Ten Commandments Essay

The roots of Western Civilization trace back to the city-states and kingdoms of Mesopotamia established more than five thousand years ago. The Egyptians to the west excelled at applying arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy to real world situations. The Sumerians developed complex irrigation systems, bronze tools, and separated themselves into social classes, each with various legal rights and responsibilities. In this region the Babylonian King, Hammurabi, laid down the first set of laws. This code of conduct and the Hebrews Ten Commandments provided frameworks for maintaining stable communities. For a community to prosper it must agree on first principles. The Hebrews first principles are found in the creation story of Genesis. In seven days,

Their unfaithfulness led to enslavement in Egypt for approximately four hundred years. When the Lord finally freed his people through Moses, He established a second covenant. This new covenant bound the twelve tribes of Israel into one community under a set of commandments by which the people would model their lives. The Ten Commandments serve to protect the Hebrew community. The first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me,” must come first because it reestablishes the foundation that God defines right and wrong. The second, third and fourth commandments aim to prevent divisive values from forming in the community. Commandments five through nine focus on specific actions and the timing of their consequences. For example, killing has immediate consequences, whereas adultery has future implications. The Israelites separate themselves from other civilizations with the final commandment. God commands the Hebrews to control their thoughts, so that their thoughts may not lead to sinful actions. The Ten Commandments were not concerned with granting justice among the people, but firmly established the first principles of one of the longest lasting cultures in human

Unlike the Hebrews, the focus of Babylonian law was justice. Hammurabi, the king who created the Code of Hammurabi, based his judicial philosophy on, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Each law was paired with a specific consequence; however, consequences were not universal. Social status determined what penalty was received for certain actions. A person’s role in the community determined their position in the hierarchy. For instance, physicians and priests sat atop the social pyramid, while the base was composed of slaves. The Code of Hammurabi divided the citizens of Babylon with this method of governance, whereas the Ten Commandments sought to unite all Hebrew people. Nevertheless, the code of Hammurabi achieved the same basic goal of the Ten Commandments, to preserve the