Moses — "You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people."
You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
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Details
From the laws given through Moses (Exodus 22:28).
Date: c. 13th Century BCE (Traditional)
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Understanding this quote
What it means
This command tells people not to speak contemptuously about God or to call down curses upon the leaders who govern them. It links reverence for the divine with respect for civic authority, treating verbal attacks on either as a serious moral failure. The instruction asks for restrained speech, recognizing that words carry weight and that undermining sacred and social order through insult corrodes the community that depends on both.
Relevance to Moses
Moses delivered this law as the founding lawgiver who transmitted the covenant at Sinai and led a formerly enslaved people toward self-governance. Having appointed judges and elders to share the burden of leadership, he needed the Israelites to accept human authority under God. His own authority was repeatedly challenged in the wilderness, so a statute protecting rulers from curses reinforced the fragile chain of command he was building for a new nation.
The era
In the Late Bronze Age Near East, curses were considered potent supernatural weapons, and speech against kings or deities was prosecuted as treason or blasphemy in Hittite, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian codes. The Israelites, emerging from Egyptian bondage around the 13th century BCE, were forming a tribal confederation without a standing monarchy, relying on judges and priestly authority. Protecting leaders from verbal sabotage was essential for holding a wandering, fractious population together under a shared covenantal law.
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