Rabbi Chanina ben Agil asked, “Why is the word ‘tov’ (good) not mentioned in the First Tablets, whereas the word ‘tov’ is in fact mentioned in the Second Tablets?”
Rabbi Chanina ben Agil is puzzled in our gemara by the difference in wording in the Ten Commandments regarding the command to honor one’s parents. Specifically, he wondered about the lack of the word “tov” (good) when the Torah first records the text of this commandment and the reward for its fulfillment, and the presence of (a form of) this word “tov” in its second appearance in the Torah.
We see this difference in the following verses:
“Honor your father and your mother in order that your days be lengthened on the land that the L-rd, your G-d, is giving you.” (Ex. 20:12)
“Honor your father and your mother as the L-rd your G-d commanded you in order that your days be lengthened, and that it may go well (“yitav”) with you on the land that the L-rd, your G-d, is giving you.” (Duet. 5:16)
We clearly see the lack of the word tov in the first verse.
In conclusion, Rabbi Tanchum bar Chanilai explains the lack of the word “tov” in the first verse by stating in the name of the Sage Shmuel bar Nachum: “The First Tablets were destined to be broken, and Hashem did not want the ‘goodness’ that was destined for the Jewish People to be ‘broken’ along with the breaking of those Tablets.”
Bava Kama 54b, 55a
