Texts in Conversation
The commandments in Exodus present prohibitions in black-and-white, absolute terms, declaring what be done or not be done without qualification. Proverbs, by contrast, reflects on these commands in real life situations, showing how theft might understandably be a result of hunger yet still require repayment.
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Exodus 20:15
Hebrew Bible
13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Proverbs 6:30
Hebrew Bible
28 Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet? 29 So it is with the one who sleeps with his neighbor’s wife; no one who touches her will escape punishment. 30 People do not despise a thief when he steals to fulfill his need when he is hungry. 31 Yet if he is caught he must repay seven times over; he might even have to give all the wealth of his house. 32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks sense; whoever does it destroys his own life.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Proverbs 6:16-35 contains parallels with the Shema and the Decalogue, the latter of which is our current focus ... This Decalogical intertext includes counterparts to “honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; compare Proverbs 6:20), “you shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18; compare Proverbs 6:32), “you shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19; compare Proverbs 6:30–31), and “you shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21; compare Proverbs 6:25). This passage is, however, closer to V’s version than the canonical ones in four distinct ways. First, the word “wealth” appears here in the context of the sin of theft (6:31), unlike the Decalogues of Exodus or Deuteronomy, but precisely as in V (E 3:8) ... Second, the verb דמח here relates specifically to lusting after a person (6:25), rather than asexual coveting. This stands in contrast to the Exodus version, where דמח applies to inanimate objects (Exodus 20:17), but it is in perfect consonance with V ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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