Review: The tablets of the covenant
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 12, 2014
In the first book in this series, the author covered the first fourteen chapters of the Old Testament book of Exodus, with the story ending with the dramatic escape of the Israelites across the Red Sea to freedom. "The Ten Commandments" picks up the story a few weeks later as the Israelites arrived in the desert near Mount Sinai. The story summarizes the events in Exodus chapters 19 and 20, as God gives Moses the Ten Commandments, but while this is happening, many of the Israelites lose faith in God and begin worshipping false gods. The story includes interesting inserts with explanatory material from the Aggadah, a collection of Jewish texts compiled between about 200 AD and 1000 AD.The author indicates that the story is for children aged 8-10. In my opinion, the text could have been condensed a bit more to hold a child's attention, but this is a minor quibble. Overall, it's a well written story of an event that plays a fundamental role in both Judaism and Christianity.