Taryag Mitzvot (613 Commandments)

I remember finding it interesting the first time I heard that there are 613 commandments in the Torah.  I had never counted them, and I really didn’t plan to. All that I cared about was that there were commandments, not how many – especially if the number was as odd as 613 (coincidentally, it is a prime number). I also found it interesting that while the Rambam’s list of 613 commandments is the most widely quoted, others have had different opinions on which mitzvot make up the total of 613. Although I found it curious that you could have a list with a set number but not agree on what made up the list, 613 was good enough for me. So as far as I was concerned, there were 613 commandments in the Torah.

The other day, I got to thinking though.  That’s not the only Biblical list with a set number but shifting members.  Take the Twelve Tribes of Israel, for instance. Very rarely are they listed the same throughout Scripture.  Really there are 14 names to choose from (including Joseph and his sons Ephraim and Manasseh), so sometimes it leaves out Levi because they did not have a land inheritance, usually Joseph is replaced by two half tribes of his sons. In Revelation 7, it lists Joseph and Manasseh but not Ephraim or Dan.  Another example is the Ten Commandments which differ slightly whether you’re Protestant, Catholic or Jewish but all contain 10 commandments (they’re all faithful to the text of Exodus 20/Deuteronomy 5 too). Another slightly different but possibly applicable instance is the Twelve Apostles. I think this is more an issue of reporting Greek or Hebrew names in the different Gospel accounts.  However, after Jesus’ resurrection, they did choose a replacement for Judas Iscariot to keep the number at 12.

So maybe it isn’t so odd to have 613 Commandments after all. Maybe I’ll have to count them someday and make my own list.

If you'd like to see a couple lists and some good background, go to this website.