Although the scared texts of Judaism and Christianity both share the Hebrew Bible, the envisioned political and social community or representative “city” of Christianity makes a distinct and distinguishing departure from that of Judaism. This paper will examine and differentiate the ethical visions of Exodus, Matthew, and Romans by digesting their respective laws under the belief that laws aim at the good life. Furthermore, because Christianity views itself as a continuation of the Hebrew bible, it is first necessary to elaborately examine and construct the representative city of Judaism as presented in the book of Exodus, and then, progress off of the Hebrew ethical vision to the ethical vision of Matthew and Romans.
Under God’s covenant, as presented in the book of Exodus, God’s law applies equally to all Israelites; no one is above his will, and no one constitutes his or her own laws. Even Moses must subject himself to God’s will, for Moses’ only qualification, as leader of the Israelites, is simply that God appoints him (Exodus 3:10). In the beginning of Exodus, when the shaken and frightened Moses asks God to “please send someone else” to deliver the Israelites from the Egyptians, God sternly responds, “You [Moses] shall speak to him [Aaron] and put words in his mouth” (Exodus 4:13,15). Moses is not above the will of God, and it is critical that Moses does not constitute the laws, but merely relays the laws from God to the Israelites. He is not the leader of the Israelites because of his ambitions or conquests, but simply because God appoints him leader. In Exodus, there is a clear distinction between the divine and the mortal. God’s will is regarded as supreme and just, while every Hebrew must subordinate himself to the will of God or suffer the harsh consequences of the law (Exodus 32:27). Thus, the Israelites are united because they are all equally subject to the will of a single divine authority, as opposed to being divided among a hierarchy of...