Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
FYI: This is NOT what the “tablets” looked like. Probably not what Moses looked like either…
Being such an important subject, I dedicated a lot of time to trying to bring clarity and understanding regarding the Ten Commandments.
Many people have preconceived notions regarding these important words. Unfortunately, many mock or simply dismiss the Ten Commandments and their significance.
So in this class we review some of what was covered last weeks introduction to Exodus Ch. 20, and then I talk about the 10 Commandments specifically.
We discuss several questions regarding the 10 commandments:
- Why 10?
- Are there really only TEN?
- How are they numbered?
- Are they all “commandments”?
- Who wrote them?
- How where they written?
- Where were they written?
- How many times were they written?
- What were they written on?
- What did the “tablets” look like?
- Why are they significant?
- Where are they?
- and more…
For answers to these question and more stay tuned to Torah Means Teacher episode 37!
Below are the ten commandments and the beginning of Exodus Chapter 20.
Exodus Ch. 20:
1And God spoke all these words:
2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3“You shall have no other gods beforea me.
4“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13“You shall not murder.
14“You shall not commit adultery.
15“You shall not steal.
16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
From Wikipedia:
Traditions for numbering
Different religious traditions divide the seventeen verses of Exodus 20:1–17 and their parallels at Deuteronomy 5:4–21 into ten “commandments” or “sayings” in slightly different ways, shown in the table below. The number ten seems to be a choice to aid memorization rather than a matter of theology.[15][16]
Traditions:
| S | Septuagint, generally followed by Orthodox Christians. |
| P | Philo, same as the Septuagint, but with the prohibitions on killing and adultery reversed. |
| T | Jewish Talmud, makes the “prologue” the first “saying” or “matter” and combines the prohibition on worshiping deities other than Yahweh with the prohibition on idolatry. |
| A | Augustine follows the Talmud in combining verses 3–6, but omits the prologue as a commandment and divides the prohibition on coveting in two and following the word order of Deuteronomy 5:21 rather than Exodus 20:17. |
| C | Catechism of the Catholic Church, largely follows Augustine. |
| L | Lutherans follow Luther’s Large Catechism, which follows Augustine but omits the prohibition of images[17] and uses the word order of Exodus 20:17 rather than Deuteronomy 5:21 for the ninth and tenth commandments. |
| R | Reformed Christians follow John Calvin‘s Institutes of the Christian Religion, which mostly follows Philo. |
| S | P | T | A | C | L | R | Main article | Exodus 20:1-17 | Deuteronomy 5:4-21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | (1) | I am the Lord thy God | 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. | 6 “‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Thou shalt have no other gods before me | 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. | 7 “‘You shall have no other gods before me. |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image | 4–6 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. | 8–10 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain | 7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORDwill not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. | 11 “‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy | 8–11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. | 12–15 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | Honour thy father and thy mother | 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. | 16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. |
| 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | Thou shalt not kill | 13 “You shall not murder. | 17 “‘You shall not murder. |
| 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | Thou shalt not commit adultery | 14 “You shall not commit adultery. | 18 “‘And you shall not commit adultery. |
| 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | Thou shalt not steal | 15 “You shall not steal. | 19 “‘And you shall not steal. |
| 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour | 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. | 20 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. |
| 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | Thou shalt not covet | 17a “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; | 21b “‘And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, |
| 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | Thou shalt not covet | 17b “you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, | 21a “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. |
| 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thou shalt not covet | 17c “or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” | 21c “or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’ |
- All scripture quotes above are from the English Standard Version. Click on verses at top of columns for other versions.
