It’s not unusual to hear that we all need to obey the 10
Commandments found in the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy in the
Hebrew Bible, called the Old Testament by Christians. Over the
years, there have been efforts to post them in schools and
courthouses. But when they were written, what were they really
about? In whose interest are the 10 Commandments? To whom are
they directed? Who benefits from them? I’m going to suggest that
the person who is addressed by them is an individual, a male, an
Israelite, employed, a house-owner, married, old enough to have
working children but young enough to have living parents, living
in a city, wealthy enough to possess an ox and an ass and
slaves, important enough to be called to give evidence in a
lawsuit. He is a man who is capable of committing all the things
listed here and quite likely to do them if it weren’t for the
commands. As one scholar says, “It is a balding Israelite urban
male with a mid-life crisis and a weight problem, in danger of
losing his faith.” Look