Tablets of stone 1651770 197402392 2008-03-11T03:42:19Z ClueBot 4928500 Reverting possible vandalism by [[Special:Contributions/72.252.30.71|72.252.30.71]] to version by Jon513. False positive? [[User:ClueBot/FalsePositives|report it]]. Thanks, [[User:ClueBot]]. (269548) (Bot) [[Image:The10Commandments.png|right|thumb|250px|A popular image of the Tablets as rounded-off rectangles bears little relationship with religious traditions about their appearance. In this case, the [[Ten Commandments]] are represented by the first ten letters of the [[Hebrew alphabet]], which in Hebrew usage may be used [[gematria|interchangeably with the numbers 1-10]].]]The '''Tablets of Stone''', '''Stone Tablets''', '''Tablets of Law''', or '''Tablets of Testimony''' (in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: ''Luchot HaBrit'' - "the tablets [of] the covenant") in the [[Bible]], were the two pieces of special stone inscribed with the [[Ten Commandments]] when [[Moses]] ascended [[Mount Sinai]] as recorded in the [[Book of Exodus]].{{bibleverse|Exodus||31:18|HE}} refers to the tablets as the "Tablets of Testimony" because they give insight into the nature of God. According to the Bible, there were two sets: the first, inscribed by God, were smashed by Moses when he was enraged by the sight of the [[Children of Israel]] worshiping the [[Golden Calf]]; and the second, inscribed later by Moses as commanded by God as an atonement. According to traditional teachings of [[Judaism]] in the [[Talmud]], they were made of blue [[sapphire]] stone as a symbolic reminder of the sky, the heavens, and ultimately of God's [[throne]]. Both the first shattered set and the second unbroken set were stored in the [[Ark of the Covenant]] (the ''aron habrit'' in Hebrew). ==Appearance of the tablets according to Jewish tradition== The tablets are popularly described as semi-flat rounded off rectangles but this understanding has little basis in religious tradition. According to rabbinic tradition, they were rectangles, with sharp corners.<ref>[[Bava Batra]] 14a. The length and width of each of the Tablets was six [[Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement|Tefachim]], each was three Tefachim thick. </ref> Also according to tradition, the words were not engraved on the surface, but rather were bored fully through the stone. (At least) two miracles are mentioned in connection with the tablets: even though they were bored fully through the stone, and you would expect the reverse side to be a mirror image, it was not, and both sides appeared normally. Since the letters were bored fully through the stone, the inner part of the letters (for example [[ס]] or [[ם]]) were not supported by anything, yet the unsupported stone remained in position. ==Content== In [[Judaism|Jewish religious tradition]], the arrangement of the commandments on the two tablets is interpreted in different ways. Rabbi [[Hanina ben Gamaliel]] said that each tablet contained five commandments, "but the Sages say ten on one tablet and ten on the other".<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Mekhilta#Mekilta of R. Ishmael|Mekhilta]] |author=Rabbi Ishmael |editor=Horowitz-Rabin (ed.) |pages=233, Tractate ''de-ba-Hodesh'', 5}}</ref> Because the commandments establish a covenant, it is likely that they were duplicated on both tablets. This can be compared to diplomatic treaties of [[Ancient Egypt]], in which a copy was made for each party.<ref>{{cite web |title=What was Written on the Two Tablets? |url=http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/kitisa/mar.html |last=Margaliot |first=Dr. Meshulam |year=2004 |month=July |publisher=Bar-Ilan University |accessdate=2006-09-20}}</ref> ==Christian replicas== Replicas of the tablets, known as [[tabot]]s or sellats, are a vital part of the practice of [[Ethiopian Orthodox Church]], which claims that the original Ark of the Covenant is kept in the [[Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion]] in [[Axum]]. ==References== <references/> ==External links== *[http://www.domini.org/tabern/arkcovnt.htm Ark of the Covenant page] *[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/11/ntablet111.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox Stone tablet receipt from Nebo-Sarsekim discovered (including image). ''Newspaper article.''] {{Ark of the Covenant}} [[Category:Tabernacle and Jerusalem Temples]] [[Category:Torah events]] [[Category:Jewish mythology]] [[de:Gesetzestafeln]] [[fr:Arche d'alliance]] [[he:לוחות הברית]] [[ru:Скрижали Завета]]