19 and Jeremiah 19

Ancient Egyptian leaders sought to preserve the status quo by using not only their military might, but also enlisting magical rituals to help control any perceived threats to their way of life. Biblical leaders also sought to control their respective peoples by means of divine authority, brute force, and/or ritual actions. Examples of ritual actions by Moses and Jeremiah mimic those used by the ancient Egyptians in order to preserve or restore order to their given societies.

While ancient Egypt was known for its military strength, ancient Egyptian priests worked to preserve order by cursing those individuals, groups, or nations who opposed the pharaoh and the Egyptian way of life. The execration ritual sought to curse people who had or might want to contest the status quo. The ancient Egyptian priests would break pottery jars, plates, and/or figurines that represented the offending parties, thereby rendering them unable to accomplish their intended goal.

In two separate biblical stories, Moses and Jeremiah oppose the idolatry of the Israelites by means of ritually breaking an item representing the people. Moses breaks the Tablets containing the Ten Commandments, while Jeremiah breaks a pottery jar outside Jerusalem. Both actions by the biblical leaders are attempts to restore the proper order by equating the offending people with the broken items. By this ritual action, Moses wants to break the people who have so quickly broken the covenant; while Jeremiah wants to warn the citizens of Jerusalem of their impending doom.