of the brit (covenant), with the Ten Commandments functioning as the foundational stipulations analogous to ancient Near Eastern suzerainty treaties. This interpretation connects the physical tablets to the broader legal corpus of the Torah, positioning them not merely as moral precepts but as the constitutional foundation of Israel's covenantal relationship with God. In this view, the placement of the tablets within the Ark of the Covenant parallels the ancient practice of depositing treaty documents in temples as sacred witnesses.

Breaking of the first tablets