1st Grade Seminary Education

In my elective studying the book of Deuteronomy we focused for a large part of today on the 10 commandments.

As many of you might know, you can find the 10 commandments in Exodus 20 and also in Deuteronomy 5. Today, we were looking at the differences between those two accounts of the commandments themselves.

It was funny to me. We teach the 10 commandments to kids at a young age. They are rules most people would aim to live by. Yet, few people have probably studied their actual accounts.

I found the differences in the commandment regarding the "sabbath" to be most severe and interesting. The other differences were only minor, if there were differences at all. But the differences listed in the two accounts between Exodus and Deuteronomy were obvious.

I'll put the text here:

First is Exodus 20:8-12
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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. 11 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.

Next is Deuteronomy 5:12-15
12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 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 ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

As you look at the two differences in these versions, how do you harmonize them?

I had a lengthy discussion about this in class, so i'll save my comments for a little while so that others might think on their own.