Remember the Sabbath day...

Being in Rome and visiting the Church of San Pietro in Montorio decorated with artworks of prominent 16th and 17th century Italian artists, one can see the beautiful fresco by Sebastiano del Piombo (c.1485 – 1547), "Transfiguration". This magnificent picture reminds us of the verses of the Gospel: “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear” (Matthew 17:1-6).

On the Tablets of Stone, held out to Jesus by Moses, we can distinguish four lines in Hebrew. Moshe Barash, professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, studied the fresco and this text. In his article "Hebrew inscriptions in artworks of the Renaissance"* he writes that despite the deformed perspective, one can quite clearly read these lines. They say:

I am the LORD your God, ???? ?? ?????

You shall have no other [..] ?? ??? ?? ?? [...]

You shall not take the name ?? ??? ?? ??

Remember the Sabbath day ???? ?? ??? ????

The innovation here lies in the inscription in Hebrew, made on the Tablet of Stone. It is an unusual phenomenon in the depiction of the scene in Christian art, that speaks of a special intention. It is worth noting that the artist does not mechanically copy the Ten Commandments but rather gives the beginning of the first four commandments. Moshe Barash explains that Sebastiano del Piombo (or his adviser) knew well the Hebrew meaning of the text and used it intentionally.

Meditating the fresco "Transfiguration", we can feel the powerful dynamics of the event: the awe of the disciples, the majesty of the Lord in Glory, Moses and Elijah talking with Him; and we can almost hear "a voice out of the cloud, saying": “Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.” (Malachi 3:22-24).

“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you” (Ps 5:11).