And God Spoke These Words: The Ten Commandments and Contemporary Ethics

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino has helped thousands of readers find God and uncovered the truths and legends behind the foundational myths of Judaism. Now, he explores one of the best known--and least understood--texts in the Bible: The Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments loom large as ethical and moral guideposts in the Western world. These statutes have informed much of Judaism and Christianity over the past two thousand years and stand at the center of many modern legal and political debates. However, attention to the remarkable and well-established influence of these words often glosses over the actual text and context of the biblical sources themselves.

In And God Spoke These Words, Rabbi Sonsino draws on commentators from Maimonides to Mel Brooks to explore how the Ten Commandments have been interpreted—and misinterpreted—for generations. In this critical analysis of the Ten Commandments, he examines the religious and legal texts of the Israelites’ neighbors in the Ancient Near East, surveys centuries of Rabbinic commentary, and engages with contemporary secular and Jewish thought. Sonsino’s thorough contextualization and discussion of the Decalogue provide the reader with an understanding of where these iconic commands originate, how they have been understood by Jews throughout the ages, and what moral direction they can still provide in the 21st century.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations
• The Ten Words
• Preface (Download as PDF)
• Torah and Law in Judaism
• Text and Context

The Decalogue: 

• The First Word: God
• The Second Word: Idolatry
• The Third Word: Misuse of God’s Name
• The Fourth Word: The Sabbath
• The Fifth Word: Honoring Parents
• The Sixth Word: Homicide
• The Seventh Word: Adultery
• The Eighth Word: Stealing
• The Ninth Word: False Witness
• The Tenth Word: Coveting
• Legislation and Commandment
• Notes
• Bibliography