It's been a while...so here!

Here is something I had to write for a class. We were supposed to select one (or all) of the Ten Commandments and discuss how it describes and relates to the Hebrew people and the formation of their identity as a people at the time, as well show a connection to the New Testament. In very few words. Mine is a little longer than it should have been, and I may not have completely followed the instructions (which were NOT very clear- not as clear as I just articulated them here), but here it is.

The Seventh and Tenth Commandments
These two commandments reinforce the ongoing male-dominated, patriarchal system that has been presented thus far in the texts. The command to not commit adultery does not initially appear gender-biased until one looks more closely at the tenth commandment.

The tenth commandment states that “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Ex 20:17) This command appears to only apply to free men; men wealthy enough to possess property. Wives are grouped along with all other goods and property, without rights.

According to the commentary in the Harper Collins Study Bible, polygamy was still a common practice. Adultery was defined as “intercourse between a married woman and any man but her husband.” (p.118) Considering women were property, the act of adultery would have been an attack on the woman’s husband. Sleeping with a man’s wife would have been comparable to stealing a man’s ox. It is a matter of property laws, not necessarily marriage fidelity. While it permisable for a married man to have sex with multiple women, provided they are his wives or single women, it is not permisable for a man to have sex with another man’s wife.

While the initial command to “not commit adultery” (Ex 20:14) is directed at men, their female counterparts are often heavily punished. Both Leviticus and Deuteronomy prescribe the “proper” punishment for those who commit adultery; death. “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteres shall be put to death.” (Lev 20:10) and “If a man is caught lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman as well as the woman.” (Deut 22:22) The book of Numbers describes the steps a man should take if he believes his wife is being unfaithful, none of which include confronting the suspected male adulterer.

In the Gospels Jesus is recorded as taking the definition of adultery one step further, stating that “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in heart.” (Mat 5:28) Once again, this command is directed only at men. Jesus is also attributed with the statement “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (Mar 10:11-12) These admonitions lead the reader to the conclusion that, despite the numerous Judaic laws against adultery, it was an on-going problem within society.

Laws are often put into place as a solution to a problem; in the case of Exodus, and even the New Testament, the issue at hand is the lack of respect towards a man’s property. Just as one should not covet another’s land or livestock, they should not look with lust upon another’s wife/wives. These two commandments further embed male domination over women in the culture of Israel.

Source:
The Harper Collins Study Bible. New Revised Standard Version. Wayne Meeks, ed. Harper Collins.