I have been absent for a bit, but I would like to add onto my last post as it has come to be. So to review…

In 2023, Texas passed legislation requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms. That bill has now officially become law, recently signed by Governor Greg Abbott, and is expected to go into effect soon. For many, this move felt like a return to moral roots. But a closer look at the Hebrew text, especially the First Commandment, suggests this public display might raise deeper questions than the law intends.

Let’s take the familiar phrase:

“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7, NRSVUE)

In Hebrew, it reads:

לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל־פָּנָי
Literally: “There shall not be to you other gods upon my face.”

The final phrase, עַל־פָּנַי (al panai), comes from the word פָּנִים (panim), which can carry the meaning “face” or “presence.” A more precise translation might be, “You shall not have other gods in my presence.”

This is not in fact, however, a denial of other gods’ existence, but rather It’s a demand for exclusive worship of Yahweh. As many scholars have shown, early Israelite religion acknowledged a divine council—a heavenly realm populated by multiple spiritual beings. What is being prohibited here is not belief in other gods, but their appearance or presence in Yahweh’s domain.

This is especially relevant to how sacred space worked in the ancient world. In the biblical imagination, Yahweh’s “face” often referred to the temple, seen as the meeting place between heaven and earth. To have another god “before my face” likely refers to introducing another divine image or symbol into Yahweh’s sanctuary. Archaeological and textual evidence suggests that, in earlier periods of Israelite religion, other divine images were indeed present in temples. These included massebot (standing stones), Asherah poles, and other cultic items. This commandment may not be about denying the existence of other gods, but about protecting the exclusivity of worship within a specific sacred space. In effect, it is saying: no rivals allowed in my house.

This isn’t about abstract metaphysics. It’s a claim of jurisdiction. Yahweh isn’t arguing that no other gods exist. He is saying they are not permitted to dwell where he does. So, this is more about control of sacred territory than it is about theology. It’s a boundary line drawn in the temple and codified as law.

Scholars like Mark S. Smith (The Early History of God) and Frank Moore Cross (Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic) have shown that Israelite religion began as a form of monolatry, where one god is worshiped without denying the existence of others. Passages like Deuteronomy 32:8–9, especially in the Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls, reflect this worldview of a divine council, where Yahweh is Israel’s appointed deity among many. And Ziony Zevit and others have pointed out that symbols such as the Asherah may have once stood within the sanctuary itself, side by side with Yahweh’s presence, before being removed through later reforms.

Why does this matter?

If the Ten Commandments are framed as timeless moral truths, they bring ancient theological assumptions into modern classrooms. Their public display invites students and teachers to ask questions like:

-Was ancient Israel monotheistic, or did they only worship one god among many?
-Is this commandment about belief, or about protecting sacred space?
-Is this a universal moral rule, or a temple regulation that became a law?

These aren’t just abstract theological questions. They reflect real historical and linguistic debates that might surprise, challenge, or unsettle. In the ancient world, declarations about gods were rarely just theological. They were political. This commandment doesn’t erase the existence of other deities—it only limits who gets access to Yahweh’s domain.

Texas’s new law may aim to affirm moral clarity. But the Hebrew phrase לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ… עַל פָּנַי carries deeper implications. It’s about sacred space, contested loyalties, and a theology still in motion. The First Commandment doesn’t deny the spiritual world of others. It simply claims the center seat for Yahweh alone. And it seams that this power grab is still being attempted.

But ancient texts don’t always hand us tidy conclusions or easy proof texts. More often, they ask us to think harder. And that’s exactly what schools should be doing.