I am the Lord

In the last post, I talked about the most important difference between the Decalogues in D and V.  In this post, I will circle around and start at the beginning of the Decalogue. 

I. An Overview of the Text

As with the past post, we note the opening verse of three versions of the Decalogue (1) the traditional one in our Bible in Ex 20 and Deut 5, (2) the version in V and (3) the text of Lev 19.

Each of the three texts open with a similar but slightly different line:

In Ex 20/Deut 5:

אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ

In V:

אנך אלהם אלהך

And in Lev 19:

אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם

One obvious thing to note is that each sources uses its own language for the phrase: 

·       -For the pronoun I:

o   D uses Anoki and Lev 19 uses Ani, which are consistent with the usages in D and P/H respectively.  For more detail on this, see my post on this topic: http://littlefoxling.blogspot.com/2006/12/anianoki.html

o   V uses “אנך” which is the term for “I” throughout V

·       For the name of God:

o   D uses “Hashem Elokechu” as he almost always does for God.  See my post on that for more details: http://littlefoxling.blogspot.com/2007/03/blog-post_8872.html

o   V uses “אלהם אלהך “ which is the way he describes God

Of course, none of this is surprising and we would expect each author to follow his own linguistic patterns.  What is more interesting is the way this initial introduction fits into the larger story of the Decalogue:

·       In Ex 20/Deut 5, it is an introductory phrase and that’s it.  The Decalogue starts out “I am the Lord” and them moves on to other topics

·       In V, this is both an introduction and a refrain.  The Decalogue starts out “I am the Lord” and then repeats this same phrase “אנך אלהם אלהך” again and again at the end of each Commandment, to signify the end of the commandment

·       In Lev 19, the pattern is similar to V but slightly different.  The phrase is both the opening and also a common refrain.  However, unlike in V, in Lev 19 this phrase is repeated occasionally and not methodically after each commandment

II. Dershowitz’s Theory

So, what does all this mean?  As in the prior post, Dershowitz argues that the commonality between Lev 19 and V implies that Lev 19 was based on V which implies V is very old.  The argument here is that if Deut 5 is the original and both Lev 19 and V were based on Deut, it would be very odd for both authors to coincidentally adopt a convention whereby the opening sentence “I am the Lord” is turned into a refrain.  Therefore, it is more likely that V is older and D dropped the refrain from V but Lev 19 opted to keep it.

III. I am the Lord – Usage in the Bible

Before analyzing Dershowitz’s theory, I want to take a brief detour to consider how the phrase, “I am the Lord” is used in the Bible.  This is a very popular phrase in the Bible and is used in different ways.  I would categorize them into four categories as follows:

1.Revelation

(14 times in the Torah): This is a common theme for all authors of the Torah.  In particular, this phrase seems to be used when God first speaks to someone as a way of revealing who he is - “I am God.”  We find this in all authors though it is used slightly differently for each:

1a. 6 times in P (Gen 17:1 35:11 Ex 6:2; 6:6 6:29; Lev 18:2).  Note according to P, the crescendo of revelation: we have initially (for Gen 1 – 16) God being referred to as Elohim.  Then, he comes to the fathers and reveals his name as “El Shadai” with the phrase “Ani El Shedai.”  The he reveals himself to Moses as “Ani YHWH.”

1b. Six times in JE:

Gen 15:7; 26:24; 28:13; 31:13; 46:3; Ex 3:6

1c. Twice in D

Ex 20 Deut 5:6

Elsewhere in the Bible as well:

Ezekiel 20:5; Psalms 81:11

2: You will know I am God

(9 times in the Torah).  This is a particular usage of the phrase that is pretty much unique to P although the author for some of these texts is unclear:

Ex 6:7; 7:5; 8:18; 10:2 (authorship unclear); 14:4; 14:18: 16:12; 29:46 Deut 29:5 (authorship unclear)

Note in the Torah we only find this in P but we have this elsewhere in the Bible

I Kings 20:13; 20:28 Isiah 45:3; 49:23; 49:26; 60:16 Jer 24:7 Ezekiel 5:13 6:7; 6:10; 6:13; 6:14; 7:4; 7:9; 7:27; 11:10; 11:12; 12:15; 12:16; 12:20; 13:9; 13:14; 13:21; 13:23; 14:8; 15:7; 16:62; 17:21; 20:12 (this is also category 4); 20:20 (this is also category 4); 20:26; 20:38; 20:42; 20:44; 21:10; 22:16; 22:22: 24:24; 24:26; 25:5; 25:7; 25:10; 25:17; 26:6; 28:22; 28:23; 28:24; 28:26; 29:6; 29:9; 29:16; 29:21; 30:8; 30:19; 30:25; 30:26; 32:15; 33:29; 34:27; 34:30; 35:4; 35:9; 35:12; 35:15; 36:11; 36:23; 36:38; 37:6; 37:13; 37:14; 37:28; 38:23; 39:6; 39:7; 39:22; 39:28; Joel 2:27 (though note different syntax); 4:17; Psalms 46:11

The plethora of instances in Ezekiel is especially noteworthy, both for their sheer number and also because of the general commonality between P and Ezekiel, thus the usage of this phrase particularly in P and Ezekiel is noteworthy.         

3. God’s power /dependability

(8 times in the Torah).  This usually appears ending or beginning a sentence in a narrative, prophecy, blessing, or curse, as a statement of God’s power or dependability.  The idea here seems to be a signal of God’s power– you can count on me and you should be afraid of me - I am God and I am dependable.  Again, this is mostly a P phrase.  We find it

3a. 7 times in P

Ex 6:8; 12:12; 29:46 Lev 26:13; 26:44; 26:45 Nu 14:35

3b. -Once in JE in Ex 15:26 though note the different syntax relative to P

3d. Elsewhere in the Bible as well: Judges 6:10 Isaiah 27:3 41:4 41:10 41:13 41:17 42:6 42:8 43:3 43:11; 43:12 43:15 (though not parallel with category 4 below); 44:24 45:5; 45:6; 45:7; 45:8; 45:18; 45:19; 45:21; 45:22; 46:9; 48:17; 51:15; 60:22; 61:8 Jerimiah 9:23; 17:10; 32:27 Ezekiel 5:15; 5:17; 12:25; 14:4; 14:7; 14:9; 17:24 (x2); 21:4; 21:22; 21:36; 22:14; 23:49: 24:14; 26:14; 30:12; 34:24 (x2) (though categorization unclear)  34:31; 36:36 (x2); Zechariah 10:6 Malachi 3:6; Hoshea 12:10; 13:4               

4. The law code refrain

(56 times in the Torah) This phrase is used as a rationale for why the Jews should keep the law.  These usages are often ending a law code section and often with a particular focus on holiness.  This usage is ubiquitous in P but rare elsewhere.  We find it:

4a. 54 times in P / H.  These, in-turn, can be broken into two categories:

-Usages relating to the holiness of God, in-effect, saying God is Holy, so too Israel should be holy.  These appear 17 times including:  Ex 31:13; Lev 11:44; 11:45; 19:2; 20:7; 20:8; 20:26; 21:8; 21:15; 21:23; 22:2; 22:9; 22:16; 22:32; Nu 3:13; 15:41 (x2, linkage to holiness debatable)

Examples without the holiness theme appearing 37 times including Lev 18:4, 18:5, 18:6, 18:20, 18:30; 19:3; 19:4; 19:10; 19:12; 19:14; 19:16; 19:18; 19:24; 19:28; 19:30; 19:31; 19:32; 19:33; 19:36; 19:37; 20:24 22:3; 22:8; 22:30; 22:31; 22:33; 23:22 23:42 24:31; 25:38; 25:35; 26:1; 26:2 Nu 3:41; 3:45 10:10 35:34   

Twice in D:

Ex 20:4; Deut 5:8

Elsewhere in the Bible Ezekiel 20:7; 20:12 (this is also category 2); 20:19; 20:20 (this is also category 2)

Again, it is noteworthy that this usage is common in Ezekiel and not elsewhere.

So, what should we make of all of the above?  A few things jump out:

A. The phrase is obviously very common and used by many many Biblical authors.  This might indicate it is a very old phrase from an earlier text that influenced many different others or it might just mean that it is the conjunction of two supper-common words “I” and “God” so is of course common

B. While a very common phrase, its use in P and related texts is quite distinct from the use elsewhere in the Bible. 

Elsewhere in the Bible, it is mainly used as a kind of revelation “Behold, I am God.”  The one additional notable usage is in Isaiah where it is a kind of boast, signaling God’s power.

However, in P/H, the phrase fits into the broader theology in a broader way.  What is the broader theological story?  A few of the above verses spell-it out explicitly so it is worth quoting a few of them in full:

There are two sub-themes here:

Theme 1 – God is Holy so too, you shall be Holy and the keep the law:

Lev 11:44:

 כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה, אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים, כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי

Lev 19:2

דַּבֵּר אֶל-כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם--קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ:  כִּי קָדוֹשׁ, אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם

Lev 20:26

וִהְיִיתֶם לִי קְדֹשִׁים, כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָה

Theme 2: I took you out of Egypt so you should know I am God

Exodus 6:7

לָקַחְתִּי אֶתְכֶם לִי לְעָם, וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים; וִידַעְתֶּם, כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, הַמּוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם, מִתַּחַת סִבְלוֹת מִצְרָיִם

Exodus 29:45-46

וְשָׁכַנְתִּי, בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְהָיִיתִי לָהֶם, לֵאלֹהִים.  מו וְיָדְעוּ, כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם, אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, לְשָׁכְנִי בְתוֹכָם:  אֲנִי, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם.

Some versus actually link the two themes together:

Lev 11:45

כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה, הַמַּעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, לִהְיֹת לָכֶם, לֵאלֹהִים; וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים, כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי.

Lev 22:32

 וְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ, אֶת-שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי, וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי, בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:  אֲנִי יְהוָה, מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם.  לג הַמּוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, לִהְיוֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים:  אֲנִי, יְהוָה

These verses explain why in P the phrase “I am God” is used in these different contexts.  The text is using the same phrase “I am God” both to signify God’s revelation and also as a law code refrain. This is not accidental but intentional and meant to signify that there is a direct link between the revelation and the law code.  The law creates a link between God and man and the usage of the phrase “I am God” signifies that link.  God revealed himself via the Exodus so that we might know him and know his Holiness and follow the code so we too might be holy. 

 

IV. Implications of Dershowitz’s Theory

Dershowitz’s theory potentially explains a mystery about the above story:

Why is this phrase, “I am God” so common in the Bible and why is it used by virtually all Biblical authors? Dershowitz’s theory upgrades the importance of the phrase “I am God” in the evolution of the Biblical texts in several important ways which might explain why the phrase is so important:

1. According to Dershowitz, V is ancient and served as a basis for much of the rest of the Bible so the extra importance of the phrase “I am God” in V might explain its importance in other texts as well

2. In all texts of the Bible, “I am God” is the initial revelation of God in the 10 commandments but it has extra importance in V because it is also used as the refrain of the 10 commandments.  The fact that the phrase is so important in V might explain its importance in other texts

3. The 10 commandments itself is more important in V than any other text.  There are two reasons for that: (1) unlike in other texts, in V, the Decalogue is the only law code which imbues it with extra importance and (2) in Decalogue, the 10 commandments is also the basis for other texts such as the blessings and the curses.  The fact that the profile of the 10 commandments is raised would explain why the opening line of the document would be so important

More importantly though is the implication of Dershowitz’s theory to the theological narrative for P above. 

As we noted, P uses the phrase “I am God” both for revelation and as a law code refrain.  Furthermore, P himself in-effect seems to explain that double usage on theological grounds: there is a link between the revelation and the law.

In contrast, V also uses the phrase “I am God” both for revelation and as a law code refrain. However, nowhere does V develop the aforementioned theological explanation of this double usage.  Moreover, in V, the double usage seems to have another purpose which is as a refrain signaling the end of each commandment. 

Since, according to Dershowitz, V preceded P, that would imply that the double use of the phrase “I am God” as revelation and law code refrain preceded the theological explanation of that double usage.  Above, we gave the impression that P has some broader theological narrative about linking revelation with the law code and he chose to mirror that narrative with the textual usage of the phrase I am God.  According to Dershowitz, it is just the opposite, the textual linking preceded the theological narrative and actually came from a different source and the entire theology must have been developed by P/H to explain the already existing textual formula.  

V. Plausibility of Dershowitz’s Theory

This story is quite thought-provoking and turns our understanding of the evolution of the concept of “I am God” on its head.    

An obvious oddity of this theory (similar to what we outlined in the prior post) is that it has us believe that this concept of revelation as a basis for the law code, which is so central in P, actually originated in V.  Of course, Biblical authors copy ideas from eachother all the time but what is odd here is that D is much more closely based on V than P but yet D does not seem impressed with this concept.  In other words, according to Dershowitz, V originally developed the theology linking together revelation with the law code but his concept was then completely deleted by D (despite its close relationship with V) and yet become a central pillar of P entire theology, despite the great distance between V and P.

Furthermore, to me, it feels a bit too-cute to argue that this whole major theological theory in P is an outgrowth of a specific textual choice in the Decalogue.  But, given the chronology according to Dershowitz and the close parallels between Lev 19 and V’s Decalogue, I don’t see how you can argue it any other way according to Dershowitz.

On the other hand, the theory does help to explain some of the oddities of the use of the phrase in the Bible noted above.  It explains why the phrase is so ubiquities (because it is a central linchpin in an ancient text V) and how it developed into being both a way of expressing revelation and a refrain for law codes.  

Of somewhat interest here is Ezekiel 20 which is the only place of the Bible including the law-code refrain meaning of “I am God” outside of P.  What is interesting is that this chapter also has some parallels to the 10-commandements in terms of emphasizing the Exodus and including the law of the Sabbath, but it is otherwise quite distinct.