The 10 Commandments, or the Decalogue – a set of biblical laws that can be found in several passages across three books of the Hebrew Old Testament and one book in the New Testament from the Christian Bible. In Judaeo-Christian tradition, the Ten Commandments have been a major moral code. Nowadays sermons and homilies are still sometimes based on them, and they appear in Jewish homes as wall decorations.
The Ten Commandments (Hebrew: עֲשֶׂרֶת הַמִּצְוָה, Aseret ha-Mitsvah), also known as the ten statements, are a set of biblical standards relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism. These maxims constitute the answers to the religious questions that preoccupied the tribe of Israel as it made its way through the wilderness toward Canaan and formed the basis of Jewish religious belief. The Talmud, a central text of mainstream Judaism, takes the Ten Commandments as its starting point for ethical teachings. Learn about; The British Library (Public Domain), Moses and the ten commandments.
10 commandments in the bible verse
The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion, popular culture, and philosophy. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God can be categorized as metaphysical, logical, empirical, or subjective.
Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of the Supreme Being or gods. In common parlance, or when contrasted with deism, the term often describes the classical conception of God that is found in monotheism (also referred to as classical theism) – or gods found in polytheistic religions—a belief in God or in gods without belief in the absence of such beings.[2] Deism is also sometimes used as a synonym for natural religion,[3][4] but this use excludes all forms of non-theistic spirituality[5] such as Buddhism and Hinduism.[6][7]
Atheists assert that there are certain types of evidence which can prove that there exists no god: The presence of evil and suffering (see problem of evil);[8][9] apparent contradictions between different religious traditions;[10][11][12] claims about miracles (see miracle);[13] lack of objective evidence for religious claims;[14][15][16]:2–4 conflicting beliefs about what should be considered sacred among people who share a particular faith tradition;[17]:26–27 arguments from probability that God does not exist;[18]:144–145 and lack of logic inherent to concepts like “God”.[19]:46
You shall not make for yourself a carved image.
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; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me…
Why would God give us this ability if he didn’t want us to use it? It doesn’t make sense!
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
While cursing and swearing in a disrespectful manner are certainly big offenses under this command, there is another way of taking God’s name in vain that many Christians have fallen into. Using God’s name as an adjective or adverb, as in “Oh my gosh” or “By golly,” is commonly done today. But the fact remains that these phrases are simply a replacement for the more graphic forms of profanity. The Bible says not to use His name at all unless it’s with reverent awe and respect.
We should give to God what He is due: reverence, honor, glory, praise, servitude. When we do this with all our hearts—when we give our lives to Him and worship Him alone—we will not even think about using His name frivolously.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
You shall remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shall you labor and do all your work: but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Yahweh your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your cattle, nor the sojourner who is within your gates: for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day: wherefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.
Honor your father and your mother.
Honoring one’s parents is an important part of the Ten Commandments. The commandment reads, “You shall honor your father and mother.” According to the Bible, this commandment was given by God because it was thought that by honoring your parents you would be considered righteous. However, the term “honor” has come to mean something different than what it did in biblical times. In those days, the word referred to a way of thinking about a person or a thing that was different from how most people thought about them—it meant having respect for them or being loyal to them.
In modern society, there are many ways we can show our respect for our parents as representatives of God on earth:
- Be obedient: This means doing what they say when they ask us to do something for them. If you have any questions about whether their request is appropriate (such as if they ask you to do something that could put yourself or someone else in danger), then you should ask first!
- Don’t talk back: This means not arguing with them when they give an order—even if it seems unfair at first glance (like getting grounded)! You should always try your hardest not even whisper under breath while they’re talking because disobedience will lead others into sinning against their own parents too–and this will ultimately bring shame upon all Christians everywhere as well.”
You shall not murder.
The passage of scripture that pertains to this commandment is found in Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder.”
This commandment comes with the following specifications:
- Do not commit murder. This goes without saying, but we can go further than this. The Bible says that even anger in our hearts makes us liable to God’s judgment (Matthew 5:22). Because of this, we should do all we can to remain at peace with others and not allow anger or hatred to build up within us.
- Forgive those who hurt you. To be angry toward someone is essentially an act of murder because it stands against what God intended for you; peace and a good relationship with your neighbors (Psalm 34:14). Instead of holding grudges against others, we should forgive them as Christ has forgiven us (Luke 6:37). We need to take ourselves out of the equation and focus on the person who was wronged; are they being treated fairly? How can I help them? In allowing yourself to be shaped by Christ rather than the world around you, selflessness becomes your new way of life and the fruit of love will blossom in your heart (Galatians 5:22-23).
You shall not commit adultery.
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You shall not steal.
It is a fundamental principle of the Bible: what belongs to one person (or family, or community) should not belong to others.
Thou shalt not steal. It’s among the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, and theoretically, it’s as straightforward as they come. You shall not steal. But when we look at what constitutes stealing in the original Hebrew language of the Torah—and how that plays out in Jewish law—there is more nuance than you might think. Here are six things that are forbidden by this commandment:
- Taking someone else’s property with an intention of keeping it for yourself. Let’s say you were driving with your neighbor and saw a wallet fall out of his pocket at the same time he did. “That’s my wallet,” he says, picking it up and putting it back into his pocket. But he didn’t see $100 bills poking out from inside the wallet, so you know there’s something valuable inside and decide to swipe it from him later that day when he isn’t looking because you want whatever money is in there for yourself. In this situation, even if your neighbor doesn’t notice his wallet went missing right away (for example, if he put it in his locker at work or something like that), stealing would be taking place because of your intentions here: taking someone else’s property with an intention of keeping it for yourself constitutes theft according to Jewish law because you’re depriving them of their rightful possession for your own gain.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Seeing that you are often asked to give testimony in court, this commandment reminds you to honor God by telling the truth. The Lord wants you to promise—or swear—only when it is absolutely necessary and then tell the truth no matter what.
Even if a lie seems harmless, it’s important not to tell one. God told Moses that he would be punished for lying about speaking with Him (Numbers 20:7-12), even though his lie was meant to help others. God will also punish those who tell lies about others just because they are jealous or mean-spirited or angry (Exodus 23:1).
God expects His followers not to use lies as a way of dodging responsibility or getting out of trouble. When Jacob lied about stealing his father’s blessing from Esau, he had “done foolishly” and “acted wickedly” (Genesis 27:12). He paid dearly for this sin and had to flee from his home country.
When Jesus was on trial before Pilate, the chief priests made up stories so they could have Jesus put to death (Matthew 26:59-61; Mark 14:55-57). They were willing to perjure themselves on oath just so they could get rid of Jesus! But according to scripture, even in death Jesus won over all his enemies by completely trusting in God (Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:34-36).
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
Two of the commandments deal directly with coveting, even including a warning about the consequences of this type of sin. Exodus 20:17 says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” In this passage God tells us to focus on our own things and not desire what belongs to others. Coveting is one step below committing theft and adultery because it is just a desire to take something that does not belong to you.
The 10th commandment explicitly calls out four specific sins—lying (Exodus 20:16), stealing (Exodus 20:15), adultery (Exodus 20:14), and murder (Exodus 20:13). Each one of these sins can be traced back to the sin of coveting. For example, someone might lie in order to cover up their stealing or murdering in order to get what they want from another person more quickly.
God told Mose to pass these commandments on to the people of Israel
The Ten Commandments is a set of rules or laws, God gave to the people of Israel. The commandments exist in different versions. One version can be found in the Book of Exodus, and the other in Deuteronomy. The Bible mentions that Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive these commandments from God (Exodus 19).
When Moses came back down with the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets, he found that not only had the people worshiped an idol but had also lost faith in him as their leader and prophet. In his anger, Moses threw down the tablets and destroyed them (Exodus 32:19). Wanting to make amends for what happened at the foot of Mount Sinai, Moses went back up to speak with God again for 40 days. When he returned he brought brand new stone tablets that would replace those he broke before (Exodus 34:1-4).
Moses and the ten commandments
Ten Commandments, also called Decalogue (Greek: deka logoi [“10 words”]), list of religious precepts that, according to various passages in Exodus and Deuteronomy, were divinely revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai and were engraved on two tablets of stone. The Commandments are recorded virtually identically in Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21. The rendering in Exodus (New Revised Standard Version) appears as follows:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form 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 worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and 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; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Traditions differ in numbering the Ten Commandments. In Judaism the prologue (“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery”) constitutes the first element and the prohibitions against false gods and idols the second. Medieval Roman tradition, accepted by Martin Luther, regards all these elements as one and preserves the number 10 by separating the prohibitions against coveting another’s wife and coveting another’s possessions. In the Greek Orthodox and Protestant Reformed traditions, the prologue and the prohibition against false gods are one commandment and the prohibition against idols is the second.
The British Library (Public Domain)
Dating the Ten Commandments involves an interpretation of their purpose. Some scholars propose a date between the 16th and 13th centuries BCE because Exodus and Deuteronomy connect the Ten Commandments with Moses and the Sinai Covenant between Yahweh and Israel. For those who regard the Ten Commandments as an epitome of prophetic teachings, the date would be sometime after Amos and Hosea (after 750 BCE). If the Ten Commandments are simply a summary of the legal and priestly traditions of Israel, they belong to an even later period.
The Ten Commandments contain little that was new to the ancient world and reflect a morality common to the ancient Middle East. They are a description of the conditions accepted by the community of Israel in its relationship to Yahweh. The differences found in Exodus and Deuteronomy indicate that the process of transmission from generation to generation brought with it modifications.
The Ten Commandments had no particular importance in Christian tradition until the 13th century, when they were incorporated into a manual of instruction for those coming to confess their sins. With the rise of Protestant churches, new manuals of instruction in the faith were made available and the Ten Commandments were incorporated into catechisms as a fundamental part of religious training, especially of the young.