Exo 20:16 - "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."
Deut 5:20 - "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."
This commandment not to "speak in vain" reapplies to our neighbours what the Third Commandment requires regarding misrepresenting Yahweh by 'lifting up' the name of Yahweh "in vain." Commentators have often seen the law court as the original setting for this instruction, the commandment being specifically a prohibition against perjury.1
While the noun 'ed, 'witness,' and the verb 'ana, speak,' used in this commandment are the terms most often used to refer to giving evidence in court, it exceeds the evidence to be dogmatic about it. Both terms are also used widely outside the law court.2 Within the absolute context in which it appears in the Decalogue, and especially given Deuteronomy's passion for social responsibility, the commandment should probably be understood as a proscription against painting our neighbour in hues that are less than truthful, whether in court or out of it. While translations consistently render the verse with an adversarial preposition as 'against your neighbour,' the Hebrew preposition is neutral, and in a construction such as we have here, it may very well mean 'concerning your neighbours.' Surely, if the Old Testament refuses to let a person speak falsely in court against his neighbour, it challenges simple logic to think that such truthful speaking should be confined to court.
It is always the case that when we sow the seeds of falsehood, we reap the inevitable fruits of doubts and uncertainty. People have found, and always will find, creative justification for speaking falsely about a neighbour. Modern technology (especially given the anonymity that the Internet seems to offer) and the pressure of the market place make this commandment particularly challenging. Of all the commandments in the Decalogue, this one requires special courage. Those of us engaged in today's hyper-competitive market place may be tempted, for example, to rationalize what we do to our colleague-turned-competitor with the argument that we have not lied, that we merely "put an alternative spin on things" or simply "not told the whole truth." God is not fooled by such cleverness. Perhaps the most heart-breaking transgression of this commandment are those primed by good intentions. Two-year-old Rheena3 was introduced as a daughter to everyone by this couple who transferred to our church. But Rheena was their daughter only because they could not find the courage to deal truthfully with their teenaged daughter who had gotten pregnant by a youth in the church they had attended previously. They hid their daughter until Rheena was born, then sent her abroad for studies, and adopted Rheena as their own. What sorrowful fruits await poor innocent Rheena when she discovers the false witness committed concerning (against) her by her mother and grandparents! What will Rheena then think of her mother? Of her grandparents who had claimed and loved her as their daughter? And of God? And find out she will. Ah, for the courage to speak the truth—and to deal with it—about ourselves as well as with our neighbours.
You may also wish to read the article on Slander & Slandering (article will open in this panel).
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2013