The Nine Commandments

Advance Praise for The Nine Commandments

"David Noel Freedman is one of the most insightful, provocative and original biblical scholars of his generation.  Where so many other scholars delight in taking the Bible apart, in this book, as in others, Freedman focuses on putting it together-what lay behind the master editor who compiled the Primary History of Israel, from Genesis through Kings?  What secrets did he bury, book by book, that tied the whole together and underlined its theme of disobedience to God’s commands, leading ultimately to exile?  Whether this great unifying scheme was intentional may be debatable, but no one can deny that the pattern Freedman found is there.  And only a profound scholar like Freedman could have found it, lying undiscovered for two thousand years."
–Hershel Shanks, editor, Biblical Archaeology Society

"When you get tired of wild claims on one hand, and unexciting introductory comments that every scholar knows, on the other, then you’re ready for this book. It is real scholarship: the case is argued, the evidence is presented for us to see for ourselves, and it shows us something new. This is something that has been there for over two millennia, but no one saw it until now. While many books about the Bible show us the trees, this book shows us the forest. It shows how remarkably connected a huge group of the Bible’s books are. What’s more, it shows that the Commandments are not just stated in the Bible. They make a difference in the lives of people in the Bible’s stories(and, by obvious implication, in our lives as well."
–Professor Richard Elliott Friedman, author of Who Wrote the Bible?

"This book, written by a great biblical scholar and editor, is yet pitched for a popular audience.  It is simply and eloquently written, but as with all of David Noel Freedman’s work, it is charming and imaginative, full of detailed insights.  His thesis is bold and may not convince all; but it is a delight to follow his brilliant pursuit and defense of his hypothesis."
–Frank Moore Cross, professor emeritus, Harvard University