Jack Kilmon's Scriptorium

Reproduction of the Ten Commandments in the ancient Hebrew script of the time of Moses

It was 1446 BCE. Pharoah Heqa-Unu Aa-Kheperu-re Amenhotep (II) was king of Egypt. His father, Men-Kheper-Re Thutmosis (III) had been harsh on the "Hapiru" slaves. The Hebrews had been laboring for the 120 years since Pharoah Neb Pety-Re Aa-Mes (I) drove out the Hyksos Kings who had befriended Joseph and Jacob. Now thousands of Hebrews, led out of Egypt by a former prince of the Egyptian court, now called Moses, camped in a valley of the Sinai under the shadow of Mount Horeb. The way had been long and the journey through the Wilderness of Sin had been hazardous.

The rising sun was still hidden behind the looming silhouette of Horeb, it’s crown flashing and rumbling with lightning. Moses gazed up at the mountain remembering his first encounter with God at the burning bush and his commission from the "I Am" to lead his people here. He felt a vibration under his feet and his body trembled with words that seemed to come from deep within his body…..

"And the Lord said unto Moses, come up to me into the Mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them."

The climb must have been arduous for the aging Moses but somewhere on the granite slopes of Horeb he again heard the voice of God, "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Fingers of fire came down from the heavens and struck the stone face of the mount, carving out two tablets and writing upon them ten commandments. Your reproduction of these Ten Commandments is in the ancient Hebrew script of the time of Moses.

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me;

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image;

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;

4. Remember the Sabbath Day;

5. Honor thy father and thy mother;

6. Thou shalt not kill;

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery;

8. Thou shalt not steal;

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness;

10. Thou shalt not covet.

These Ten Commandments are now known to everyone on earth, of all nations and religions, yet the disobedience to them by individuals and nations have been responsible for all the tragedies of history. They are the key to the "Kingdom of God" for if all obeyed them, Heaven would not be a mysterious and enigmatic destination after death….it would be within us and around us as a reality of life.

Hand scribed on genuine papyrus and framed $75.00