Archives for Mosaical Metrology and Mosaistics, AMMM Vol. I, No.
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Archives for Mosaical Metrology and Mosaistics, AMMM Vol. I, No.
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expressed already by professor Hubert Grimme, an expert of proto-Sinaitic inscriptions, in his article on the “Alphabet” in the Encyclopaedia Judaica of 1928, but he was unable to prove it.6) § 4. Why Alef and Bet were placed at the top of the alphabetical order is a question about which I had always been wondering.7) The text of the Ten Commandments begins with the Hebrew word ANKI (English “I”), and thus with the letter Alef, as can be seen at the first glance.8) If it was, indeed, the first letter of the –––––––––––––– of their state as the Romans, later on, counted the years after the foundation of their city. Thus King Solomon began to build the First Temple in the 4th year of his reign (961 B. C. E.) and in the 480th year after the Exodus (1. Kings 6, 1), which was in 1441 B. C. E. The accuracy of historical chronology does not stand upon astronomical niceties, but on the continuity of counting the recurring seasons of the year or the number of springs in the life of a republic rather than an individual, regardless of whether spring is early or late in a particular year. 6) Cf. Hubert Grimme, op. cit. supra at 405; and similarly Kurt Galling in his article “Dekalog” in the Encyclopaedia Judaica of 1930 at 899. Since the proto-Sinaitic inscription on the pedestal of a small sphinx found by Sir Flinders Petrie is generally dated around 1500 B. C. E., it is very close in time and place to the two stone tablets of the Torah of Moses from the Sinai, and would be only a few decades earlier. 7) See TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) p. 21. 8) This fact could be neglected, if both the sarcophagus of King Achiram of Byblos and the Exodus were to be dated [7]
first text in alphabetical script, this would be a good reason for placing it at the top of the alphabetical order, because everybody who wanted to learn how to read and write the newly invented alphabet had to begin with this very Alef in the absence of any other alphabetical literature.9) In this case a similar reason should be expected for placing Bet next after Alef. § 5. Investigating why the letter Bet holds the second place in the alphabetical order I searched for the first Bet in the text of the Ten Command- –––––––––––––– in the thirteenth century B. C. E. But the real age of the Achiram sarcophagus is around 600 B. C. E. The female mourners on it are typical of the time of the prophet Jeremiah, as correctly pointed out by M. Haran in the Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 8 (1958) no. 1. It is contemporary with Pharaoh Nechoh, who is identical with Ramses II, and generally misdated more than six centuries earlier as well as the Achiram sarcophagus with him, cf. Immanuel Velikovsky, Ramses II and his Time, (1978) chapter 3. 9) The priority of the Tablets of the Law (Luchot ha-Berit) as the first legal document in alphabetical script after its invention, and the beginning of alphabetical literature would be threatened, if the cuneiform adaptation of the linear alphabet by Ugarit, which has the same alphabetical order as the 22 letters of the ancient Hebrew alphabet except for eight additional letters, is dated back to around 1400 B. C. E., as most scholars do. However, the last two centuries of Ugarit before its final destruction are contemporary with the first two centuries of the Israelite monarchy (ca. 1030–830 B. C. E.), and hence [8]
ments. It is letter no. 34, and occurs at the beginning of Bet Avadim “house of bondage” (Exodus 20, 2 = Deuteronomy 5, 6).10) The Gezer tablet and the proto-Sinaitic inscriptions suggest that the original text neither separated words nor used double letters.11) Without se- parating spaces between words the final Mem of Mitzrayim “Egypt” could simultaneously serve as the initial of the next word, which also happens to be Mem.12) Its omission makes Bet letter no. 33. There are no other instances of –––––––––––––– also eighteenth-dynasty Egypt is contemporary with both, cf. Immanuel Velikovsky, From Exodus to King Akhnaton, (1952) chapter 5; Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, II, 9 and VIII, 6; and Ed Metzler, Discovering the System of Mosaical Metrology, (Herborn 1985) Notes 14 and 54. 10) When discovering the two-dimensional structure of the alphabetical order (cf. Note 1 supra), I noticed that the 22 letters of the original alphabet come in 11 consecutive pairs of letters, which supplement and explain each other in a variety of ways, so that the same principle would have to apply to both Alef and Bet. 11) The Gezer tablet dates from the tenth century B. C. E., and was found in the city of  Gezer, which King
Solomonreceived from Egypt as dowry of his wife Queen Hatshepsut, the so-called Queen of Sheba (Malkat Sheba = Malkah Hatsheba), cf. 1. Kings 9, 16 and 10, 1–13; Velikovsky (N. 9) chapter 3. 12) In order to see how double letters were treated in the Sinai at the time of the Exodus (1441 B. C. E.), I turned to the inscription on the pedestal of a sphinx (above Note 6), [9]
double letters before it, if the biblical etymology of the tetragrammaton means that its initial Yod may be substituted by Alef (Exodus 3, 13–15).13) the 10 Lines (Devarim) of the Ten Commandments § 6. The odd number of thirty-three did not seem to make any sense at first. Yet, since the first line of the Ten Commandments begins with Alef, I had a hunch that maybe the second line of the original tablets of Moses, which possibly –––––––––––––– and succeeded in completely deciphering it after about three hours, cf. TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) pp. 9–14 and 32–39. The double letters occur between the words Me’aheb Ba‘al, which Grimme (N. 6) at 406 had read Me’ohab Ba‘al(t), where the inscription has only one Bet, and no separation of words. 13) If this interpretation is rejected, the double Yod at the end of the first and the beginning of the second word of the Ten Commandments has to be reduced to a single one, which would make Bet letter no. 32, and leads nowhere, see below text accompanying Notes 43 and 44. The name YaHUH was unknown before the time of Moses (Exodus 6, 2 and 3), who first wrote it on the Tablets of the Law. According to Exodus 3, 13–15 it is interchangeable with AHIH for archaic AHUH. [10]
were the first document ever to be written in the alphabet, began with Bet.14) So I tried it out, writing the 32 letters of the first line from right to left, and the second line beginning with letter no. 33 (Bet) from left to right.15) To my surprise, the biblical verse and the grammatical sentence (Exodus 20, 3 = Deuteronomy 5, 7) ended with letter no. 31 of the second line. Of course, the first line would likewise have 31 letters, if
itsletter no. 32 were placed between the lines marking their minimum space of one letter-unit.16) § 7. Encouraged by this result I continued writing, without spaces between words, in lines of 31 letters each plus one turning-letter between –––––––––––––– 14) The number 33 or Lag (Lamed = 30, and Gimel = 3) reminds of Lag ba-Omer, a Jewish holiday 33 days after Passover that commemorates Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph and his students, especially Shimon bar Yochai, in whose school the Sefer Yetzirah originated in the second century of the Common Era, see Gershom Scholem, Kabbalah (1974) pp. 23–30. It deals with the writing (Sefirot) of the Ten Commandments. 15) In this respect I followed the example of the oldest Greek inscriptions, which are still very close to ancient Hebrew script immediately after borrowing it from Israel, as well as the proto-Sinaitic inscriptions. 16) My personal standards of orderliness happened to be the same as ancient Egyptian technique, cf. Note 29 infra. [11]
the lines, changing the writing direction after every line, and reducing double or triple letters to singles.17) The next three biblical verses of the Ten Commandments consist of one long compound sentence speaking in the first person singular, and ending with “them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20, 4–6 = Deuteronomy 5, 8–10).18) The two versions are identical except for one Waw missing in Exodus, and another in Deuteronomy, both of which I inserted.19) Remarkably, the end of the seventh line of 31 letters coincided with the endof the grammatical sentence. –––––––––––––– 17) The number of 32 letters per line is given at the very beginning of chapter 1 of the Sefer Yetzirah, where the letters are called Ketivot (from Katav “to write”), but in Jewish-Aramaic script the initial Kaf could easily
be misreadas Nun, resulting in complete mystification, and the “thirty-two mysterious paths (Netivot) of wisdom”. 18) Although the word Mitzwah “commandment”, related to Metzaweh “commander” (Isaiah 55, 4), is used in the Ten Commandments, they are not called the 10 Mitzwot in the Bible, but the 10 Devarim (Exodus 34, 28), which means the “10 words”, literally translated into Greek as “decalogue”. Since it undoubtedly has more than 10 words, the concept of Davar “word” must have meant something else originally. 19) The Waw is missing before al-Shileshim in Exodus, and before kol-Temunah in Deuteronomy. [12]
§ 8. The rest of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20, 7–14 = Deuteronomy 5, 11–18) differs in both versions. Applying the method of interpolation research from ancient Roman Law to ancient Jewish or Israelite Law, I did my best as a lawyer and judge to restore the original text of the Mosaical Tablets of the Law by removing what appeared to be post-Mosaical additions.20) Then I continued writing, and came out, after three more lines or 96 letters, exactly at the end of the tenth line.21) This indicated that the 10 Devarim (Exodus 34, 28) written by Moses, and traditionally, but falsely translated –––––––––––––– 20) Interpolation research of the Ten Commandments was already done by Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph and his school in the Sefer Yetzirah (above Note 14), where the mere text written on the original Tablets of the Law, without any post- Mosaical interpolations, is called beli Mah “without anything”, while Roman Law began with interpolation research only in the time of the Renaissance, cf. Fritz Schulz, Classical Roman Law, (Oxford 1954) pp. 4 and 5. 21) After finishing seven lines one could guess that the 10 Devarim (cf. Note 18 supra) might refer to 10 lines of 32 letters each, leaving 96 letters for the last three lines. The 10 lines (Sefirot) of 32 letters (Ketivot, correct for Netivot) are meant in the Sefer Yetzirah, as observed in
the TORAHOF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) p. 120, but Gershom Scholem (N. 14) seems to have been completely unaware of it. [13]
as the “Ten Commandments”, actually were a graphic concept referring to the 10 lines written in alternating directions “like a bull ploughs”, called boustrophedon in Greek.22) Now I felt that I was on the right track! of the Ten Lines on the Two Tablets of the Law § 9. Folding the 10 lines (Devarim) of 31 letters, plus 9 turning-letters in between, lengthwise and breadthwise in the midle yields –––––––––––––– 22) The original meaning of Davar, which is “to drive animals, such as a ploughing bull”, is still present in the words Darban “goad”, Dover “pasture”, Midbar “drift for cattle”, and Devorah “bee or driven animal in a herd or hive”. The comparison with the ploughing bull being driven from one end of the field to the other, where he has to turn around and come back on the second line or drift (Davar), is extended by using the word Charash “ploughing” also for writing, cf. TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) pp. 57 and 101. In theSefer Yetzirah the10 written lines (Devarim) on the Tablets of the Law were renamed Sefirot (from Sefer “book” and Sofer “scribe”) after Davar had come to mean the spoken word. The meaning of the 10 Sefirot was obscured again by medieval Kabbalah. [14]
their three-dimensional distribution on the Tablets of the Law.23) One fold separates the five lines of each tablet cutting through the fifth turning- letter, which happens to be the Kof in
PokedAwon Avot “visiting the iniquity of the fathers” (Exodus 20, 5 = Deuteronomy 5, 9). The shape of the letter Kof (English “monkey”) with its outstanding tail lends itself to connecting the two Tablets of the Law.24) Standing at the end of the first tablet it should, therefore, be repeated at the beginning of the second, bringing the number of 319 letters to a total of 320.25) –––––––––––––– 23) see TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) pp. 100–107, and 119. The tablets were some four and a half centimeters thick (cf. Notes 30 and 33 infra), enough to write on their tops. The three-dimensional structure of their inscription on front, top, and reverse was destroyed by copying it. The biblical text is termed one-dimensional, because it pays no attention to the original ten lines (Devarim or Sefirot), and might as well be written in one long line. 24) The Sefer Yetzirah (chapter 1, no. 3) distributes five of the ten lines without anything (Sefirot beli Mah) on each of the two Tablets of the Law (Luchot ha-Berit) with the male sexual organ (Berit Milah) of the letter Kof in the middle.25) In the Sefer Yetzirah (chapter 1, no. 1) the writing of the Tablets of the Law in lines of 32 letters (Ketivot, correct for Netivot) is likened to the creation of the world.The Jewish era of creation shares this symbolism by beginning 2320 years before the Exodus, i. e. 2 tablets and 320 letters. [15]
§ 10. There was writing on both sides of the Tablets of the Law (Exodus 32, 15). The text of each tablet is equally divided between front and reverse by the other fold, which runs through the Resh in Asher Hotzetikha “which brought thee out” (Exodus 20, 2 = Deuteronomy 5, 6), and through the sixteenth letter of every line.26)Consequently, the ten lines were not horizontal, but vertical columns of letters passing over the top of the tablets to their opposite sides on each of the ten lines.27) Thus the Ten Command- ments would begin in the lower right-hand corner on the front of the first tablet, running upward fifteen letters, one on top, fifteen down on the –––––––––––––– 26) The sixteenth letter of the tenth line is the Shin of Ed Shaker “false witness” on top of the second tablet, so that the subsequent letters Kof and Resh are in a vulnerable spot in the upper left-hand corner on the front (cf. Note 52 infra). 27) Here as elsewhere in the reconstruction of the Tablets of the Law the right hypotheses were prompted by linguistics, and verified by mathematics: The etymology of Davar implied boustrophedon (cf. Note 22 supra), the expression “from lip to lip” meant a square (cf. Note 40 infra), and the volume of a Manah weight-stone proved identical with the Manna in the Omer (cf. Note 41 infra). The idiomatic use of the Hebrew word Ever “opposite side” suggested passing (Avar “to pass”) over the top of the tablets like a mountain-pass (Ma‘avar). [16]
reverse, one to the side, so that the next line could start all over again in the opposite direction with letter no. 33.28) § 11. The proportions of the tablets may be inferred from the number of letter-units, provided that every letter was entered into a square of the same area. Such an orderly arrange- ment of letters is a reasonable assumption, for networks of squares were also used in Egypt when drawing pictures or pictographs.29) Hence the height of a tablet would be fifteen letter-units, its width ten units consisting of the five vertical lines plus the five empty spaces, and its thickness one unit because of the one letter on its top. The thickness of the tablets may be estimated –––––––––––––– 28) The Sefer Yetzirah (chapter 1, no. 5–8) describes the three-dimensional structure of the 10 lines or Sefirot, that were imagined to be spheres, whence the Greek loan-word sphaira. The prophet Ezekiel (1, 14) compares them to ploughing animals (ke-Malmad ha-Bakar, correct for ke-Mar’eh ha-Barak) going out and returning (Yatzo’ wa-Shov), and every one had 4 directions (Ezekiel 1, 6), – up and down the tablets, over and sideways. In Hebrew the directions or four corners of the earth are called “wings” (Ezekiel 7, 2) and “faces” (1. Kings 7, 25). 29) This is a well-known Egyptian technique. The squares are visible on pictures where the colors faded away. [17]
at two to five centimeters, no less or they would break too easily, no more or they would be unnecessarily heavy for transportation.30) So if the tablets were 4 cm thick, they were 60 cm high, and 40 cm wide. Reconstruction of the Two Tablets of Moses § 12. Empirical and mathematical proof is readily available for checking the correctness of the reconstruction of the two tablets of –––––––––––––– 30) This estimate was submitted already more than fifty years ago by Kurt Galling (N. 6) at 899, who also guessed correctly that the area of the stone tablets was “hardly more than half a square meter”, while it actually was 0.30 m². Each tablet was 67.5 cm by 45 cm and 4.5 cm thick if every letter required an area of 4.5 cm by 4.5 cm, see TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) p. 31. By fitting the tablets into the ark one may conclude that each tablet was one cubit by 1.5 and 0.1 cubit thick (Ibid. p. 51). A cubit is the space between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger, and differs a little from person to person, so that cubits of different lengths are known in history and archaeology. The Mosaical cubit is the cube root of 4 Bat, and measures 44.63 cm (cf. Note 33 infra). [18]
Moses beyond a reasonable doubt, even though they have been inaccessible for nearly three thousand years.31) They were transported in a wooden box, which was 2.5 cubits long, 1.5 cubits wide, and 1.5 cubits high (Exodus 37, 1).32) Any reconstruction of the tablets can be tested by whether it fits into this box. During transportation the tablets were lying side by side on the bottom of the box with their length fitting tightly into the width of the box. Hence 15 letter-units are 1.5 cubits, so that the tablets were one cubit –––––––––––––– 31) After the abolishment of the ancient Israelite republic its constitution was buried, as it were, by depositing the box with the Tablets of the Law in a dark and inaccessible
roomknown as the Holy of Holies of the temple built by King Solomon in Jerusalem (1. Kings 8, 6–12), see TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) pp. 18 and 103.
Before the destruction of the First Templein 586 B. C. E. the Ark of the Covenant, as the box is called, and the Tablets of the Law as well as the broken tablets were hidden in a cave by King Josiah, so that they may still be waiting to be found in a Genizah, cf. Ed Metzler, Mosaical Metrology (N. 9) p. 19.32) The measurements of the box are an empirical fact of great reliability. They are given twice (also in Exodus 25, 10) in exactly the same words. For more than four hundred years the ark was open to inspection. As a young man Joshua, the apprentice and successor of Moses, always stayed near it (Exodus 33, 11). When Samuel held the same position with Eli, he slept where the ark was (1. Samuel 3, 3). Its measurements have been carefully handed down by historical tradition (cf. Note 4 supra). [19]
wide, and 0.1 cubit (= 4.46 cm) thick.33) This leaves three handbreadths (= 0.5 cubit), needed for getting hold of the tablets.34) § 13. Mathematical proof results from the geometry of the Tablets of the Law and their box. Since a rectangular tablet only fits into a rectangular box, if the craftsmen, both the carpenter and the stone-mason, have the geo- metrical know-how to do a right angle with precision, I checked their measurements as to –––––––––––––– 33) The Mosaical cubit (above Note 30) can be identified from the context of the system of Mosaical metrology, which I discovered in November of 1984. In the second English edition of the TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) p. 50, the length of a cubit (= 44.63 cm) was calculated, for the first time, from the weight of a Beka (= 6.0 gm), cf. Ed Metzler, Mosaical Metrology (N. 9) p. 7. It is the cube root of 4 Bat or approximately 88 liters (below Note 40), that can be determined more precisely, if one Kikar or 6000 Beka = 36 000 grams are divided by 2.7, the specific gravity of granite (cf. Note 41 infra), and by 0.15 (cubic cubits of one stone tablet). 34) The ark was used by taking each tablet into both hands, when setting them up within the box, in order to be able to read them, having to pass over the summit to the opposite side on each of the ten lines. The ark was as high as it was wide, for it had to be as high as the standing tablets. There was room for one hand between the tablets, and between the stones and the wood on either side, three handbreadths altogether, which is half a cubit, see TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) pp. 17 and 51. During transportation these spaces were cushioned by the broken tablets wrapped in fleece, cf. Ed Metzler, Mosaical Metrology (N. 9) p. 15. [20]
whether they contain the so-called Pythagorean numbers 3, 4, and 5.35) This is the case, if thetablets are placed side by side next to each other, because their length is 3 half-cubits, their com- bined width is 4 half-cubits, and the diagonal of the combined rectangle is 5 half-cubits, which is the length of the box.36) These measurements also provide an easy method for dividing a cubit into ten equal parts explaining why there are 10 vertical and 15 horizontal lines.37) –––––––––––––– 35) The squares of 3 and 4 (9 plus 16) are 25, which is 5 times 5, the only instance of whole numbers under ten making up a right triangle. The next such combination is 5, 12, and 13. Knowing the combination 3, 4, and 5 – like that of a safe – is knowing the secret of the Pythagorean theorem. Pythagoras owed his theories to the Jews, cf. Ed Metzler, Mosaical Metrology (N. 9) Note 16. 36) This geometrical know-how is not surprising, if the people of Israel were the pyramid builders, as Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, II, 9, writes, cf. Ed Metzler, Mosaical Metrology (N. 9) Notes 14 and 54.
The Exodus brought about the end ofthe pyramid age: Departing from Fayoum (Pithom), where the last pyramids were built, the people of Israel had to reach the Red Sea when heading eastward for the Sinai, which is not the case, if the point of departure were farther northward near the Nile delta. 37) A pyramid measuring 2.5 cubits in height as well as at the base divides the cubit at the top edge of the Tablets of the Law into 10 equal parts, and a hexagram of two such pyramids helps to draw the 10 lines, cf. TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) pp. 8 and113.[21]
§ 14. The two tablets were the prototypes of ancient weights and measures, as I discovered when calculating their volumes and weights.38) Therefore, every cubit of 44.6 cm measured at archaeological sites in Israel bears witness to the width of the stone tablets of Moses.39) Every vessel of 22.2 liters found in
Israel with Batwritten on it in ancient Hebrew script is one fourth of a cubic cubit, and six Omers (= 0.6 Bat) or 0.15 cubic cubits make up the volume of one of the tablets.40) Likewise, every weight-stone –––––––––––––– 38) Cf. Ed Metzler, Mosaical Metrology (N. 9) pp. 3–7. One tablet weighed 36 kilograms or 6000 Beka of 6.0 grams. 39) Ibid. The official cubit was defined as the width of one tablet, and the Kikar as its weight. 40) The conversion factor of cubic cubits and Bats is contained in 1. Kings 7, 23–26: The sea of molten brass in the temple of King Solomon was a cylindrical tank with a volume of 10 cubits by 10 by 5, i. e. 500 cubic cubits, a circumference of30 cubits, and a capacity of 2000 Bat. Hence one Bat (22.2 liters) or Ephah (Ezekiel 45, 11) is 0.25 or 1/4 of a cubic cubit, and one cubit (44.6 cm) is the cube root of 4 Bat or 40 Omer (Exodus 16, 36). The 10 cubits, which form a square, are generally mis- interpreted as the diameter of a circle. Since its circumference would be 31.4 cubits, while it actually was 30 cubits, the text must mean something else, because a difference of 1.4 cubits could not possibly have escaped notice, when measuring the vessel with a string around it. Therefore, the 10 cubits “from lip to lip” do not refer to the diameter of a circle, but to the distance between the opposite sides of a square. Neither this square nor [22]
of 6.0 grams found in Israel with Beka or B written on it in ancient Hebrew script, of which there were 6000 to a Kikar – as the weight of a tablet was called –, confirms the system of Mosaical metrology, and the correctness of my reconstruction of the tablets.41) Double Interpretation of the Ten Commandments § 15. Interpolation research of the Ten Commandments can always be checked by the geometry of the Tablets of the Law, which –––––––––––––– its height of 5 cubits describe the shape of the vessel, but its cubic content. The shape of the cylinder, which had a diameterof 426 cm, and was 312 cm or almost 7 cubits high, is determined by its circumference and capacity. Both data are given in the Bible converting Bats into cubic cubits, so that the measurements of the tank may be calculated in cubits (ba-Ammah). Exact know- ledge about the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter is implicit in the choice of measurements for the Brazen Sea. 41) If the winged-lion (cherub) weight-stone of 4780 grams found near Taanach, now in the Dagon Grain Museum in Haifa, is 400 Shekel (Genesis 23, 16), one Beka or half-Shekel is [23]
limits the length of each of the 10 vertical lines to 32 letters.42) I interpreted the biblical etymo- logy of the tetragrammaton to mean that its initial Yod may be exchanged and spelled Alef (Exodus 3, 13–15). My interpretation proved correct, because any other leads astray with the wrong number of letters.43) When the separation of words was introduced around 900 B. C. E., the first three words of the Ten Commandments ANKIAHUHALHIK “I shall be your supreme judge” could be reinterpreted as “I am YaHUH thy God”, taking the final Yod of ANKI “I” –––––––––––––– 5.975 or 6.0 grams. Dividing the weight of a Manah-stone (Man) (= 100 Beka) by its volume (= 0.1 Omer) yields the specific gravity of granite (597.5 gm : 220 cm³ = 2.7), which was the material of the broken tablets, i. e. Manah-stones as well as stone cubes of 0.1³ cubic cubits, and of the Tablets of the Law, that were “like the first” ka-Rishonim (Exodus 34, 4 = Deuteronomy 10, 3). Granite is found near Elat, cf. Ephraim Orni and Elisha Efrat, Geographie Israels (Jerusalem 1966) p. 350. 42) In Kabbalah geometry (Hebrew “Gematriah”) has always been considered essential to understanding the Torah of Moses, but the inaccessibility of the Tablets of the Law (above Notes 31 and 32) led to its deterioration, cf. Gershom Scholem (N. 14) pp. 337–343. 43) A master of Kabbalah is called a Ba‘al Shem meaning the owner (Ba‘al) of the tetragrammaton (Shem) who possesses its etymology, which is the key to Mosaical Metrology and Mosaistics, cf. Gershom Scholem (N. 14) pp. 310 and 311. [24]
simultaneously as the initial of the next word followed by a defective Alef: YaHUH (Yahuweh) = AHUH (archaic) = AHIH (Ehiyeh).44) § 16. My analysis of interpolations in the last three lines of the Ten Commandments also proved correct, for my text without any post- Mosaical additions fits exactly into the blank space of 96 letters.45) The tetragrammaton following Lo Tissa et-Shem “Thou shalt not take the name” (Exodus 20, 7 = Deuteronomy 5, 11) has to be –––––––––––––– 44) Cf. TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) pp. 107–111. The word ALHIM (Elohim) as a technical term of the law of the Torah incontrovertibly means “judge” (Exodus 22, 8 et passim), and hence may refer to Moses, who was the first supreme judge (Shofet) and commander-in-chief after establishing a system of inferior courts, parallel to the military command structure (Exodus 18, 13–27). Both Rashi and the King James Version translate Elohim in Exodus 22 with Dayanim (English “judges”). The word Elohim on the Tablets of the Law occurs in the same legal context (Exodus 20, 2–14), and means “supreme judge”. It is a contraction of El ha-Elim “highest leader“ as in Eley Mo’av) “the leaders of Moab” (Exodus 15, 15), with a superlative comparable to Eved Avadim “lowest servant” (Genesis 9, 25) or Melekh Melakhim “king of kings” (Ezekiel 26, 7). 45) See above Note 21. Interpolation research in Roman Law was opposed for centuries by traditionalists, cf. Fritz Schulz supra Note 20. However,
interpolation research of the TenCommandments cannot be accused of butchering the traditional text, because it is verifiable by the geometry of the Tablets of the Law (above Note 42). It is not new to Jewish thought, and was practised already by Rabbi Akiva almost 2000 years ago. [25]
omitted as post-Mosaical, because it is not pre- ceded by the Yod of ANKI “I”.46) The style of legal or military commands, which must be as short as possible, is violated by the subsequent motive clauses, that were not part of the law text, but partially divergent commentaries annexed to it.47) The last commandment was restored in its original wording by eliminating the enumera- tive commentary defining the legal concept of BIT (read Bayit, short Bet “house”).48) –––––––––––––– 46) The juridical interpretation of this commandment is probably connected with Lo Tissa Shema (Exodus 23, 1), and meant originally “Thou shalt not raise a hearing of thy supreme judge in vain” (contempt of court), since the pentateuch uses this word for a judicial hearing (Deuteronomy 1, 16), and the word Shem “name” is derived from the verb “to hear”. After the death of the republic, and the burial of its constitution (cf. Note 31 supra) theology interpreted the first three words of the first stone tablet as saying “I am YaHUH thy God”, causing the speaking stone and his companion in the box to be worshipped in the Holy of Holies of the First Temple, which was to become their grave, see TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) pp. 18 and 49; and Raphael Patai, The Hebrew Goddess, (1967) pp. 135 and 136. Thus, the theological interpretation of the Ten Commandments idolizes the very same stone that prohibits idol worship.47) The word Mitzwotai “my commandments” (see above Note 18) is followed by short commands, while the legislator’s will or motives are a typical subject for commentaries. 48) Cf. TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) p. 109. This enumeration, reminiscent of the res mancipi in Roman Law, [26]
§ 17. The commandment “Remember the sabbath day” (Exodus 20, 8) reads “Keep the sabbath day” in Deuteronomy 5, 12. Why one version has Zakhor “remember” and the other Shamor “keep” is explained by post-Mosaical changes in Hebrew phonology and palaeography.49) The Mosaical text must have had Dhakhor with a voiced interdental sibilant as in English “the” spelled Tzadi at the beginning, which changed its pronunciation to Zayin.50) The original spelling –––––––––––––– must have accumulated as case-law over some 400 years of legal history during the ancient Republic of Israel (Ibid. p. 105).The ownership of the Ba‘al ha-Bayit or “master of the house” (Exodus 22, 7) is comparable to the things and persons in the hand (manus) of the Roman paterfamilias. A broad concept of property such as “any thing that is thy neighbor’s” has to be a rather late generalization. 49) Three centuries after Moses a sound change occurred (Judges 12, 6), in which Hebrew and Aramaic lost the “th”-sound, so that words like “the thing” would become “ze sing or shing” in Hebrew, and “de ting” in Aramaic. A good example is Zakhor, for the Aramaic Torin and Dikhrin (Ezra 7, 17) correspond to Hebrew Shewarim and Zekharim. Hence the Mosaical alphabet had to have a special letter for “th”, that I spotted as Tzadi, cf. TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) p. 73.50) The Exodus version of the Ten Commandments adjusted to the sound change with the new phonetic spelling Zakhor, but older or more conservative manuscripts must have retained the original spelling Tzakhor with an initial Tzadi in analogy to the inconsistent orthography of Tzahov “golden” and Zahav “gold” for archaic Dhahab. [27]
of Tzadi and Kaf could later be mistaken for Shin and Mem yielding the word Shamor.51) A similar divergence occurs in the commandment “Thou shalt not bear false witness”, in which the word “false” reads Shaker in Exodus 20, 13 and Shawa in Deuteronomy 5, 17. Here the original Kof and Resh of Shaker were later mistaken for Waw and Alef in Shawa.52) § 18. After having succeeded in fully re- constructing the original Tablets of the Law, hewn and written by Moses 3427 years ago in the Sinai, it is safe to say that they were, indeed, the first document ever to be written –––––––––––––– 51) The Deuteronomy version of the Ten Commandments is based upon an old manuscript of the Torah of Moses found in 622 B. C. E. (2. Kings 22, 8). At this time Mem looked almost like the original Kaf, while Kaf was developping in the direction of its present shape. The difference of Shin and Tzadi was only a diacritical mark, so that Tzakhor could easily be misread as Shamor (see below p. 31).52) The letter Kof is in a very vulnerable position (cf. Note 26 supra), where the top of its circle may have become blurred, turning it into the letter Waw. The first two letters of Shamor are in the same position on line 8 as the last two letters of Shaker on line 10, which suggests that they were rendered partially illegible by the same scratch. Since the number of letters is the same in both versions, their differences do not affect the reconstruction of the Tablets of the Law, and could be left open. [28]
in alphabetical script, which was conceived by the people of Israel.53) The reason for placing the letters Alef and Bet at the top of the alphabetical order, and thus the very name of the alphabet results from the Ten Command- ments, for their first line begins on face A of the first stone tablet with the letter Alef, and their second line on face B with the letter Bet. The Bible constitutes the oldest collection of alphabetical literature that grew around the law of the two tablets of the Torah of Moses, and the alphabet contains the key to their three-dimensional structure.54) –––––––––––––– 53) Not every phonetic script is an alphabet in the strict sense characterized by its unique alphabetical order: Neither the so-called Egyptian “alphabet” of one-consonant hieroglyphs nor the so-called Ethiopian “alphabet”, in spite of its Sinaitic origin, are true alphabets, because Alef and Bet were never placed at the top of their sequence of letters, and not sharing the Torah of Moses with Israel, there was no reason
to do so.54) See TORAH OF THE ALPHABET (N. 1) p. 18. The original meaning of the Tablets of the Law has to be distinguished from their later interpretation (above Note 46). Such a double interpretation (duplex interpretatio) is also known in Roman Law, where the Corpus Juris of the Emperor Justinian may differ widely from the classical original, cf. Fritz Schulz (N. 20) p. 4. Similarly, what the Constitution of the United States of America means today is not always what the founding fathers meant. [29]
The 10 Lines (Devarim)  [30] |
APPENDIX Phonetic and Graphic Changes
[31] – at USA-$ 20.– per issue – Discovering the System of Mosaical Metrology AMMM
VOL. 1, NO. 1 = ISBN 3-924448-03-5 * Discovering the Three-Dimensional Structure of the Ten Commandments AMMM
VOL. 1, NO. 2 = ISBN 3-924448-04-3 * Discovering the Two-Dimensional Structure of the Alphabetical Order AMMM
VOL. 1, NO. 3 = ISBN 3-924448-05-1 * Discovering the Mosaical Roots of Kabbalah AMMM
VOL. 1, NO. 4 = ISBN 3-924448-06-X * Discovering the Israelite Identity of the Pyramid Builders AMMM
VOL. 1, NO. 5 = ISBN 3-924448-07-8 * Conflict of Laws in the Israelite Dynasty of Egypt AMMM
VOL. 2, NO. 1 = ISBN 3-924448-09-4 * The Impact of Israel on Western Philosophy AMMM
VOL. 2, NO. 2 = ISBN 3-924448-10-8 * The Mosaical Roots of European Musical Theory AMMM
VOL. 2, NO. 3 = ISBN 3-924448-11-6 * On Mosaical Matrixes and the Metzler Formula AMMM
VOL. 2, NO. 4 = ISBN 3-924448-12-4 * inscription on the Tablets of the Law, and to prove the priority and centrality of Hebrew script in the world history of writing.” Bibliographical Quarterly of the Jewish Nationaland University Library in Jerusalem, Israel, VOL. 60, NO. 1–2 (1986) pp. 287–88, *3045–47. * ISBN 3-924448-04-3 |
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by Dr.
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