{"id":49381,"date":"2015-01-27T14:04:33","date_gmt":"2015-01-27T21:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=49381"},"modified":"2015-01-27T14:09:50","modified_gmt":"2015-01-27T21:09:50","slug":"37-or-so-things-banned-in-exodus-and-their-penalties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/01\/27\/37-or-so-things-banned-in-exodus-and-their-penalties.html","title":{"rendered":"37 (or so) Things Banned in Exodus (and their penalties)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Moses<\/a>A while back, I put together a post titled “76 Things Banned in Leviticus (and their penalties)<\/a>” which has turned out to be the most popular thing I’ve ever posted. Go figure.<\/p>\n

While doing a Bible Study class, I became inspired to do something similar for Exodus.<\/p>\n

As with the Levitican Law, modern American Christians tend to cherry-pick which of the bans in Exodus to pay attention to and which to ignore. This is sometimes a reasoned (convincingly or not) approach, other times it’s just “Well, that’s<\/em> obviously evil\u00a0but that’s<\/em> obviously not something we need to worry about any more.” I’ll leave it to the reader to judge whether each these restrictions still apply or not.<\/p>\n

For me, as noted there, I tend to fall back on the “Greatest Commandments<\/a>” as a guideline, rather than a To-Do \/ To-Don’t List approach:\u00a0\u2018Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.\u2019 This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: \u2018Love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.<\/em> It’s a bit more work, but I feel a bit more confident with the results (when I’m able to manage it).<\/p>\n

I’m going to ignore injunctions that are ritualistic\u00a0(e.g., how\u00a0not<\/em> to cook the Passover lamb), unless there are penalties included, as well as skipping over\u00a0injunctions tied to the chapter’s situation (e.g., no saving\u00a0up manna). \u00a0There are some positive commands that have penalties for not performing them; I’ve rephrased these as negative commands below.<\/p>\n

I’m using the NRSV translation here. Death penalties are in red<\/span>.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. No idols or idol worship<\/strong>\u00a0(20:4-6) – “Punishment,” down to the third or fourth generation of children.<\/li>\n
  2. No wrongful use of the Lord’s name<\/strong> (20:7) – God will not forgive you.<\/li>\n
  3. No work on the Sabbath<\/strong> (20:8-11) – No penalty given; “you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.”<\/li>\n
  4. No murder, adultery, theft, false witness, or covetousness of your neighbor’s stuff<\/strong>. (20:12-17) – No penalty given.<\/li>\n
  5. No idols\u00a0of silver and gold<\/strong>. (20:23, 34:17) – No penalty given.<\/li>\n
  6. No altars of hewn stones<\/strong> (20:25) – No penalty given.<\/li>\n
  7. No altars you have to step up to<\/strong> (20:26) – No penalty given.<\/li>\n
  8. No selling female sex slaves to foreign people.<\/strong> (21:8) – No penalty given
    \nNo reducing food, clothing, or “marital rights” of a first wife when the second comes along.<\/strong> (21:10) – The first wife can leave without paying him.<\/li>\n
  9. \"Moses<\/a>No killing a person with a blow<\/strong>. (21:12) – Execution<\/span>; if unplanned, the killer can flee for sanctuary.<\/li>\n
  10. No striking your mother or father<\/strong> (21:15) – Execution<\/span>.<\/li>\n
  11. No kidnapping<\/strong> (21:16) – Execution<\/span>.<\/li>\n
  12. No cursing your mother or father<\/strong> (21:17) – Execution<\/span>.<\/li>\n
  13. No killing a slave with a blow.<\/strong> (21:20) – “Punishment” (execution?<\/span>) unless the slave survives a few days.<\/li>\n
  14. No injuring a pregnant woman during a fight.<\/strong> (21:22-25) – Paying off the husband in case of a miscarriage; other harm to the woman along the “life for life<\/span>, eye for eye” rule.<\/li>\n
  15. No blinding or knocking out teeth of slaves<\/strong> (21:26-27) – The slave will be freed.<\/li>\n
  16. No letting your\u00a0ox known for goring people wander free so that it gores another person<\/strong> (21:29) – Execution<\/span>, or else making an agreed-upon payment — unless it’s a slave, in which case the pay-off is 30 shekels.<\/li>\n
  17. No open pits left around that animals can fall into<\/strong>. (21:33-34) – Payment for the animal to the owner (but you get to keep the dead animal).<\/li>\n
  18. No letting your ox known for goring animals wander free so that it gores another ox.<\/strong> (21:35-36) – Replacing the dead ox (though you get to keep the it).<\/li>\n
  19. No stealing an ox or sheep<\/strong> (22:1-4) – Paying off with multiple the value, or else being enslaved.<\/li>\n
  20. No killing a burglar in daylight hours<\/strong> (22:2-3) – “Bloodguilt<\/span>” (treat as other killings?)<\/li>\n
  21. No letting your animals graze another’s fields or vineyards<\/strong> (22:5) – Restitution from your own fields or vineyards.<\/li>\n
  22. No starting a fire that destroys someone’s grain<\/strong> (22:6) – Restitution.<\/li>\n
  23. No stealing stuff that is in a neighbor’s safekeeping<\/strong> (22:7) – Pay double.<\/li>\n
  24. No falsely disputing ownership over something<\/strong> (22:9) – Pay double.<\/li>\n
  25. No stealing something entrusted to you<\/strong> (22:10-11) – Restitution.<\/li>\n
  26. No letting an animal you’ve borrowed be injured or killed<\/strong> (22:14-15) – Resitution, unless the owner was present.<\/li>\n
  27. No seducing a virgin<\/strong> (22:16-17) – Marriage, if the father insists; bride-price regardless.<\/li>\n
  28. No being a female sorcerer<\/strong> (22:18) – Execution<\/span>.<\/li>\n
  29. No bestiality<\/strong> (22:19) – Execution<\/span>.<\/li>\n
  30. No sacrifices to other gods<\/strong> (22:20) – Execution<\/span>.<\/li>\n
  31. No mistreating widows or orphans<\/strong> (22:22-23) – Death from the Lord<\/span> (“I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans”)<\/li>\n
  32. No exacting interest, no reviling God, no cursing leaders, no delays in harvest offerings, no eating carrion<\/strong> (22:25-31) – No penalty given.<\/li>\n
  33. No spreading false reports, no being a malicious witness, no following the majority in wrongdoing, no lying with the majority in a lawsuit, no being partial to the poor in a lawsuit, no perverting justice for the poor, no false charges, no killing the innocent, no bribe-taking, no oppressing resident aliens (again)<\/strong> (23:1-9) – No penalty given.<\/li>\n
  34. \"Moses<\/a>No speaking the names of other gods.<\/strong> (23:13) – No penalty given.<\/li>\n
  35. No showing up empty-handed at annual festivals, no offering blood sacrifices with anything leavened, no letting festival fat sit out overnight, no boiling a kid in its mother’s milk<\/strong> (23:15-19, 34:20-26) – No penalty given.<\/li>\n
  36. No not wearing the proper ceremonial garb<\/strong> (28:40-43) – Death from the Lord<\/span>, but only for the\u00a0descendants of Aaron.<\/li>\n
  37. No work on the Sabbath (including lighting fires)<\/strong> (35:2-3) – Execution<\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So there you have it. How many laws of Exodus have\u00a0you<\/em> violated in the last week?<\/p>\n

    [Google+ share located here<\/a>.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A while back, I put together a post titled “76 Things Banned in Leviticus (and their penalties)” which has turned out to be the most popular thing I’ve ever posted. Go figure. While doing a Bible Study class, I became inspired to do something similar for Exodus. As with the Levitican Law, modern American Christians … Continue reading “37 (or so) Things Banned in Exodus (and their penalties)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[108,27,110,71],"tags":[808,809],"class_list":["post-49381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-religion","category-religious-zanies","category-religion-me","tag-bible","tag-old-testament"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Moses-Ten-Commandments-3.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49392,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/01\/27\/37-or-so-things-banned-in-exodus-and-their-penalties-2.html","url_meta":{"origin":49381,"position":0},"title":"37 (or so) Things Banned in Exodus (and their penalties)","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 27-Jan-15 2:08pm","format":false,"excerpt":"The post I did on this theme some time back (re Leviticus) is one of the most popular things ever on my blog. So here's a similar list from Exodus, for your Thou Shallt Not pleasure. #Bible #OldTestament #Exodus 37 (or so) Things Banned in Exodus (and their penalties) A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28253,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/06\/13\/76-things-banned-in-leviticus-and-their-penalties.html","url_meta":{"origin":49381,"position":1},"title":"76 Things Banned in Leviticus (and their penalties)","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 13-Jun-12 12:16am","format":false,"excerpt":"I ran across this this list first via Fred Clark, tracking it back to here\u00a0-- a list of 76 actions proclaimed as sinful or forbidden in Leviticus. Leviticus is a funny book for modern Christians. \u00a0Along with Deuteronomy and swathes of Exodus and Numbers, it lays out the Law for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","block_context":{"text":"History","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/history"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/dore-moses.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/dore-moses.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/dore-moses.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/dore-moses.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11677,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/07\/20\/beware_counterfeit_king_j.html","url_meta":{"origin":49381,"position":2},"title":"Beware counterfeit King James Bibles!","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 20-Jul-07 7:58am","format":false,"excerpt":"Accept no substitutes! We're not talking here about those New-fangled Translations of the Devil, like the NIV or the NRSV or the Jerusalem Bible or other such abominations before the...","rel":"","context":"In "Religion"","block_context":{"text":"Religion","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/religion"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5211,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/10\/15\/the_exodus.html","url_meta":{"origin":49381,"position":3},"title":"The Exodus","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 15-Oct-03 7:15am","format":false,"excerpt":"Will the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger to the governorship of California lead to an exodus of philosophy professors from the state? (Scratches head, eschews obvious joke that this might be...","rel":"","context":"In "Politics & Law"","block_context":{"text":"Politics & Law","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28630,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/07\/17\/because-its-okay-to-lie-for-jesus-right.html","url_meta":{"origin":49381,"position":4},"title":"Because it's okay to lie for Jesus, right?","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 17-Jul-12 9:40pm","format":false,"excerpt":"They're not actually rewriting the Biblical text ... yet ... but they are pretty blatantly asserting stuff in the Biblical commentary that isn't there.But that's okay, because it's in a holy\u00a0cause ... Embedded Link Founders\u2019 Bible Rewrites Exodus 18 to Fit Christian Nation Narrative Yesterday, I wrote about the disturbing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38752,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/09\/11\/its-not-just-about-rules-and-rituals.html","url_meta":{"origin":49381,"position":5},"title":"It's not just about rules and rituals","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 11-Sep-13 3:09pm","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the most popular posts on my blog is \"76 Things Banned in Leviticus (and their penalties)\" (http:\/\/goo.gl\/xXRvfs). \u00a0This book goes beyond pot shots at various crimes and rulebreaking and actually tries to make the point that there's value in reading and trying to understand Leviticus beyond it being\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49381"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49391,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49381\/revisions\/49391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}