Exodus 34:18-35

18 You shall keep the festival of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.

19 All that first opens the womb is mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem.

No one shall appear before me empty-handed.

21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest. 22 You shall observe the festival of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out nations before you, and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year.

25 You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, and the sacrifice of the festival of the passover shall not be left until the morning.

26 The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God.

You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

27 The LORD said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. 28 He was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

The Shining Face of Moses

29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him. (Exodus 34:18-35, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of April 18, 2008 (Friday in the Fourth Week of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from May 12, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two).

God’s renewal of the covenant with Israel began in yesterday’s reading with instructions to “cut two tablets of stone like the former ones” to replace the broken tablets (Exod. 34:1) and to meet God on the mountain (v. 3). This was followed by a theophany, what Judith E. Sanderson calls “the fifth divine appearance in Exodus” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Exod. 34:5-9), further intercession by Moses (vv. 8-9), further divine promises (v. 10, cf. vv. 6-7), and an admonition not to tolerate the religion of the then inhabitants of the promised land (vv. 11-16), that is, what Sanderson calls “the forms of worship of the other peoples of Canaan” (ibid., on vv. 11-16). Yesterday’s reading ended with the succinct command, “You shall not make cast idols” (v. 17), and today’s reading continues a series of ritual laws, which are explained by Jeffrey H. Tigay:

In view of the people’s recent religious sin, these terms restate their religious duties; they are a variant–in some details stricter– of the pertinent section of the Book of the Covenant (23:12-33) . . . In light of the people’s sin of idolatry, the order in the parallel section in ch. 23 is reversed, presenting the laws against idolatry first and in greater detail (vv. 11-17//23:20-23) and then the religious calendar (vv. 18-26//23:12-19). (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Exod. 34:11-26).

So today’s reading turns to the religious calendar. “You shall keep the festival of unleavened bread,” says the LORD. “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt” (Exod. 34:18; cf. 23:15). “All that first opens the womb is mine,” says the LORD, “all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep” (34:19; cf. 13:12). “The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem” (34:20a; cf. 13:13). “No one,” says the LORD, “shall appear before me empty-handed” (34:20b; cf. 23:15b). According to Edward L. Greenstein, the words, “no one . . . empty-handed [pertain] to the preceding law (v. 18; see 23:15)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Exod. 34:19-20), and so, in both instances, the phrase refers to the festival of unleavened bread. But according to Rabbi J. H. Hertz, the words “none shall appear” “are taken to refer to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and also to the Feast of Weeks and of Ingathering (v. 22 f)” (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, 2^nd ed., 24^th printing, 1981, on Exod. 34:20).

The LORD’s laws continue with reference to the sabbath. “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest” (34:21; cf. 20:8-11; 23:12). Two more festival celebrations are commanded. “You shall observe the festival of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest,” the festival that came to be called Pentecost, “and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year,” what we know as the festival of booths or tabernacles (v. 22). According to Sanderson, “the instructions concerning the three annual pilgrimage festivals (vv. 18, 22-23) largely parallel 23:14-17” (op. cit., on vv. 18-24). “Three times in the year,” says the LORD, “all your males shall appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel” (v. 23), thus emphasizing the three annual pilgrimage festivals. The LORD promises protection of property in the owner’s absence for these festivals. “For I will cast out nations before you, and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year” (v. 24). Sanderson says, “The property will be protected while the pilgrims are on their way to the sanctuary” (ibid., on v. 24). According to Rabbi Hertz, “God will shield their homes against enemies who might seize such a favourable opportunity to attack the women and children” (op. cit., on Exod. 34:24).

Another law concerns the sacrifices. “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, and the sacrifice of the festival of the passover shall not be left until the morning” (v. 25; cf. 23:18). At this point, Tigay refers to the earlier instructions regarding Passover in 12:6-11, 21-26 (op. cit., on 34:25). Another law concerns the first fruits. “The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God” (34:26a; cf. 23:19a). And another gives rise to the Jewish practice of keeping meat and dairy products separate. “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (34:26b; cf. 23:19b). At this point, Tigay refers to 23:18-19 (ibid., on 34:26).

Moses is directed to write on the tablets. “The LORD said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel” (34:27). “These words,” says Rabbi Hertz, refer to “the contents of v. 11-26, which were the conditions of the renewal of the Covenant” (op. cit., on v. 27; cf. Tigay, op. cit., on v. 27, and Edward L. Greenstein, HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Exod. 34:27). According to the narrator, Moses “was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant (tyr9B4ha yr26b4D9, divrê habb ^erîth), the ten commandments (Myr9&bAD4ha, hadd ^evārîm, lit. ‘the words’)” (v. 28). Of “forty,” Greenstein says, “Cf. 24:18. Here a second forty-day period is indicated; cf. Deut. 10:10” (op. cit., on v. 28; cf. Tigay, op. cit., on v. 28). “This period is reckoned,” says Rabbi Hertz, “from his ascent mentioned in v. 4” (op. cit. on v. 28). According to the Rabbi,

Moses wrote down all these commands, whilst God Himself inscribed the Decalogue upon the second Tables; see v. 1 and Deut. x, 1. . . .

Starting from this verse, the German poet Goethe conjectured in 1773 that the regulations in v. 14-26 could be grouped as ten laws, and these ten laws were the original Ten Commandments! In his later and riper years (Wahrheit und Dichtung, Book xii), he spoke of this alleged discovery of his as ‘a freakish notion,’ due to his insufficient knowledge. Since his day, however, Wellhausen and other Bible Critics have revived the preposterous idea of the youthful poet as to a Second Decalogue, the ‘moral’ Decalogue as they call it, as distinct from the alleged ‘ritual’ Decalogue in this chapter. Leading Bible scholars, however, see the obvious intention of the narrative indicated in v. 1 (‘I will write upon the tables the words which were upon the first tables, which thou didst break’). They furthermore recognize that it is only by arbitrary and baseless guesswork that the precepts in v. 14-26 can be arranged so as to make ten. (ibid.)

According to Sanderson, “Moses’ special role as covenant mediator . . . is shown by the fact that the covenant is made with him and, through him, with Israel” (op. cit., on vv. 27-28).

After writing as directed by the LORD (v. 28), Moses comes down with an afterglow from his talking with God. “Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face (vyn!PA rOf, ‘ôr pānāyw) shone (Nr1q!, qāran) because he had been talking with God” (v. 29). Rabbi Hertz says he was “unconscious that the Divine lustre was reflected upon his face. The greatest are unconscious of their greatness” (op. cit., on v. 29). Commenting on “[was] radiant” (NJPS, 1985, 1999, for NRSV “shone”), Tigay says,

Heb. ‘karan,’ from ‘keren,’ ‘horn,’ in the sense of projection, emanation, as in Hab. 3:4 (‘rays’). In the Vulgate, Jerome, in an over-etymological translation, rendered ‘was horned,’ although he knew from the Septuagint that the meaning was figurative. Nevertheless, his translation led to the image of Moses with horns in medieval and Renaissance art (see esp. Michelangelo’s Moses), and eventually, coupled with the notion of Satan’s horns, to the anti-Semitic belief that Jews have horns. (op. cit., on v. 29)

 "the skin of his face shown" (v. 29, cf. ‘was shining’ v. 30), which leads to the Israelites' fear (v. 30) and his wearing of the veil when speaking to them, but removing it when before the LORD (vv. 33-35), to which Paul would one day refer (2 Cor. 3:7-18). The verb qāran (“shine,” “be radiant”), which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible (Holladay, Lexicon, s. v. qāran), is similar to qeren (“horn”). In comment on the Jewish Publication Society translation (1917), “the skin of his face sent forth beams,” Rabbi Hertz explains the “beams” as “of light. “The Heb. Nrq either means ‘a ray of light’ or, more commonly, ‘a horn.’ The Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate, translates, ‘his face sent out horns of light.’ The medieval artists, therefore . . . were thus misled into representing Moses as with horns protruding from his forehead!” (op cit., on Exod. 34:29). Jeffrey H. Tigay also comments on this:

radiant [‘his face was radiant’ JPS trans., 1985, 1999]. Heb. ‘karan,’ from ‘keren,’ ‘horn,’ in the sense of projection, emanation, as in Hab. 3-4 (‘rays’). In the Vulgate, Jerome, in an overetymological translation, rendered ‘was horned,’ although he knew from the Septuagint that the meaning was figurative. Nevertheless, his translation led to the image of Moses with horns in medieval and Renaissance art (see esp. Michelangelo’s Moses), and eventually, coupled with the notion of Satan’s horns, to the anti-Semitic belief that Jews have horns. (p. 191, on Exod. 34:29)

Although critical of the old covenant, “the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stone tablets,” as compared to “the ministry of the Spirit,” “the ministry of justification,” Paul does not make Jerome’s mistake (2 Cor. 3:7-9). He recognizes a certain “glory that was being set aside” (v. 12) in the shining of Moses’ face. With Paul, we certainly should reject any form of understanding this text in the way of Jerome.

“When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses,” says the narrator, “the skin of his face was shining (Vyn!7PA rOf8 Nraq!, qāran ‘ôr pānāyw) and they were afraid to come near him” (v. 30). But Moses offered reassurance. He “called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned (Ubwuy0!v1, wayyāšuvû) to him, and Moses spoke with them” (v. 31). “Called,” says Rabbi Hertz, was “to reassure them” (op. cit., on v. 31). “Returned,” says Greenstein, is “rather ‘turned’ ” (op. cit., on v. 31). Of “returned,” the Rabbi says, “The verb implies that they had retreated in terror,” and, of “spoke to them” (JPS, for NRSV “spoke with them”), he says, Moses “repeated to them what God had commanded him in the Mount” (loc. cit.). Furthermore, “Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai” (v. 32). Referring to “all that the LORD had spoken,” Rabbi Hertz says, “viz. the Covenant, upon the fulfilment of which His presence would accompany the people” (ibid., on v. 32). “When Moses had finished speaking with them,” we are told, “he put a veil on his face” (v. 33). According to the Rabbi, “The radiance was something that appertained to the Divine, and for that reason must not be put to a profane use” (ibid., on v. 33). The sentence continues: “but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off (rys9y!, yāsîr, imperfect tense verb), until he came out; and when he came out (xcAy!v4, w ^eyātsā’, perfect tense verb with waw consecutive) and told (rB,d9v4, w ^edibber, perfect tense verb with waw consecutive) the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see (Uxr!v4, w ^erā’û, perfect tense verb with waw consecutive) the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on (byw9hev4, w ^ehēšîv, perfect tense verb with waw consecutive) his face again, until he went in to speak with him” (vv. 34-35). In verses 34-35, the initial imperfect tense verb (“take the veil off”) is followed by a series of perfect tense verbs, as indicated above. The initial imperfect tense verb indicates “actions, etc., which were repeated in the past, either at fixed intervals or occasionally (cf. E. Kautzsch, ed., and A. E. Cowley, trans., Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 2^nd English ed., 1910, reprinted 1985, sec. 107 e). In the continuation, the perfect tense verbs with the waw consecutive continue the sense of the initial imperfect tense verb (cf. ibid., sec. 112 e). We are given a picture of what would happen repeatedly for a period of time, as indicated by “whenever” (v. 34) and the helping verb “would” (3 times, in vv. 34-35 (NRSV = NJPS 1985, 1999; contrast “when,” v. 34, and the absence of “would” in these verses in AV/KJV = JPS). The TNIV version has “whenever” in verse 34, but only the third “would” of the three in the NRSV, verses 34-25). In his comments, Rabbi Hertz improves on the JPS translation: “when Moses went in . . . he took. Better, whenever Moses went in . . . he would take . . .” (op. cit., on v. 34). On “children of Israel saw” (v. 34 JPS, for NRSV “Israelites would see”), the Rabbi says, “The People were the more deeply impressed by his message when they beheld the radiance of his countenance” (ibid., on v. 35).

1 Thessalonians 3:1-13

3:1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we decided to be left alone in Athens; 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions. Indeed, you yourselves know that this is what we are destined for. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer persecution; so it turned out, as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith; I was afraid that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labor had been in vain.

Timothy's Encouraging Report

6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love. He has told us also that you always remember us kindly and long to see us–just as we long to see you. 7 For this reason, brothers and sisters, during all our distress and persecution we have been encouraged about you through your faith. 8 For we now live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13 And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:1-13, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of December 4, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when they were based on comments from April 18, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated from December 7, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), when they were combined with revision and supplement from December 2, 2004 (Thursday of the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), and from May 12, 2006 (Friday of the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two).

As noted in comments for yesterday’s reading, Paul expresses regret at having to be separated from the Thessalonian believers. He expresses his longing “to see you face to face” (1 Thess. 2:17), for they are his “hope or joy or crown of boasting” (v. 18), his “glory and joy” (v. 20). Today’s reading continues the same thought. “Therefore when we could bear it no longer,” he says, “we decided to be left alone in Athens; and we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith” (3:1-2). Paul had to leave Thessalonica soon after his first arrival there because of opposition (Acts 17:5-10), and when they followed him to Beroea (v. 13), he was taken to Athens, where he was left alone (v. 15). The instruction “to have Silas and Timothy joint him as soon as possible” seems to have been fulfilled in part. Paul himself takes up the story, as indicated above (1 Thess. 3:1-2). Paul explains, “so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions” (v. 3a). The persecutions are those described in chapter 2, discussed in some detail yesterday. “Indeed,” says Paul, “you yourselves know that this is what we are destined for” (v. 3b). Paul considers their persecutions, as well as his own, as part of the struggles that precede the end-time and the Lord’s Second Coming. “In fact,” he reminds them, “when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer persecution; so it turned out, as you know” (v. 4). Compare Jesus words in his eschatological speech, “For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, and never will be” (Mk. 13:19; cf. Mt. 24:21; cf. Lk. 21:23b, 24).

“For this reason,” says Paul, “when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith; I was afraid that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labor had been in vain” (1 Thess. 3:5). Of the “tempter,” Edgar M. Krentz says, “i.e., Satan (see 2:18)” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on 1 Thess. 3:5). Paul blames his continued separation from them on activity of the tempter. Paul had feared that they might yield to temptation, but he now rejoices in Timothy’s report. “But Timothy has just now come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love” (v. 6a). Earlier Paul gives thanks for the Thessalonians’ faith, hope and love (1:3), of which Krentz says, “Faith, hope, and love occur together here for the first time in Paul’s Letters; see also 5:8; Rom. 5:1-4; 1 Cor. 13:13; Gal. 54:5-6” (ibid., on 1:3). Krentz refers here to his earlier note, and adds, “Paul reinforces hope in 4:13-18” (ibid., on 3:6). Paul has received good news from Timothy. “He has told us also that you always remember us kindly and long to see us–just as we long to see you” (v. 6b). Their faith has encouraged Paul, as he says, “For this reason, brothers and sisters, during all our distress and persecution we have been encouraged about you through your faith (pivstiV, pistis)” (v. 7). While the word for “faith” (pivstiV, pistis) often means “faith, trust, confidence,” in God, or “as believing response to divine outreach, without specific ref. to God or Christ” (Frederick William Danker, The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. pivstiV, pistis), its first meaning is “faithfulness, fidelity” (ibid.), of which there are perhaps overtones here. Paul is thankful for their faith in responding to the Christian gospel, but also for their faithfulness in the persecutions he has mentioned. And that is an encouragement to Paul himself. “For we now live,” he says, if you continue to stand firm (sthvkete, stēkete) in the Lord” (v. 8). The verb translated “stand firm” has various meanings related to “stand,” including, “in situation requiring resolve, stand firm, hold one’s ground ” as in Ephesians 6:13-14 (Danker, ibid., s.v. i{sthmi/ iJstavnw, histēmi/histanō ; cf. sthvkw, stēkō), According to Abraham Smith, “Stand,” says Abraham Smith, “is one of the letter’s military terms” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on 1 Thess. 3:8).But the larger Lexicon does not make a military connection. The verb sthvkw (stēkō ) is “a late formation from e”sthka (hestēka), the perfect of  i{sthmi (histēmi), and used beside it. The word means (2) “to be firmly committed in conviction or belief, [a] figurative extension of [meaning no.] 1: stand firm, be steadfast e[n tini (en tini) in something.” Meaning no. (1) is “to be in a standing position, stand “ (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. sthvkw, stēkō).

Paul continues to express his love for the Thessalonian believers. “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? “ (v. 9). Continually, “night and day,” he prays “most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith” (v. 10). He prays that he may be able to come to them as “our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you” (v. 11). He prays that their love for one another may abound and increase, on the model of his love for them (v. 12). And he concludes with a prayer that the Lord may “so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming (parousiva, parousia) of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (v. 13). “Hearts,” says Smith, “is not a synonym for feelings as in modern speech, but the center of knowledge and understanding” (op. cit., on v. 13). And he says, “A prayer reminds the audience about the parousia (3:13; cf. 2:19 and announces the themes of love (3:12; cf. 4:9-12), holiness (3:13; cf. 4:3, and the parousia (3:13; cf. 4:11; 5:11) to be developed in the next chapters” (ibid., on 3:11-13). Krentz says, “Timothy’s report (see. v. 2) leads Paul to an exuberant response” (op. cit., on 3:6-13).

Matthew 5:27-37

Concerning Adultery

27 “You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

Concerning Divorce (Mt 19.9; Mk 10.11-12; Lk 16.18)

31 “It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Concerning Oaths

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:27-37, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of September 22, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year One), when they were repeated from April 18, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated from September 25, 2007 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year One), when comments were combined from September 20, 2005 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year One), and from May 12, 2006 (Friday of the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when some comments were repeated from May 7, 2004 (Friday of the week of the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), in an email sent on May 5, 2004, for May 6-9, 2004).

In this lesson, Jesus turns from the subject of anger and murder to those of lust and adultery, divorce, and oaths. Although this version of Jesus’ teaching about divorce is less stringent than the parallels (Mk. 10:11-12; Lk. 16:18), which do not include the “exception clause,” “except on the ground of unchastity” (Mt. 5:32; cf. 19:9), it provides a stricter interpretation of the Seventh (Sixth) Commandment. “You have heard that it was said,” he begins, “ ‘You shall not commit adultery’ ” (Mt. 5:27, citing Ex. 20:14; cf. Deut. 5:18). But he adds his own interpretation. “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt. 5:28). This warning against the lust that leads to adultery may be compared to the warning against anger that leads to murder (yesterday’s reading). In saying that “everyone who looks at a woman with lust” has broken the commandment, some active welcoming of the thoughts and feelings must be implied, and perhaps the intention–apart from societal restraints–to carry out the contemplated murder or adultery. Jesus reinforces this command with the warning: rather than sin, one should “tear it [your eye] out”: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell (gevenna, geenna)” (v. 29). The word for “hell” (Gehenna) used here was discussed at length in yesterday’s comments. The metaphor shifts from the eye to the hand. “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell (gevenna, geenna)” (v. 30). According to Dennis C. Duling, “Tear it out, cut it off [are] hyperboles to dramatize the need to eliminate the causes of adultery” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mt. 5:29-30).

Solomon Schechter, one-time President of the Jewish Theological Seminary, said “that the Rabbis were accustomed to give enlarged interpretations of Biblical utterances, and were wont to argue that more was intended and included by a given command or saying than the mere letter would imply” (cited by C. G. Montefiore, The Synoptic Gospels, 1968). On the adultery antithesis, Montefiore adds “The doctrine that desire is sinful is quite Rabbinic, and can be readily paralleled in the Talmud.” He adds that Jesus, in these antitheses, does not go beyond Job, chapter 31. “I have made a covenant with my eyes; / how then could I look upon a virgin?” (Job 31:1).

As Jesus continues with teaching on divorce, he says “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce’ ” (Mt. 5:31; cf. Deut. 24:1; Mt. 19:76; Mk. 10:4). The reference in Deuteronomy is to a hypothetical case. “Suppose a man enters into marriage with a woman, but she does not please him because he finds something objectionable (rbADA tv18r4f,, ‘erwath dāvār) about her, and so he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; she then leaves his house and goes off to become another man’s wife” (Deut. 24:1-2). According to Dennis C. Duling, verse 31 “summarizes Deut. 24:1-4 and assumes current Israelite practice, that the husband initiates divorce by giving his wife a certificate of divorce (see Deut. 24:1; see also Mt. 1:19; 19:7” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mt. 5:31). Jesus offers a more stringent interpretation of the Deuteronomy text. “But I say to you,” he says–as he does with each antithesis (vv. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44)–“that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (v. 32). In Mark, Jesus’ teaching about divorce is prompted by a question from “some Pharisees [who] came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” (Mk. 10:2). Whereas in Matthew, Jesus’ antithesis formula, “It was also said,” raises the question of divorce and points to the background in Deuteronomy, in Mark, Jesus asks, “What did Moses command you?” (Mk. 10:3), and the Pharisees answer, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her” (Mk. 10:4) Mark does not include the “exception clause,” that is “except on the ground of unchastity” (Mt. 5:32), nor does Luke (Lk. 16:18, in another context). Perhaps within Matthew’s Christian community the question was understood to be more complex–perhaps even anticipated as such by Jesus. In any event, some situations were apparently regarded as irreconcilable. “You can’t unscramble eggs,” as someone said. According to Duling, the exception presented in verse 32 “may reflect the interpretation attributed to the school of Shammai, a prominent Jewish scholar of the early first century” (ibid., on Mt. 5:32). Duling adds that Shammai interpreted “‘something objectionable' (Deut. 24:1) to mean (her) unchastity (i.e., adultery)” (ibid., with reference to Mishnah, Gittin 9:10).

In the Sermon, Jesus moves on to the issue of oaths. “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord’ ” (Mt. 5:33; cf. Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21). “But I say to you,” says Jesus, “Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city if the great King” (Mt. 5:34). When on his death-bed, David is reminded by Bathsheba of his promise regarding Solomon: “As the LORD lives (hv!hy4-yHa, chay-YHWH), who has saved my life from every adversity, as I swore (yT9f4Baw4n9, nišba‘tî) to you by the LORD (hv!hyBa, baYHWH), the God of Israel (lxer!W4y9 yhelox$, ’ ^elōhē yiśrā’ēl), ‘Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so will I do this day” (1 Kgs. 1:29b-30). “As the LORD lives (hv!hy4-yHa, chay-YHWH)” is a common oath formula in the Hebrew Bible. But in contrast to the exception clause for divorce, Duling says, “Jesus prohibits oaths altogether; cf. 23:16-22; Jas. 5:12” (ibid., on Mt. 5:33-37). Jesus continues, “And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black” (Mt. 5:36). One is not to swear by God, though even King David did, nor by oneself, one’s head or one’s hair. Rather, says Jesus, “Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one” (Mt. 5:37). James repeats. “Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation” (Jas. 5:12). In Matthew, Jesus elaborates the contrast with contemporary Pharisaic practice in 23:16:22.

Early Quakers took the prohibition of swearing quite literally. Robert Barclay includes the following in his discussion of Jesus’ teaching about oaths:

But considering these clear words of our Saviour (Matt. 5:33-34), “Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you, swear not at all, neither by heaven,” &c. “But let your communication be yea, yea; nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these, cometh of evil.” As also the words of the apostle James (5:12), “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay: lest ye fall into condemnation.” I say, considering these clear words, it is admirable how anyone that professeth the Name of Christ can pronounce any oath with a quiet conscience; far less to persecute other Christians, that dare not swear, because of their Master [Christ’s] authority. (Apology, Proposition 15, at http://www.qhpress.org/texts/barclay/apology/prop15.html#454, accessed again September 21, 2009)

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net