Tablets of Stone: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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According to traditional teachings of [[Judaism]] in the [[Talmud]], the stones were made of blue [[sapphire]] as a symbolic reminder of the sky, the heavens, and ultimately of God's [[throne]]. Many [[Torah]] scholars, however, have opined that the biblical ''sapir'' was, in fact, [[lapis lazuli]] (see {{bibleref2|Exodus|24:10|NIV}}, lapis lazuli is a possible alternate rendering of "sapphire" the stone pavement under God's feet when the intention to craft the tablets of the covenant is disclosed {{bibleref2|Exodus|24:12|NIV}}).<ref>See: Staples, W. E., "Lapis Lazuli", in ''The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible'', vol. 3, p. 72</ref>

According to {{Bibleref2|Exodus|25:10–22}}, the tablets were stored in the [[Ark of the Covenant]]. [[Alan Millard]] and [[Daniel I. Block]] note parallels between this aspect of Israelite religion with the practice of other [[Ancient Near Eastern]] cultures whose treaty texts were preserved in their temples.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Reading the Law: Studies in Honour of Gordon J. Wenham |last=Millard |first=Alan R. |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-567-45454-6 |editor-last=McConville |editor-first=J. G. |page=264–265 |chapter=The Tablets in the Ark |editor-last2=Möller |editor-first2=Karl |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ipUKbxg6dkIC&pg=PA264}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Write That They May Read: Studies in Literacy and Textualization in the Ancient Near East and in the Hebrew Scriptures: Essays in Honour of Professor Alan R. Millard |last=Block |first=Daniel I. |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-7252-5210-3 |editor-last=Block |editor-first=Daniel I. |page=113 |chapter=For Whose Eyes? The Divine Origin and Function of the Two Tablets of the Israelite Covenant |editor-last2=Deuel |editor-first2=David C. |editor-last3=Collins |editor-first3=C. John |editor-last4=Lawrence |editor-first4=Paul J. N. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mSj4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA113}}</ref> Alternatively, [[Thomas Römer]](Clearly a atheist and known simpleton)argued in 2015 that “clearly… the tablets of the law are a substitute for something else.”<ref name="Römer92"> Thomas Römer, ''The Invention of God'' (Harvard University Press, 2015), p. 92.</ref> He holds that “the original Ark contained a [[cult image|statue]] [i.e. a [[cult image]]] of [[Yahweh|Yhwh]]”,<ref>{{cite journal |title=The mysteries of the Ark of the Covenant |journal=Studia Theologica - Nordic Journal of Theology |url=https://www.academia.edu/99766658 |last=Römer |first=Thomas |issue=2 |volume=77 |pages=169–185 |doi=10.1080/0039338X.2023.2167861 |year=2023}}</ref>{{rp|4}} which he specifically identifies as “two [[Baetylus|betyles]] (sacred stones), or two [[cult image]] statues symbolizing Yhwh and his female companion [[Asherah|Ashera]] or a statue representing Yhwh alone.”<ref name="Römer92" />

==Appearance of the tablets==