Midrashic Tablets
The Tablets of Law (Luchot) as they appear in all theatrical motion pictures and television productions so far look very similar to each other. Though they may have been shown as either two separate tablets or two conjoined tablets, they have always been depicted as flat stones on which text has been inscribed on one of their faces.
Those images were suggested by a somewhat simple, literal look at the biblical text. Surprisingly, what has never been attempted for film or TV is a representation of the classical/traditional Jewish view; a view that has been held for hundreds if not thousands of years. This is perhaps because that interpretation could pose a dilemma for filmmakers, as it is a view that is far more complex and flies in the face of historical accuracy and the laws of nature. It would be something of an understatement to say that viewers would need to suspend their disbelief when looking at such tablets.
How would those tablets appear? First, one must understand that for more than two thousand years, Jewish scholars have sought to resolve difficulties presented in the interpretation of certain passages of the text of the Hebrew Bible. Sometimes, they tried to fill in seemingly missing aspects of certain stories, while at other times, they sought to uncover meaning apparently hidden within the plain text. Many of these interpretations (known as Midrashim; Midrash is singular) are related to the Tablets of Law, and they present an image quite different from that which is presented by the text when read at face value.
The majority traditional understanding is that the Luchot did not have arched tops, as often depicted in many works of art, but were, rather, perfectly flat. According to certain rabbinic interpretations, the Luchot were made not of mere stone, either, but were of blue sapphire. Rather than flat tablets with a thickness of a few inches or less, the Luchot were cuboids: with approximate dimensions of 20” by 20” by 10”. And even though one might expect such tablets to be quite heavy, they had no weight, so Moses was able to hold them both with one hand!
Rabbinic opinions vary as to whether the Luchot carried Paleo-Hebrew script or the more modern square Hebrew script. Some midrashim have argued that the script written on the first set of tablets (engraved by the Lord and broken by Moses) were in a different script than the that used on the later set, which were placed in the Ark of the Covenant—that those engraved by the Lord were written in the square script, while the second set, engraved by Moses, were written using the Paleo-Hebrew script.
Modern day archeologists might say that the square Hebrew script did not come about until well after the time of the exodus from Egypt, and was originally used by the Babylonians rather than the Israelites. However, according to the Midrashic tradition, the more beautiful, square Hebrew script of the first set of tablets was later found by the Babylonians (or revealed to them by God), and they adopted it as their own. The tradition goes on to state that, only after the Jews were taken as captives to Babylonia did the Jews become reunited with that script, and brought it back with them when they returned to the Land of Israel years later.
Rather than engraved on but one side of each tablet, it was presented in Midrash that the characters were miraculously cut straight through the blue, translucent material. While one might well expect with the letters on the reverse side to appear backwards, in mirror writing as it were, that was not the case. Instead, the letters could be read correctly when viewed from either of their faces. Those characters that had enclosed interior spaces under normal circumstances still had them even after such engraving—the interiors were miraculously suspended in their proper places!
Clearly, the Midrashic view of the Tablets of Law requires a divorce from the laws of nature and a full embrace of the concept that, with the Lord, anything is possible. Though one might assume that filmmakers would wish to depict such seemingly fantastical creations, so far none have risen to that challenge.