(28) And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no water; and he wrote down on the tablets the terms of the covenant, the Ten Sayings.
(13) He declared to you the covenant that He commanded you to observe, the Ten Sayings; and He inscribed them on two tablets of stone.
(1) Thereupon the LORD said to me, “Carve out two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain; and make an ark of wood. (2) I will inscribe on the tablets the commandments that were on the first tablets that you smashed, and you shall deposit them in the ark.” (3) I made an ark of acacia wood and carved out two tablets of stone like the first; I took the two tablets with me and went up the mountain. (4) The LORD inscribed on the tablets the same text as on the first, the Ten Sayings that He addressed to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the Assembly; and the LORD gave them to me. (5) Then I left and went down from the mountain, and I deposited the tablets in the ark that I had made, where they still are, as the LORD had commanded me.
The Torah tells us in three different places that there are Ten Sayings.
~ Why not "Ten Commandments"?
~ How many tablets? Does the text tell us how many sayings on each tablet?
~ These are just a few of the fifteen texts in Tanach that speak about two tablets. Here is the list: Exodus 31:18; 32:15; 34:1, 4, 29; Deuteronomy 4:13; 5:22; 9, 10, 11, 15, 17; 10:1, 3; 1Kings 8:8; 2Chronicles 5:10.
(ח) זָכ֛וֹר֩ אֶת־י֥֨וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֖֜ת לְקַדְּשֽׁ֗וֹ׃ (ט) שֵׁ֤֣שֶׁת יָמִ֣ים֙ תַּֽעֲבֹ֔ד֮ וְעָשִׂ֖֣יתָ כׇּֿל־מְלַאכְתֶּֽךָ֒׃ (י) וְי֨וֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔֜י שַׁבָּ֖֣ת ׀ לַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑֗יךָ לֹֽ֣א־תַעֲשֶׂ֣֨ה כׇל־מְלָאכָ֜֡ה אַתָּ֣ה ׀ וּבִנְךָ֣͏ֽ־וּ֠בִתֶּ֗ךָ עַבְדְּךָ֤֨ וַאֲמָֽתְךָ֜֙ וּבְהֶמְתֶּ֔֗ךָ וְגֵרְךָ֖֙ אֲשֶׁ֥֣ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽ֔יךָ׃ (יא) כִּ֣י שֵֽׁשֶׁת־יָמִים֩ עָשָׂ֨ה יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֶת־הַיָּם֙ וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֔ם וַיָּ֖נַח בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑י עַל־כֵּ֗ן בֵּרַ֧ךְ יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶת־י֥וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֖ת וַֽיְקַדְּשֵֽׁהוּ׃ {ס} (יב) כַּבֵּ֥ד אֶת־אָבִ֖יךָ וְאֶת־אִמֶּ֑ךָ לְמַ֙עַן֙ יַאֲרִכ֣וּן יָמֶ֔יךָ עַ֚ל הָאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ׃ {ס} (יג) לֹ֥֖א תִּֿרְצָ֖͏ֽח׃ {ס} לֹ֣֖א תִּֿנְאָ֑͏ֽף׃ {ס} לֹ֣֖א תִּֿגְנֹֽ֔ב׃ {ס} לֹֽא־תַעֲנֶ֥ה בְרֵעֲךָ֖ עֵ֥ד שָֽׁקֶר׃ {ס} (יד) לֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ד בֵּ֣ית רֵעֶ֑ךָ {ס} לֹֽא־תַחְמֹ֞ד אֵ֣שֶׁת רֵעֶ֗ךָ וְעַבְדּ֤וֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ֙ וְשׁוֹר֣וֹ וַחֲמֹר֔וֹ וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְרֵעֶֽךָ׃ {פ}
(טו) וְכׇל־הָעָם֩ רֹאִ֨ים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִ֗ם וְאֵת֙ ק֣וֹל הַשֹּׁפָ֔ר וְאֶת־הָהָ֖ר עָשֵׁ֑ן וַיַּ֤רְא הָעָם֙ וַיָּנֻ֔עוּ וַיַּֽעַמְד֖וּ מֵֽרָחֹֽק׃ (טז) וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה דַּבֵּר־אַתָּ֥ה עִמָּ֖נוּ וְנִשְׁמָ֑עָה וְאַל־יְדַבֵּ֥ר עִמָּ֛נוּ אֱלֹהִ֖ים פֶּן־נָמֽוּת׃ (יז) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֣ה אֶל־הָעָם֮ אַל־תִּירָ֒אוּ֒ כִּ֗י לְבַֽעֲבוּר֙ נַסּ֣וֹת אֶתְכֶ֔ם בָּ֖א הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וּבַעֲב֗וּר תִּהְיֶ֧ה יִרְאָת֛וֹ עַל־פְּנֵיכֶ֖ם לְבִלְתִּ֥י תֶחֱטָֽאוּ׃
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (14) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house: you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female slave, or his ox or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s. (15) All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance. (16) “You speak to us,” they said to Moses, “and we will obey; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.” (17) Moses answered the people, “Be not afraid; for God has come only in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may be ever with you, so that you do not go astray.”
~ Find ten sayings. Defend your choices.
~ Can you find more than ten? Can you find less?
(ו) וַיִּכְתֹּב עַל הַלֻּחֹת, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָרִאשׁוֹנִים וְהָאַחֲרוֹנִים הָיוּ שָׁוִים, עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִבְּרוֹת, כֵּיצַד הָיוּ עֲשׂוּיִין, חָמֵשׁ עַל לוּחַ זֶה, וְחָמֵשׁ עַל לוּחַ זֶה, כְּדִבְרֵי רַבִּי יְהוּדָה. וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אוֹמֵר עֶשֶׂר עַל לוּחַ זֶה וְעֶשֶׂר עַל לוּחַ זֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות לד, כט): וַיְהִי בְּרֶדֶת משֶׁה מֵהַר סִינַי, וְהַכְּתוּבִים הֵם טוֹעֲנִים אוֹתָן, וְהָיוּ נִרְאִין כְּאִלּוּ הֵם בְּיַד משֶׁה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות לד, כט): וּשְׁנֵי לֻחֹת הָעֵדֻת בְּיַד משֶׁה. וּמשֶׁה לֹא יָדַע כִּי קָרַן עוֹר פָּנָיו, וּמֵהֵיכָן נָטַל משֶׁה קַרְנֵי הַהוֹד, רַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי מִן הַמְּעָרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות לג, כב): וְהָיָה בַּעֲבֹר כְּבוֹדִי. רַבִּי בְּרֶכְיָה הַכֹּהֵן בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר הַלּוּחוֹת הָיָה אָרְכָּן שִׁשָּׁה טְפָחִים וְרָחְבָּן שִׁשָּׁה וְהָיָה משֶׁה אוֹחֵז בְּטִפְחַיִם, וְהַשְּׁכִינָה בְּטִפְחַיִם, וְטִפְחַיִם בָּאֶמְצַע, וּמִשָּׁם נָטַל משֶׁה קַרְנֵי הַהוֹד. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר נַחְמָן בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ אוֹמֵר עַד שֶׁהָיָה כּוֹתֵב בַּקּוּלְמוֹס נִשְׁתַּיֵּיר קִמְעָא, וְהֶעֱבִירוֹ עַל רֹאשׁוֹ וּמִמֶּנּוּ נַעֲשׂוּ לוֹ קַרְנֵי הַהוֹד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וּמשֶׁה לֹא יָדַע כִּי קָרַן עוֹר פָּנָיו.
(6) And He wrote on the tablets (Ex. 34:28) - teaches us that the first [tablets] and the last were the same. Ten sayings, how were they done? Five on this tablet and five on this tablets, as the words of Rabbi Yehudah. And Rabbi Nechemia says: ten on this tablet and ten on this tablet, as it says "and as Moshe was descending from Har Sinai", and the writings they require them [two copies]. And they looked like they were in Moshe's hand, as it is written "two tablets of witnessing in the hand of Moshe" (Ex. 34:29). "And Moshe did not know that rays illuminated the skin of his face" - and from where did Moshe get rays of splendor? The rabbis say: from the cave, as it says (Ex. 33:22) "and it will be, when My honor passes". Rabbi Berachiah Hakohen says, in the name of Rabbi Shmuel: the tablets were six handbreadths in height and six handbreadths in length, and Moshe was holding them on two handbreadths, and the Shechinah by two handbreadths, and there was one handbreath in the middle, and from there Moshe got the rays of splendor. Rabbi Yehudah Bar Nachman says, in the name of Rabbi Shimeon Ben Lakish: [Moshe] was writing with a reed that had a bit left over, and he passed it on his head, and from that reed the rays of splendor were made, as it is written "And Moshe did not know that rays illuminated the skin of his face."
~ Focus on the underlined. How were the possibilities for the tablets, as presented in this midrash?
~ What are the formats?
~ What is the distribution of the sayings?
~ Does the midrash deal with which saying comes first?
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Table from: DeRouchie, J.S. - Counting the Ten an Investigation on the Numbering of the Decalogue, p. 96 in: For Our Good Always Studies on the Message and Influence of Deuteronomy in Honor of Daniel I. Block, edited by Jason S. DeRouchie, Jason Gile, and Kenneth J. Turner, Eisenbrauns, 2013 pp. 93-125
לא תרצח לא תנאף לא תגנב אמר, הנה צויתיך להודות שאני בורא את הכל בלב ובמעשה, ולכבד האבות בעבור שהם משתתפים ביצירה, אם כן השמר פן תחבל מעשה ידי ותשפוך דם האדם אשר בראתי לכבודי ולהודות לי בכל אלה, ולא תנאף אשת רעך, כי תחבל ענין כבוד האבות לכפור באמת ולהודות בשקר, כי לא ידעו את אביהם ויתנו כבודם לאחר, כאשר יעשו עובדי ע''ז אומרים לעץ אבי אתה (ירמיה ב כז), ולא ידעו אביהם שבראם מאין ואחר כן הזהיר לא תגנוב נפש, כי הוא כמו כן גורם כזאת ...
והנה עשרת הדברות חמשה בכבוד הבורא וחמשה לטובת האדם, כי כבד את אביך כבוד האל, כי לכבוד הבורא צוה לכבד האב המשתתף ביצירה, ונשארו חמשה לאדם בצרכו וטובתו:...
והנראה במכתב הלוחות שהיו החמש ראשונות בלוח אחד שהם כבוד הבורא כמו שהזכרתי, והחמש השניות בלוח אחד, שיהיו חמש כנגד חמש, כענין שהזכירו בספר יצירה (א ג) בעשר ספירות בלי מה כמספר עשר אצבעות, חמש כנגד חמש, וברית יחיד מכוונת באמצע ומזה יתברר לך למה היו שתים, כי עד כבד את אביך הוא כנגד תורה שבכתב, ומכאן ואילך כנגד תורה שבעל פה ונראה שלזה רמזו רבותינו ז''ל שאמרו (תנחומא עקב י) שתי לוחות כנגד שמים וארץ וכנגד חתן וכלה וכנגד שני שושבינין וכנגד שני עולמים. וכל זה רמז אחד, והמשכיל יבין הסוד:
THOU SHALT NOT MURDER. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL. He is stating: “Now I have commanded you to acknowledge in thought and in deed that I am the Creator of all, and to honor parents because they joined [Me] in your formation. If so, guard against destroying the work of My hands and spilling the blood of man, whom I have created to honor Me and acknowledge Me in all these matters. And do not commit adultery with your fellow-man’s wife, because you will thereby destroy the principle of honoring parents, [causing the children] to deny the truth and acknowledge falsehood. They will not know their fathers and will thus give their honor to another, just as the idol-worshippers do, who say to a block of wood, ‘thou art my father,’ (Jeremiah 2:27) and they do not know their Father who created them out of nothing.” After that, He warned against stealing a human being, for that too brings about a similar [disintegration of values].....
Thus, of the Ten Sayings, there are five which refer to the glory of the Creator and five are for the welfare of man, for [the fifth commandment], Honor thy father, is for the glory of G-d, since it is for the glory of the Creator that He commanded that one honor one’s father who is a partner in the formation of the child. Five commandments thus remain for the needs and welfare of man....
With reference to the writing on the Tablets of law, it would appear that the first five were on one Tablet, for they are for the glory of the Creator, as I have mentioned, and the second five commandments were on another Tablet. Thus there were five opposite five, something like the Rabbis mentioned in the Book of Creation: “With ten emanations, intangible, as is the number of ten fingers, five opposite five, and the Covenant of the Unity placed directly in the middle.” From this it will be made clear to you why there were two Tablets, for up to Honor thy father, it corresponds to the Written Torah, and from there on it corresponds to the Oral Torah. It would appear that it is this that our Rabbis, of blessed memory, have alluded to in saying that the two Tablets correspond to heaven and earth, to a groom and bride, to the two friends [of the groom and bride], and to the two worlds [this world and the World to Come]. All these constitute one allusion, and the person learned in the mystic lore of the Cabala will understand the secret.
~ How does the Ramban envision the tablets?
~ How does he separate the Sayings?
~ What are the meanings he attributes to the tablets?
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~ How do the tablets look like? What are their special features?
In England, on 1218 during the reign of Henry III (11 years old at the time) he passed a law that Jews had to wear a special badge. This was the first time that Jews were forced to wear distinguishable symbol. The symbol chosen was the tablets:
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From Tolan, John - The First Imposition of a Badge on European Jews: The English Royal Mandate of 1218 in: The Character of Christian-Muslim Encounter, Chapter 10, pp. 145–166, first pages available at: https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004297210/B9789004297210_012.xml
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This caricature is the earliest dated portrait of a Jew, and shows marked Jewish traits. The Jew wears a cowl, a sign that he had no outdoor work to perform and that he belonged to the professional classes; on his upper garments is fixed the English form of a Jewish badge, which was in the shape of the two tables of the Law.
The name given to a portrait or caricature of an English Jew of the year 1277, drawn on a forest-roll of the county of Essex, in connection with a number of fines imposed on some Jews and Christians who pursued a doe that had escaped from the hounds near the city of Colchester. This was an offense against the forest laws of the time, and a fine had to be paid by a Jew who had evaded arrest and who, when he returned, was probably the subject of the caricature.
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Illustration is from the margin of the manuscript ‘The Rochester Chronicle’, created in 1355 by the monk Edmund of Haddenham. It illustrates the expulsion of the Jews from England.
~ The question for us in this class: were the tablets in the arched shape, and why? That is not a given, see below:
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This is a sculpture by Michelangelo called "Moses".
~ What features do you see?
~ Where are the tablets? How do they look like?
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, born on March 6, 1475, Caprese Michelangelo, Italy and died on February 18, 1564, Rome, Italy.
6 x 6 x 3 - the tablets here are square.
Tefach = handbreadth = between 3.15 and 4.2 inches
The idea probably came from German diptychs, which were hinged devotional pictures of biblical scenes and saints:
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The panel is believed to be from the Trinity College Church in Edinburgh, which was demolished in 1848. It survived because it was displayed in Edinburgh prisons for the next 150 years. Now located in the Museum of Scotland.
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Old logo of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, used up to May 2015.
https://www.lubavitch.com/in-time-for-shavuot-israels-chief-rabbinate-revises-tablet-logo/
Moshe and horns
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וַיִּכְתֹּב עַל הַלֻּחֹת, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָרִאשׁוֹנִים וְהָאַחֲרוֹנִים הָיוּ שָׁוִים, עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִבְּרוֹת, כֵּיצַד הָיוּ עֲשׂוּיִין, חָמֵשׁ עַל לוּחַ זֶה, וְחָמֵשׁ עַל לוּחַ זֶה, כְּדִבְרֵי רַבִּי יְהוּדָה. וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אוֹמֵר עֶשֶׂר עַל לוּחַ זֶה וְעֶשֶׂר עַל לוּחַ זֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות לד, כט): וַיְהִי בְּרֶדֶת משֶׁה מֵהַר סִינַי, וְהַכְּתוּבִים הֵם טוֹעֲנִים אוֹתָן, וְהָיוּ נִרְאִין כְּאִלּוּ הֵם בְּיַד משֶׁה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות לד, כט): וּשְׁנֵי לֻחֹת הָעֵדֻת בְּיַד משֶׁה. וּמשֶׁה לֹא יָדַע כִּי קָרַן עוֹר פָּנָיו, וּמֵהֵיכָן נָטַל משֶׁה קַרְנֵי הַהוֹד, רַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי מִן הַמְּעָרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות לג, כב): וְהָיָה בַּעֲבֹר כְּבוֹדִי. רַבִּי בְּרֶכְיָה הַכֹּהֵן בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר הַלּוּחוֹת הָיָה אָרְכָּן שִׁשָּׁה טְפָחִים וְרָחְבָּן שִׁשָּׁה וְהָיָה משֶׁה אוֹחֵז בְּטִפְחַיִם, וְהַשְּׁכִינָה בְּטִפְחַיִם, וְטִפְחַיִם בָּאֶמְצַע, וּמִשָּׁם נָטַל משֶׁה קַרְנֵי הַהוֹד. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר נַחְמָן בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ אוֹמֵר עַד שֶׁהָיָה כּוֹתֵב בַּקּוּלְמוֹס נִשְׁתַּיֵּיר קִמְעָא, וְהֶעֱבִירוֹ עַל רֹאשׁוֹ וּמִמֶּנּוּ נַעֲשׂוּ לוֹ קַרְנֵי הַהוֹד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וּמשֶׁה לֹא יָדַע כִּי קָרַן עוֹר פָּנָיו.
And He wrote on the tablets (Ex. 34:28) - teaches us that the first [tablets] and the last were the same. Ten sayings, how were they done? Five on this tablet and five on this tablets, as the words of Rabbi Yehudah. And Rabbi Nechemia says: ten on this tablet and ten on this tablet, as it says "and as Moshe was descending from Har Sinai", and the writings they require them [two copies]. And they looked like they were in Moshe's hand, as it is written "two tablets of witnessing in the hand of Moshe" (Ex. 34:29). "And Moshe did not know that rays illuminated the skin of his face" - and from where did Moshe get rays of splendor? The rabbis say: from the cave, as it says (Ex. 33:22) "and it will be, when My honor passes". Rabbi Berachiah Hakohen says, in the name of Rabbi Shmuel: the tablets were six handbreadths in height and six handbreadths in length, and Moshe was holding them on two handbreadths, and the Shechinah by two handbreadths, and there was one handbreath in the middle, and from there Moshe got the rays of splendor. Rabbi Yehudah Bar Nachman says, in the name of Rabbi Shimeon Ben Lakish: [Moshe] was writing with a reed that had a bit left over, and he passed it on his head, and from that reed the rays of splendor were made, as it is written "And Moshe did not know that rays illuminated the skin of his face."
~ Focus on the underlined. What are the possibilities raise for the rays? Is there any possibility of them being anything but rays?
The Hebrew word used to mean either “radiant” or “shining” is qaran. It shares the same root (qrn) of the word used for “horns,” qeren. In fact, in modern Hebrew, the word used to refer to a ray of sunshine is qeren, as if speaking of “the sun’s horns.”
The Vulgate, (from the Latin editio vulgata: “common version”), Latin Bible used by the Roman Catholic Church, was primarily translated by St. Jerome. In 382 Pope Damasus commissioned Jerome, the leading biblical scholar of his day to produce one official version of the Bible in Latin. In the Vulgate, Jerome described Moses’ face as cornuta, “horned,” instead of “radiant.” The Septuagint —the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible— refers to the face of Moses as being “glorified” instead —a translation that seems to be way closer to the original Hebrew “radiant.”
[see: https://aleteia.org/2021/08/23/the-reason-why-michelangelos-moses-has-horns/]
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Bury Manuscript, Illumination, 1135, by "Master Hugo", now at the Parker Library at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge.
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This is a page from a compendium of Church doctrine, dated to c. 1295, entitled La Somme le Roy; it was compiled by the Dominican Frère Laurent for the benefit of Philip III of France. The page shown here comes from the finest copy, illuminated by MaiÆtre Honoré, a leading French Gothic painter.
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Moses with Horns in the Chapel at New College, Oxford. 1350
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Andrea de Bonaiuto (1333-1392), Moses. Afresco (detail)
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Moses, the ten plagues and the ten commandments. 1465-1480. Anonymous, located at The British Museum. Note the ten tablets on the front of Moshe's tunic.
See: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1872-0608-340
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~ These two different paintings are by the same author, Philippe de Champagne. Born on May 26, 1602, in Brussels, Belgium; he died on August 12, 1674, in Paris, France. He is the major exponent of the French Baroque school.
The first painting is called "Law"
The second painting is called "Moses presenting the Ten Commandments" and was done in 1648.
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This is a composition by two painters, Robert Nanteuil and Gérard Edelinck, and is called Moses Presenting the Tablets of the Law. Both the painting and the engraving were done in 1699, based on Chapaigne's work above.
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Moses statue at Piazza di Spagna, at the base of the Colonna dell’Immacolata, Rome
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So if you look once more at the Moshe by Rembrandt you will see that his face appears lit up and there are no proper horns just some bright tufts of the hair.
He seems to follow the Rabbinic interpretation? How come?
Rabbi Manasseh ben Israel lived around the corner and historians have postulated that they were acquaintances. Manoel Dias Soeiro (1604 – November 20, 1657), better known by his Hebrew name Menasseh ben Israel (מנשה בן ישראל) was a Portuguese rabbi, kabbalist, writer, diplomat, printer and publisher, founder of the first Hebrew printing press (named Emeth Meerets Titsma`h) in Amsterdam in 1626.
One of his sefarim is Piedra Gloriosa - with four engraved etchings by his acquaintance Rembrandt, who is also thought by some to have painted his portrait.
How Rembrandt was influenced by different religious ideas is discussed in a scholarly work entitled Beyond the Yellow Badge. Anti-Judaism and Antisemitism in Medieval and Early Modern Visual Culture.This consists of a collection of academic articles on various topics. The one that interests us is called - Between Calvinists and Jews - The Ten Commandments in Rembrandt’s Art and the Portuguese Synagogue by Shalom Sabar - Hebrew University of Jerusalem
"Once Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam in 1632, his use of Hebrew inscriptions changed dramatically. From the beginning of this period he lived in the vicinity of the Jewish neighbourhood, and in 1639 he settled on Breestraat, known today as Jodenbreestraat, where he acquired the large house that became the centre of his artistic activity until his insolvency in 1656. Living on the Jewish street, in close proximity to the community’s rabbis, intellectuals, and the leading Sephardi families
(e.g., Pinto, Belmonte, and Rodrigues), exerted a crucial influenceon Rembrandt’s use of Hebrew script, and in the course of years his approach became more original and meaningful. It is not surprising that he would turn to his neighbours for help when he wished to amplify biblical characters and stories by the usage of Hebrew script.
Rembrandt’s use of Hebrew culminated and found its most sophisticated artistic expression in his painting of 1659, Moses Holding the Tablets of the Law.
That his guide or collaborators were Jews becomes evident by the way some of the letters are written—for example, the final bet of לא תגנב (“You shall not steal”) is considerably dilated in order to create an even left margin, exactly as a traditional Jewish scribe would do. A further connection with Jewish culture arises from the suggestion that the unusual way Moses holds the tablets above his head was influenced by the artist’s visit to the synagogue, where he could see the customary Jewish ceremony of hagba (raising of the Torah scroll) done in a like manner.
Obviously the artist made a great effort to make the letters clear, sharp and legible even from a distance. At the same time, the second tablet covers most of the first, and thus only the ends of the lines in the first group of commandments are actually visible. The exact text of the commandments on the first, partly eclipsed tablet can be deciphered by evidence provided by an earlier painting Rembrandt’s Hannah and Samuel at the Temple, dated circa 1650.
Therefore, the inscriptions on the first (right) tablet in Hannah allows the reconstruction of the missing parts in Moses, thereby providing the full version of the Ten Commandments as they must have crystallised in Rembrandt’s workshop.
A problematic issue is how the ten were actually divided on the biblical tablets.
Jewish and Christian theologians who coped with this issue offered, according to their respective beliefs and religious inclinations, several methods of dividing the text. Three major systems of division and enumeration developed over the ages:
The traditional rabbinic division, in which “I am the Lord your God” is the first commandment, while “You shall have no other gods . . . You shall not make graven image . . . You shall not bow
down to them . . .,” together make the second. In this tradition the rabbis explained that each tablet contained the same number of commandments, namely five.
The division of St. Augustine, in which “I am the Lord . . . You shall have no other gods . . . sculptured image . . ... bow down to them” constitute the first commandment (Ex. 20:2–6); while the second begins with “You shall not take in vain the name of the Lord your God” (20:7). In order to maintain a total of ten, Augustine suggested that the commandment, “You shall not covet,” be divided into two: “your neighbour’s house” (as the ninth) and “your neighbour’s wife . . .” (as the tenth). On the first tablet, according to this method, appear three commandments, while on the second (starting with “Remember the Sabbath”), seven. St. Augustine’s method has been accepted by the Roman Catholics.
John Calvin’s method deviates from the other two. Calvin claimed that the assertion “I am the Lord . . .” is not a commandment but rather a “preface to the whole law.” This distinction actually harks back to Hellenistic-Jewish authors, notably Josephus and Philo, whose writings were highly valued by the Church Fathers of later generations. Calvin, therefore, defined the first commandment as “You shall have no other gods . . .”; the second is the commandment concerning graven images, while the two parts of “You shall not covet” constitute the tenth. In Calvin’s enumeration, then, there are four commandments on the first tablet (“other gods” through “Remember the Sabbath”), and six on the second.
Rembrandt’s Moses does not follow any of the three systems. It is closer to the rabbinical division, since it opens with “I am the Lord” and contains five commandments on the second tablet. On the other hand, the aforementioned separation of “other gods” and “graven images” into two commandments does not follow the rabbinic system but rather Calvin’s.