The Bible In Paintings: GOD GIVES HIS LAW, Part 1

[Hebrews 11:6]

The Bible In Paintings 2
Engravings•Facades•Frescoes•Illuminations•Miniatures•Mosaics•Photographs•Reliefs•Sculptures•Tapestries•Windows

E X O D U S
CHAPTER 20

And God spoke all these words:

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

“You shall not murder.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

New International Version ©1984, Abrdgd, EMPHASES Added

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S T O N E

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VERONESE

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MONTORSOLI

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MICHELANGELO
Source

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United States Supreme Court, Washington, D.C.

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New York Supreme Court, New York

G L A S S

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→ a n d... f i n a l l y ←

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[Hebrews 11:6]

R E S O U R C E S
Read EXODUS 20 in full
Hear MAX McLEAN reading it
Hear a DRAMATIZATION of it
Read J-F-B's COMMENTARY
BIBLE TIMELINE

Click for 53 prior episodes in THIS series:
The Bible In Paintings 2
Click for 434 links in the FIRST series:
The Bible In Paintings 1


HOW GOD PROMPTED
THIS BIBLE-ART SERIES

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EXODUS 19-40

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[Hebrews 11:6]

IN THE WILDERNESS
MANNA and QUAIL! GOD FEEDS HIS PEOPLE
WATER FROM THE ROCK!
GOD SHOWS OFF AT MOUNT SINAI
GOD GIVES HIS LAW, Parts 1&2
THE GOLDEN CALF, Parts 1&2

[left that other site]

Good Morning Dan. (Love the stained glass!) :-)

[Hebrews 11:6]

Hi, Mary-Lou! Had so much of it that I put it in part 1, rather than part 2 like usual. I expect Alba won’t mind, either.

[etabeta]

Basking in the absolute beauty of all the stained glass windows. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hebrews 11:6]

Bask all you wish, etabasker!

[delchiante]

Art newbie here again..

What do the knobs/horns(?) represent on Moses in Michelangelo’s

I see some look more crown like but those don’t seem to be (?)

Also, liked your choices of the US Supreme Court and NY Supreme Court..
The irony..

[Hebrews 11:6]

It's from a misunderstanding of the Latin translation of the Bible. Moses' face was said to be "radiant" when he came down from Sinai after forty days with God, which seems understandable enough. But "radiant" in the Latin version shares the meaning of horns radiating from an animal. So, at least a third of the artists routinely portray Moses as horned!

Now that you've noticed, you'll see them again and again....

[null and void]

I know it's an artistic convention, but I see the rays carved in stone as horns. It always seems a bit jarring to see horns on a holy man.

Random unrelated thought, the Commandments are shown numbered with Roman numerals (which didn't even exist), not the Hebrew or Egyptian numbers one might expect for a message to Hebrews who spent generations in Egypt on either account. Is this more a result of the artistic works being for the Church in Rome, or common usage whether Catholic or Protestant, or just to make them look classical?

[Hebrews 11:6]

Of course, God did not number His commandments at all, so we begin by understanding that any numbering is entirely a manmade convention.

Is this more a result of the artistic works being for the Church in Rome, or common usage whether Catholic or Protestant, or just to make them look classical?

All three, in my opinion. Never underestimate the willingness and ability of men to render the divine ridiculous, whether ostentatiously like Mel Brooks' 15makethat10commandments or subtly by adding unnecessarily to the original.

[delchiante]

Thank you for that.
Radiant.

Interestingly, if counting, the day Moses comes down the mount and his radiant face shines, is around 144 days from Passover.
It has all the hints of the timing of the Mount of Transfiguration.
Even Elijah’s mount time is hinted to appear to overlap it, with him having to cover his face

[freefdny]

Great stuff. Thanks for posting. There’s a good Wikipedia article about the Michelangelo Moses. It goes into the horn issue. I did not know that Sigmund Freud wrote an essay about the piece. Very interesting whatever you think of Freud. He talks about the restrained anger of Moses at his people for turning away from God and building the golden calf.

“ In his first transport of fury, Moses desired to act, to spring up and take vengeance and forget the Tables; but he has overcome the temptation, and he will now remain seated and still, in his frozen wrath and his pain mingled with contempt. Nor will he throw away the Tables so that they will break on the stones, for it is on their particular account that he has controlled his anger; it was to preserve them that he kept his passion in check. In giving way to his rage and indignation, he had to neglect the Tables, and the hand which upheld them was withdrawn. They began to slide down and were in danger of being broken. This brought him to himself. He remembered his mission and for its sake renounced an indulgence of his feelings. ”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_(Michelangelo)

Thanks again for posting

[Hebrews 11:6]

God enjoys doing His deeds in His own time and on-time, so He demonstrates that often after the fact--and, sometimes, in the act: "Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

[delchiante]

Indeed..

[Hebrews 11:6]

In my first series I addressed Moses' horns directly, but this time I awaited the inevitable queries.

Freud was right to analyze Moses' self-righteousness, for not only did it keep him from the Promised Land, it is Paul's stumbling block that bars Jews from heaven.

[OldSmaj]

What do the knobs/horns(?) represent on Moses in Michelangelo’s

Just driving by here.

I'm not an expert by any means, but I once had an opportunity to delve into this particular phenomenon.

I learned a lot about the subtleties of this painting subject.

In my opinion it was simple word mangle.

The web site: "Got Questions? Your questions. Biblical answers." (www.gotquestions.org), several very plausible explanations are given therein and which may or may not be correct.

Worth a read.

These type of misunderstandings are rampant within the Bible and most all other Biblical literature and even to non-Christian tomes, such as the Koran, etc.

Remember, the Word has been written in a plethora of languages, "translated" by many well-meaning and some not so well-meaning scholars and theologians over a period of thousands of years.

Another alleged mistranslated word is one written into the Commandments themselves.

"Thou shalt not kill." is an example.

Many scholars (and myself, albeit NOT a scholar) believe the original was presented as "Thou shalt not murder".

Quite a difference between the two and of course subject to interpretation.

Murder being an act of passion and not always the right act or best solution to a problem, whereas, killing may encompass a self-defense situation, protection of the defenseless, etc, wherein the act can and would be sanctioned, if you will by God.

Wonderful and fascinating enigmas and certainly one of the many reasons I read my Bible on a daily basis.

[delchiante]

Thanks for that.

I think I saw that kind of translation issue once with the camel and the eye of a needle vs a word that was like a ‘cable rope’..

[Ezekiel]

Random unrelated thought, the Commandments are shown numbered with Roman numerals (which didn't even exist), not the Hebrew or Egyptian numbers one might expect for a message to Hebrews who spent generations in Egypt on either account. Is this more a result of the artistic works being for the Church in Rome, or common usage whether Catholic or Protestant, or just to make them look classical?

This is what happens when people are encumbered by time. Stuff just sits there!

Great selections. Michelangelo's Moses located in the San Pietro in Vincoli Basilica is a long-time personal favorite.

I was expecting the "And Finally" image to be:

Might as well add this one of the Mosaic Law:

[Hebrews 11:6]

I was quite sure someone would not be able to resist adding ol' Mel, and it had to be you!♫

[SisterK]

Thanks for the explanation of the horns. I was also bothered by them.

stained glass no. 20 is absolutely gorgeous