Illegal Speech: Blasphemy and Reviling
Eric E. Vernon · ScholarsArchive (Brigham Young University) · 2003
Two primary passages from the law of Moses record for us the laws regulating speech.The first is contained in the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Exodus 20:7).This commandment, when interpreted in its purest form, prohibited verbalization of the tetragrammaton in public, an act known as blasphemy.The commandment was expanded over time to include any form of evil, insolent, or disrespectful speech directed toward God or God's anointed representative.The commandment is given in apodictic format ("thou shalt not") with no specific punishment attached.However, Moses adjudicated a case of blasphemy, as recorded in Leviticus 24, in which the Lord revealed that death by stoning was to be the punishment.The second passage that regulates speech is found in the Code of the Covenant, Exodus 22:28: "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people."Known as the law against reviling, this commandment acted, for the most part, like a subset of blasphemy.The Hebrew root word in this verse that is translated as "revile" means literally to "make light" or to "be light."Over time, this word came to mean "despising" or "speaking evil" of someone or something.Intially the commandment against reviling meant that one could not utter a formal curse against God or God's anointed leader. 1 Over time, it came to mean that one should not speak