10 Commandments

The "10 Commandments" map to the 13 tribes. The map is possible when the opening thought for the commandments is given to the first tribe and the commandments with a double "thou shalt not" (2 & 10) are shared. The following table explores.

Notes

Judah as the opening thought needs more study.

Reuben needs more study.

Gad and Asher share the second commandment about abstaining from idols. The command has a double "thou shalt not" so it's a natural command to split across two tribes. Gad and Asher are brothers, born to Zilpah. Gad is a raider whose tendency is to seek treasure, like gold and silver. He's told not to make idols, presumably of gold and silver. Asher's feet would be bathed in oil, as per Deuteronomy 33, and he's not to bow to idols (as in bow to their feet). So this commandment is a good fit with these two tribes.

Naphtali is the tribe with "goodly words" as per Jacob's blessing in Genesis 49. The German language is a manifestation of this design in modern times. Here he's told not to misuse God's name. In other words, don't misuse language in general, but especially God's name.

Manasseh lands on the command to keep the Sabbath, which is six days of work and one of rest. Manasseh is tribe number six so this seems to confirm the general map. Manasseh is also the double portion holder, so he gets more text here than the other tribes.

Simeon made a mistake when he didn't obey his father Jacob and attacked Shechem, putting everyone to the sword. Here Simeon is reminded to honor his parents (where "honor" probably means obey).

Levi was not to be counted in the army because he was not to go to war. In modern times we see that Levi is neutral, as Switzerland, but even here, in the 10 commandments, he's told not to kill. A good match.

Issachar is not to commit adultery, but where adultery means breaking a contract or being unfaithful, even in business. Issachar's holiday is Tabernacles, which is really a trade fair, or more specifically, a time for "supporting the growth of contracts" in business when you look at the letter by letter spelling of tabernacles. It is wrong to be unfaithful to one's spouse, and that may be part of what's in view in this command, but it likely has this wider application in mind given the way it maps to Issachar.

Zebulun is not to steal. Elsewhere in the tribal grid Zebulun maps to Jephthah, the guy who hangs out with thieves. Also Zebulun aligns with the prerequisite for elders that says not to be into "filthy profit." The verbiage is odd, but given the grid we can postulate what's really being said is elders must not be people who make money by robbery.

Joseph is not to give false testimony against his neighbor. In that Joseph is two tribes in one, and Ephraim is a "community of nations," this command seems to play to community directly when it says "neighbor." Joseph also must confess the sins of the nation on the head of the atonement scapegoat, so this theme of speaking for the whole community or neighbors in court or before a judge is a good fit.

Benjamin and Dan are told not to covet, but it's difficult to say what exactly each tends to covet because the two "thou shalt nots" are reversed in Deuteronomy (or Exodus).

In general I would think Benjamin is not to covet his neighbor's wife. The reason being, Benjamin is the one tribe not rightly married, in that modern Israel is the one nation in the whole set without a Christian history. Israel, or the Jews more broadly, have yet to acknowledge Jesus as a group, as a tribe. Whereas their neighbors, Joseph and the other tribes, have all wedded to Jesus to some degree in history and display a Christian tradition (aside from how riddled with problems such traditions are and how much idolatry is present within). I think of the end of Judges, where the Benjamites rape the Ephraimite's concubine as an example in scripture where Benjamin needs to be reminded not to covet his neighbor's wife.

Dan, on the other hand, should not covet his neighbor's land, because Dan of all tribes had the most difficulty taking land.