending others, and disputes arose between different individuals. '''Moses''' initially assumed responsibility for dealing with these matters, but soon found that these judicial functions consumed a great deal of his time.

Within months of leaving Egypt the [[Israelite]]s were in the area around Mount Horeb, where '''Moses''' in his youth had worked as a shepherd (see [[Moses: the Early Years]]) and where his father-in-law Jethro still lived. Jethro came to see '''Moses''', and was appalled that '''Moses''' was obliged to spend so much of his time listening to the [[Israelite]]s' complaints about their neighbours' misbehaviour and resolving disputes between them. He realised that '''Moses''' could not sustain this workload indefinitely (''ibid.'' ch. 18, vv. 13-18), and gave him two good pieces of advice: first, that he should formulate and inculcate in the [[Israelite]]s certain general moral principles or 'laws' to govern their behaviour (''ibid.'' ch. 18, v. 20: 'thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do'); and secondly, that he should delegate most of the day-to-day business of listening to complaints and resolving disputes so that only the most important matters required his attention (''ibid.'' ch. 18, vv. 21-22: 'thou shalt provide ... able men ... ; and place such over < the [[Israelite]]s> to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, and rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens; and let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge ...'). It is against this background that the Ten Commandments were communicated to '''Moses''' on Mount Sinai. (Mount Sinai is thought by many scholars to be simply another name for Mount Horeb).

After Jethro left (''ibid.'' ch. 18, v. 27), '''Moses''' called the [[Israelite]]s together and obtained from them a promise to obey whatever commandments God communicated to him. At the same time he gave them an assurance that if they obeyed these commandments God would view them with special favour (''ibid.'' ch. 19, vv. 1-8). He then ordered them to carry out ceremonies of ritual purification to prepare themselves to receive these commandments, and to assemble at the foot of Mount Sinai (''ibid.'' ch. 19, vv. 9-15). When the [[Israelite]]s assembled there two days later, there was thunder and lightning, Mount Sinai itself was hidden in a thick cloud of smoke, and they heard the sound of a trumpet, which grew louder and louder (''ibid.'' ch. 19, vv. 16-25). '''Moses''' went up to the top of the mountain, and there God communicated to him the principles or 'laws' which were to govern the [[Israelite]]s' behaviour. It is these principles which have come to be known as the Ten Commandments - for more information about them see the [[Ten Commandments]]. (In fact what God communicated to '''Moses''' on Mount Sinai went far beyond the Ten Commandments: it included, for example, detailed instructions about the kinds of sacrifice that were acceptable, and the kinds of punishment appropriate to different kinds of wrongdoing.) When '''Moses''' came down from Mount Sinai he wrote out the Ten Commandments, and in a solemn ceremony made the [[Israelite]]s swear that they would obey them (''ibid.'' ch. 24, vv. 3-8). According to alternative [[Bible|biblical]] accounts - see ''Exodus'' ch. 31, v. 18 and ''Deuteronomy'' ch. 5, v. 22 - God himself wrote the commandments on two tables of stone, which '''Moses''' brought down from Mount Sinai.

For information about the final part of '''Moses'''' life see [[Moses: the Years in the Wilderness]].



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