Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

COMMANDMENT

A prescription or requirement, usually from God; most often a reference to God’s will as revealed in the laws of the Pentateuch.

The Hebrew word for commandment (miṣwâ; pl. miṣwōṯ) is one of several synonyms for torah or “instruction.” In the Pentateuch the term is used, often in conjunction with one or more of the other synonyms for torah (e.g., hūqîm, “statutes”; mišpāṭîm, “ordinances”) to refer to a collection of laws (e.g., Gen. 26:5; Exod. 15:26; 24:12; Lev. 26:3; Num. 15:22; Deut. 5:29; 6:1; 7:11) or to the Ten Commandments in particular (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13). Some commandments, such as the commandment to wear tassels (Num. 15:37-41), are intended to draw attention to the commandments as a whole. Others recall important historical events (e.g., Deut. 16:3). In the book of Psalms the divine commandments are upheld for their perfection, clarity, and truthfulness (Ps. 19:7-10[MT 8-11]; 119). Throughout Ps. 119 the psalmist delights in Yahweh’s instructions by using eight different synonyms for torah in alternating fashion.

Within the context of emerging Judaism, Jesus sought to attain a unified conception of divine commandment (Matt. 5:19) by pronouncing the Great Commandment (22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-28; cf. Rom. 13:8-10) as the sum of all commandments. For Paul, however, the commandments are an occasion for sin, and through them sin is known (Rom. 7:7-13). In the Johannine writings, the commandments refer to the commission of the Father to the Son (John 10:18; 12:49-50) or of the Son to his disciples (15:12-17), and obeying them is proof that one abides in God and walks in the truth (1 John 2:3-7; 3:22-24; 4:21; 5:2-4; 2 John 4-6).

Bibliography. F. Crüsemann, The Torah: Theology and Social History of Old Testament Law (Minneapolis, 1996).

Arnold Betz

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

COMMANDMENT

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)