Endnote 24 – Did King Solomon Violate the Second Commandment?

In the following discussion, I refer to Exodus 20:3–5 as the “second commandment.” This follows Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael Massekta de-bahodesh, para. 8. All or half of what is considered by several traditions to be the “first commandment” is included in the “second commandment,” and the statement “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the Land of Egypt, from the house of bondage,” is the first commandment, rather than an introductory statement. For various, methods by which the commandments have been divided, see Moshe Greenberg, “The Decalogue Tradition Critically Examined,” esp. p. 77ff., and Moshe Weinfeld, “The Uniqueness of the Decalogue and Its Place in Jewish Tradition,” esp. p. 5, note 20.