The Ten Commandments
INTERPRETATION: RESOURCES FOR THE USE OF SCRIPTURE IN THE CHURCH

With this volume from Patrick D. Miller, WJK is proud to introduce an exciting new phase in the renowned Interpretation commentary series. Click here for more information about Interpretation: Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church.

“Miller’s knowledge of the Commandments translates into a most appealing set of reflections for believing Christians. His updated approach will benefit classes, study groups, and anyone interested in living an ethical life rooted in biblical texts.”
–Kathleen M. O’Connor, Columbia Theological Seminary

“A one-volume theological encyclopedia.  Miller, among the most distinguished  biblical scholars alive today, has uncovered a vast array of connections between this seminal text and the wider biblical tradition."
–Joel Kaminsky, Smith College

Miller studies the Ten Commandments as ancient document and as contemporary guide. With careful attention to each commandment in its original context, this book shows how the ideas of each commandment influenced the New Testament and applies the call of the commandments to modern-day issues. For example, Miller discusses how the commandment “You shall not kill” relates to manslaughter, murder, execution, and war, and suggests that the story of Ruth may be read as a commentary on how to honor one’s father and mother.

From the preface by Patrick D. Miller:
For a number of years I taught a seminary course on Old Testament ethics. My regular routine was to begin with some general attention to the place and character of the law followed by two weeks or so on the Ten Commandments. After teaching the course several times, I realized that I had gradually shifted its plan and character. What had been a couple of weeks on the Commandments had come to consume about two thirds of the course. Originally discrete subjects had been drawn into the treatment of the Commandments. That discovery provoked me to begin asking to what extent the Commandments serve as a comprehensive framework for the ethics of the Old Testament or indeed of the Bible as a whole. The process had two results. One was a shift to teaching my subject as a course on the Ten Commandments. The other result is this book.