The Ten Commandments In The Hebrew Bible

The Ten Commandments dictate the choices and behavior of the Christian and Jewish traditions; given that it serves as the direct word of God. These divine expectations of the people are the path to salvation and righteousness if one chooses to follow them. The Ten Commandments were revealed to Moses by God on a mountain and are later emphasized throughout the Hebrew Bible. However, the prophets, who are chosen by God, stress several other commandments that are not necessarily listed in the Ten Commandments. Even though many of the prophets lived at different time periods, many of their messages are consistent, such as the emphasis on repentance. The prophets of Hosea, Micah, Third Isaiah, Malachi, and Second Isaiah may all appear in different

Because of the consistencies between these prophets’ strongly emphasized messages, they would add two commandments to the original ten: Repent to the Lord your God, for He will show mercy and compassion to your iniquities and let your actions be filled with good intention and conscious, for any action without any meaning behind it is useless. The first new commandment, repent to the Lord your God, for He will show mercy and compassion to your iniquities, is a common theme found in the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible. The book of Hosea, for example, is “designed to call upon Israel to return to the Lord” (New Interpreters’ Study Bible, Sweeny 1256). Hosea uses his marriage as a symbol to the people of Israel to reveal that they are straying away from the God that created them. Hosea’s most general message to the people of Israel lies in repentance, highlighting that the answer to any problem is to turn back to the Lord. In Hosea Chapter Six, A Call to Repentance, the prophet opens by saying, “Come let us

In Chapter 43 of Second Isaiah, the prophet argues that “even when proper sacrifices have been offered, they have not been satisfying because of other iniquities” (Ackerman 1016). The people of Israel believe that if they do everything they can to make sure that their sacrifices are worthy and appropriate, God will accept them. However, Isaiah points out that the behavior and actions beneath the sacrifice will not be ignored. Similarly, in Chapter 58 of Third Isaiah, the Lord speaks to the prophet and seeks to define what is considered false and true worship. According to the book of Third Isaiah, “The Lord rejects fasting that is accompanied by oppression (v.3) and strife (v.4).” (Ackerman 1037). In this context, the people cannot expect that one action done in good intention, fasting, will be accepted when their actions of oppression say another thing. Finally, in the book of Third Isaiah, the prophet emphasizes that even if a worshipper participates in appropriate actions alongside inappropriate ones, both will be condemned (Isaiah 66.3-4). More generally, one good action cannot cover up the bad one, because intention matters just as much as the action