Al’s Christmas Tea: Earliest Known Tablet of 10 Commandments Goes to Auction Next Week

Welcome back in for Al’s Christmas Tea, our chance to take a break from the hustle and bustle to sample some of the stories of the season.

Earliest Known Complete Tablet of Ten Commandments Heads to Auction Next Week

Looking for a gift for that Bible-loving person who is impossible to shop for? Take yourself over to Sotheby’s!

The oldest known complete tablet of the Ten Commandments, dating from between 300 and 800 A.D., will be going up for auction in New York City on December 18. Construction workers discovered the 155-pound, two-foot-tall Yavne Tablet in 1913 along the Israeli coast, but its significance went unrecognized for decades. In fact, according to the Jerusalem Post, one of the workers took the tablet home and used it as a paving stone.

The earliest, complete tablet of the Ten Commandments, dating from 300 to 800 A.D., will be up for auction at Sotheby’s, New York on December 18.

The 155-pound tablet is expected to fetch $1-2 million at the auction block.

Courtesy: REUTERS/Christine Kiernan pic.twitter.com/Upqyrv1cYw

— GMA Integrated News (@gmanews) December 10, 2024

While the tablet is intact, it’s actually missing one of the original commandments, according to Sotheby’s International senior specialist Sharon Liberman Mintz.

“The third commandment, ‘Thou shall not take the Lord’s name in vain,’ is not there because this commandment was written by a Samaritan for use in a Samaritan synagogue, place of warship,” Mintz stated. “And instead, the tenth Commandments here is the admonition that one should worship on Mount Gerizim. Mount Gerizim is a holy site near Nablus, where the Samaritans still worship.”

Is editing God really a good idea?

Sotheby’s describes the artifact’s historical and religious significance:

The Yavne Tablet is not simply the earliest surviving complete inscribed stone tablet of the Ten Commandments, but the text it preserves represents the spirit, precision, and concision of the Decalogue in what is believed to be its earliest and original formulation. The influence of the Decalogue extends far beyond the Judeo-Christian religions, underpinning around the globe the foundational concepts of common law, natural law, formal legal codes, personal conduct, and the social compact.

Bidding on the Yavne Tablet starts at a $1 million, and is expected to reach $2 million. (I’m betting it will go much higher. If someone was willing to pay $12.6 million for a Mickey Mantle rookie card, the Ten Commandments should fetch more than a couple million.)

That’d be quite the stocking stuffer — if you have a really, really big stocking. 

The Baby Jesus Wrapped in a Keffiyeh at the Vatican? Not Anymore

The Vatican last week unveiled a Nativity scene depicting the Baby Jesus wrapped in a keffiyeh, the black-and-white checkered scarf Palestinians use as a symbol of resistance. (See our story on that from Jules Gomes for more details.)

The display, called “Nativity of Bethlehem, 2024” was even described by the Palestinian Chronicle as “a poignant nod to the Palestinian struggle.”

As Protestia notes, this came just weeks after Pope Francis called for an investigation into whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. On Saturday, the wheelchair-bound pope prayed at the Nativity scene.

Vatican Unveils Nativity Scene Featuring Baby Jesus Swaddled in a Keffiyeh https://t.co/nz7wZTFWRu pic.twitter.com/ovGPYhePia

— Protestia (@Protestia) December 9, 2024

The Nativity scene sparked immediate outrage among both the Jewish and Christians communities. Catholic Herald reports one critic said, “The Pope is exploiting Christmas to advance the ridiculous effort to rebrand Jesus as Palestinian rather than what He was – a Jew who fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of a Messiah.”

In the wake of the outcry, the whole Nativity scene was removed earlier today.

Judge Allows Drag Queen and Pride Float in Alabama Town’s Christmas Parade

Just hours before last Friday’s Christmas parade in Prattville, Alabama, a federal judge ordered the city to include an LGBTQ group’s pride float in the celebration for the first time. The float featured a drag queen tossing candy at spectators and promising to be the “gayest and merriest ever.”

Locals in the conservative town were not happy.

On Thursday, Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie pulled the float from the parade, declaring that the city “will not put the rights of parade participants ahead of the safety of its citizens.” But Prattville Pride sued — and won.

U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker ruled: “While there are areas of unprotected speech, such as incitement of violence, the City makes no argument and provides no evidence that Prattville Pride has engaged in any speech or behavior that would remotely fall into an unprotected speech category.” The group complied with all city regulations, and therefore couldn’t be banned.

Here’s the twist: The drag queen who was supposed to be riding the float, Alee Michele Saffire, was a no-show. And according to local 1819 News, aside from rainbow tinsel, the only Pride insignia connected to the float was a man waving a trans flag emblazoned with a fist.

Sadly, 1819 News also reports attendance at the parade appeared to be way down from previous years, as people apparently made good on their threats to boycott the event over the inclusion of the Pride float and drag queen.  

Happy 80th Birthday to “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” Singer Brenda Lee

Today, Brenda Lee of “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” fame celebrates her 80th birthday. Lee was only 13 when she recorded the song in 1958 — and though at first it was not a hit, the infectious tune caught on two years later, once Lee had achieved fame with other songs like “I’m Sorry.”

The song really took off in the 1990s after being featured in Home Alone. Then last year, a record-breaking 65 years after being recorded, “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” hit number 1.

Still, as The Associated Press noted, no one is quite sure what a “new old-fashioned way” is.

Taking us home, birthday girl Brenda Lee shows she’s still got it after nearly seven decades in the biz.

On the Stream Menu..

Today we ran a fascinating piece from Gerald McDermott, reviewing a book about “Jonathan Edwards on the Latter Days.”

Meanwhile, Stream contributor Jason Jones recently appeared on the Faith and Reason podcast to discuss “Why Christians Are in Danger in Syria and Gaza.” 

Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.

The post Al’s Christmas Tea: Earliest Known Tablet of 10 Commandments Goes to Auction Next Week appeared first on The Stream.

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