Quote Originally Posted by rb336 View Post
10 commandments are copied from Hittite Lord/Vassal contracts. they are nearly identical in form and purpose, but the hittite predates by centuries
I wouldn't say "copied". And I wouldn't use just the 10 commandments in the comparison.

The 10 commandments are like a "summary" of the Law given by Moses. The entire book of Deuteronomy is a more accurate comparison to the Hittite Suzerain [[sp?) Vassal treaties. And not to any specific treaty [[therefore it was not really "copied"). Rather, the treaties all followed the same format. Deuteronomy follows that format, as you say, almost identically.

This is not very surprising considering that the format was apparently also used in Egypt for treaties with foreign laborers [[which is probably what the Hebrews were considered, although we call it slavery.) Moses did well to bring the Law in a format that the Hebrews would recognize. They would see this as a transfer of allegiance from one Lord [[Pharaoh) to the one true Lord [[Jehovah). That knowledge about the way treaties were forged in those days actually makes Deuteronomy's format more understandable.

An interesting exercise would be comparison of the actual specifications of the Hittite treaties with the specifications in Deut. which are very broad and touched every aspect of Hebrew life.