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Fun Bible Trivia Part 3!
Mar. 29th, 2009 12:13 pmOK, part 1 of our two-part 10 commandments fun facts. I can't find my notes on this one and it's a little more nebulous in my mind than either of the previous two, because it doesn't involve sex. It's still funny, though, I think - just think of it as one possible theory about the text involved.
Exodus 20:7, You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
So this has become all about not using God's name in swears, right? Cursing, and exclamations? But actually, it was about oaths. The swearing of oaths was a serious social problem in ancient Israel. Seriously! People were always swearing things by God, making promises to God and stuff like that, and if you did that, you had to keep the promise. My memory of the subject is that people would say "God, if you give me a good crop, I'll shave my kid's head bald," or something like that, and then they'd have to do it. Basically, it was a big problem. So that's what the third commandment is all about. Not going "Oh God, WHY??" or "God damn you!" Although, you know, people probably didn't do that so maybe if they had there would have been a commandment about it.
I know, it's not dirty, but I still found it. . . somehow cute?
Exodus 20:7, You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
So this has become all about not using God's name in swears, right? Cursing, and exclamations? But actually, it was about oaths. The swearing of oaths was a serious social problem in ancient Israel. Seriously! People were always swearing things by God, making promises to God and stuff like that, and if you did that, you had to keep the promise. My memory of the subject is that people would say "God, if you give me a good crop, I'll shave my kid's head bald," or something like that, and then they'd have to do it. Basically, it was a big problem. So that's what the third commandment is all about. Not going "Oh God, WHY??" or "God damn you!" Although, you know, people probably didn't do that so maybe if they had there would have been a commandment about it.
I know, it's not dirty, but I still found it. . . somehow cute?
