Brian Withnell
Puritan Board Junior
This comes up because of an interesting question ... why do we call "the Ten Commandments" commandments? (I'm not saying they are suggestions, but possibly something else?)
Neither the Septuagint and Vulgate (which have imperatives) translate the words of Exo or Deut as imperatives ... which then leads to the question of why we call them commandments. I've been told the Hebrew also is not in the tense that would be imperative. So when did they start getting called commandments, and why? (What would be the exegetical reason for this?)
The alternative might be "this is what you will be" (a declaration of future state?)
Neither the Septuagint and Vulgate (which have imperatives) translate the words of Exo or Deut as imperatives ... which then leads to the question of why we call them commandments. I've been told the Hebrew also is not in the tense that would be imperative. So when did they start getting called commandments, and why? (What would be the exegetical reason for this?)
The alternative might be "this is what you will be" (a declaration of future state?)