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The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue are a list of religious and moral imperatives that feature prominently in Judaism and Christianity. The name decalogue is derived from the Greek name δέκα λόγοι or dekalogoi ("Ten Words") found in the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Aseret ha-Dibrot עשרת הדברות, "The Ten Utterances".
The Ten Commandments are found, in two very similar versions in Exodus 20:2-17 [1] and Deuteronomy 5:6-21 [2], in the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament. Jews and Christians have historically believed that these rules were dictated to Moses by God at Mount Sinai; Muslims do not recognize the validity of the Ten Commandments as such.
According to the Bible itself, the commandments represent the solemn utterances of God on Mount Sinai (sometimes called Mount Horeb), directly revealed by God to Moses and then by Moses to the people of Israel in the third month after their Exodus from Egypt. The Israelites are said to have seen manifestations of divine power marked by thunder and lightning and thick smoke (Exodus 19):
God had already revealed his true name to Moses in the past [4] (Exodus 6).
Now however, in (Exodus 20) Moses wrote God's name with the Ten Commandments upon two tablets of stone. [5]:
According to the Bible, God inscribed the Ten Commandments into stone: "God said to Moses, 'Come up to Me, to the mountain, and remain there. I will give you the stone tablets, the Torah and the commandment that I have written for [the people's] instruction.'" [7] (Exodus 24:12) also referred to as "tables of testimony" (Exodus 24:12, 31:18, 32:16) or "tables of the covenant" (Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 15), which he gave to Moses.
After seeing that the Israelites had gone astray during his absence and his brother AaronFor other uses of the word Aaron, see Aaron (disambiguation Aaron Standard Hebrew Aharon Tiberian Hebrew Aharon , a Levite known as the eldest son of Amram and his wife Jochebed, and elder brother of Moses. He is considered the traditional founder, ancest had made the Golden Calf, Moses broke the tablets (Exodus 32:19).
God subsequently commanded Moses to carve two other tablets like the first (Exodus 34:1). In Exodus 34:27,28 Moses was commanded to rewrite, and did rewrite, the Commandments himself. In Deuteronomy 4:13, 5:18, 9:10, and 10:24, however, God himself appears as the writer. This second set, brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses (Exodus 34:29), was placed in the ArkArk of the Covenant A late 19th-century artist's conception, employing a Renaissance cassone for the Ark and cherubim as Christian angels ) The Ark of the Covenant is described in the Hebrew Bible as a sacred container built at the command of Moses, in wh, also known as the Ark of the Covenant, (Exodus 25:16, 21; 40:20), hence designated as the "Ark of the Testimony" (Exodus 25:22; Numbers 4:5; compare also I Kings 8:9). Various theories have been advanced as to why the text in Deuteronomy differs on some points with the text in Exodus (see below).
While Judaism, CatholicismThis article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. See Catholicism (disambiguation) for alternative meanings Catholicism has two main ecclesiastical meanings, described in Webster's Dictionary as: a) "the whole orthodox Christian chu and ProtestantismProtestantism in the strict sense of the word is the group of princes and imperial cities who, at the diet of Speyer in 1529, tried a protestation against the Edict of Worms which forbade the Lutheran teachings within the Holy Roman Empire. From there, th all agree that the BibleThe Bible (From Greek βιβλια biblia meaning "books", which in turn is derived from βυβλος byblos meaning "papyrus", from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) lists the ten commandments in chapter 20 of the book of Exodus, that passage contains more than ten imperative statements. Reflecting this, the Hebrew term for them translates as "the Ten Utterances" or "the Ten Statements", as Jewish law sees each imperative as representing a separate commandment, totalling 14 or 15 in all. (See Jewish understanding below). Some scholars also believe that there may have been at one time more than 10 commandments, but that these additional edicts have been lost over millennia.
Although the Ten Commandments in the King James Version of the Bible are the most well-known in the English-speaking world, some have criticized the version as a poor translation for modern speakers of English. The language is archaic (e.g. "thou shalt not" instead of "do not") and therefore, in places, seemingly inaccurate (e.g. "Thou shalt not kill" instead of "do not murder").
Different groups have divided the commandments in different ways. For instance, Protestants separate the first six verses into two different commands (one being "no other gods" and the other being "no graven images"), while Catholics see all six verses as part of the same command prohibiting the worship of pagan gods. The initial reference to Egyptian bondage is important enough to Jews that it forms a separate commandment. Catholics separate the two kinds of coveting (i.e. of goods and of the flesh), while Protestants and Jews group them together.
A very similar, but not completely identical, list of commandments is found in Deuteronomy 5:1-22. Reference to each of the commandments and the consequences for not following them as a part of Hebrew Law are found throughout this book. In the New Testament book of Matthew 19 and elsewhere, Jesus refers to the commandments, but condenses them into two general commands: love God and love other people.
Popular belief holds that these are "the commandments" of the Hebrew Bible. In fact, the Torah has over 600 commandments. The Jewish tradition does, however, recognize these "ten commandments" as the ideological basis for the rest of the commandments (see below). According to the Medieval Sefer ha-Chinuch , the first five statements concern the relationship between God and human beings, while the second five statements concern the relationship between human beings. Rabbinic literature holds that the Ten Statements contain 14 or 15 distinct instructions.
The first five statements: The relationship between God and human beings.
(Jewish sages note that the 5th commandment, on the border between the two groups, is to "Honor your father and your mother...", and draw lessons from this that a person should respect parents (and by implication, elders) only somewhat less than one would God himself, and that parents should be moral guidance to a person as god is to society)
In the era of the Sanhedrin, transgressing any one of these theoretically carried the death penalty. It should be noted that it was rarely enforced due to a large number of stringent evidentiary requirements imposed by the oral law.
The special status of the Ten Commandments in Judaism has sometimes been contentious. Indeed, when undue emphasis was being placed on them, daily communal recitation of them was discontinued ( Talmud, tractate Berachot 12a). Still, the Ten Commandments are generally considered to be subject headings to larger groups or subdivisions of the 613 commandments of the Torah; a number of works (starting with Rabbi Saadia Gaon) has made groupings of the commandments according to their links with the Ten Commandments.
Catholic and Orthodox Christians understand the Ten commandments in the following way:
(Deuteronomy, RSV)
There are many different denominations of Protestantism, and it is impossible to generalise in a way that covers them all. However, this diversity arose historically from fewer sources, the various teachings of which can be summarized, in general terms.
Lutherans, Reformed and Anglicans, and Anabaptists all taught, and their descendents still predominantly teach that, the ten commandments have both an explicitly negative content, and an implied positive content. Besides those things that ought not be done, there are things which ought not be left undone. So that, besides not transgressing the prohibitions, a faithful abiding by the commands of God includes keeping the obligations of love. The ethic contained in the Ten Commandments and indeed in all of Scripture is, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself", and, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Lutherans, especially, influentially theorized that there is an antithesis between these two sides of the word of God, the positive and the negative. Love and gratitude is a guide to those under the Gospel, and the prohibitions are for unbelievers and profane people. This antithesis between Gospel and Law runs through every ethical command, according to Lutheran understanding.The Anabaptists have held that the commandments of God are the content of the covenant established through Christ: faith is faithfulness, and thus, belief is essentially the same thing as obedience.
Reformed and Anglicans have taught the abiding validity of the commandments, and call it a summation of the "moral law", binding on all people. However, they emphasize the union of the believer with Christ - so that the will and power to perform the commandments does not arise from the commandment itself, but from the gift of the Holy Spirit. Apart from this grace, the commandment is only productive of condemnation, according to this family of doctrine.Modern Evangelicalism, under the influence of dispensationalism, commonly denies that the commandments have any abiding validity as a requirement binding upon Christians; however, they contain principles which are beneficial to the believer. Dispensationalism is particularly emphatic about the dangers of legalism, and thus, in a distinctive way de-emphasises the teaching of the law. Somewhat analogously, Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement typically emphasizes the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the freedom of the Christian from outward commandments, sometimes in antithesis to the letter of the Law. Quakers and pietism have historically set themselves against the Law as a form of commandment binding on Christians, and have emphasized the inner guidance and liberty of the believer, so that the law is fulfilled not merely by avoiding what the Law prohibits, but by carrying out what the Spirit of God urges upon their conscience.
For those Christians who believe that the Ten Commandments continue to be binding for Christians, their negative and positive content can be summarized as follows:
Exodus 20:
Muslims accept Moses and Jesus as prophets, but they reject the Biblical versions of the Ten Commandments. Islam teaches that the Biblical text used in Judaism and Christianity has been corrupted over the years, by carelessness or malice, from its divine original. Muslims believe that the Quran is a revelation from God continuing the revelations on which they believe the Torah and Gospels to be based, intended to restore the original Adamic and Abrahamic faith.
The Quran has verses that in many ways are similar to the Ten Commandments:
"Say, come, I will recite what God has made a sacred duty for you: Ascribe nothing as equal with God;
Be good to your parents;
You shall not kill your children on a plea of want; we provide sustenance for you and for them;
You shall not approach lewd behavior whether open or in secret,
You shall not take life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. Thus does God command you, that you may learn wisdom.
And you shall not approach the property of the orphan, except to improve it, until he attains the age of maturity.
Give full measure and weight, in justice; no burden should be placed on any soul but that which it can bear.
And if you give your word, do it justice, even if a near relative is concerned; and fulfill your obligations before God. Thus does God command you, that you may remember.
Verily, this is my straight path: follow it, and do not follow other paths which will separate you from God's path. Thus does God command you, that you may be righteous."
(Koran, 6:151-153)
To view comparable commandments in other faiths (Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, etc.), visit Andrew Wilson's "World Scripture" page on Divine Law: http://www.unification.org/ucbooks/WorldScr/WS-02-03.htm
See main articles: Shabbat, Sabbath
For many Christians, Sunday is a special day of worship, in observance of the Easter Sunday fulfillment of the new covenant of Jesus. For Jews, this Christian practice of worshipping on the first day of the week is seen as an explicit rejection of the commandment to keep the seventh day holy.
For other Christians this commandment is to be taken literally. They keep Saturday as the Sabbath as they believe God commanded as early as creation, as it commemorates creation. These sabbatarians claim that the seventh day Sabbath was kept by all Christian groups until the 2nd and 3rd century, by most until the 4th and 5th century, and by many after that but gradually adopted Sunday as the day of worship.
Others reject this belief system, noting that the choice of one day or another as the "seventh" in a repeating cycle is inevitably arbitrary; for most people, the week begins on Monday in any case. So long as one day of seven is kept as a sabbath, the principle has been kept. They point to evidence of Sunday worship within the New Testament, and to historical evidence in the second century.
See main articles: Idolatry, Idolatry in Judaism, Idolatry in Christianity
Christianity holds that the essential element of the commandment not to make "any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above" is "and bow down and worship it". Thus, they hold that one may build and use "likenesses", as long as the object is not worshipped. As a result, many Christian buildings and services feature images, some feature statues, and in some Orthodox services, icons are venerated. For most Christians, this practice is understood as fulfilling the observance of this commandment, as the images are not being worshipped.
Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that the incarnation of God as a human, Jesus, makes it permissible and necessary to venerate iconsFor Jews (and some Protestants as well), veneration seems to violate this commandment. Jews read this commandment as prohibiting the use of idols and images in any way.
Very few Christians oppose the making of any images at all, but some groups have been critical of the use others make of images in worship. (See iconoclasm.) In particular, the Orthodox have criticized the Roman Catholic use of decorative statues, Roman Catholics have criticized the Orthodox veneration of icons, some Protestant groups have criticized the use of stained-glass windows by many other denominations, and Jehovah's Witnesses criticize the use of all of the above, as well as the use of a cross. No Christian group forbids the use of images in secular life (as Islam does).
See also: Roy Moore and Separation of church and state in the United States
There is an ongoing dispute in the United States concerning the posting of the Ten Commandments on public property. Certain conservative religious groups, alarmed by the banning of officially-sanctioned prayer from public schools by the U.S. Supreme Court, feel the need to protect their right to express their religious beliefs in public life. As a result they have successfully lobbied many state and local governments to display the ten commandments in public buildings. As seen above, any attempt to post the "Ten Commandments" on a public building necessarily takes a sectarian stance; Protestants and Roman Catholics number the commandments differently.
Secularist liberals oppose the posting of the Ten Commandments on public property, arguing that it is violating the separation of church and state. Conservative groups claim that the commandments are not necessarily religious, but represent the moral and legal foundation of society. Liberal groups counter that they are explicitly religious, and that statements of monotheism like "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" are unacceptable to many religious viewpoints, such as atheists or followers of polytheistic religions. In addition, if the Commandments were posted, it would also require members of all religions to likewise be allowed to post the particular tenets of their religions as well.Many religious Jews oppose the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools, as they feel it is wrong for public schools to teach their children Judaism. The argument is that if a Jewish parent wishes to teach their child to be a Jew (as most do), then this education should come from practicing Jews, and not from non-Jews. This position is based on the demographic fact that the vast majority of public school teachers in the United States are not Jews; the same is true for the students. This same reasoning and position is also held by many believers in other religions. Many Christians have some concerns about this as well; for example, can Catholic parents count on Protestant or Orthodox Christian teachers to tell their children their particular understanding of the commandments? Differences in the interpretation and translation of these commandments, as noted above, can sometimes be significant.
Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have launched lawsuits challenging the posting of the ten commandments in public buildings. Opponents of these displays include a number of religious groups, including some Christian denominations, both because they don't want government to be issuing religious doctrine, and because they feel strongly that the commandments are inherently religious. Many commentators see this issue as part of a wider kulturkampf (culture struggle) between liberal and conservative elements in American society.
Fred Phelps sued the city of Boise, Idaho to place a monument stating that gay student Matthew Shepard went to hell because of his sexual orientation. The argument was based partially upon the fact that a ten commandments monument was also in the park. The city of Boise, in an attempt to avoid legal costs, moved the ten commandments monument to a nearby church yard. Phelps continues his efforts to place the monument over objections of city fathers and gay rights groups.Recently, adherents to the Summum philosophy have added a new twist to this controversy by suing for placement of their "seven aphorisms" next to the ten commandments in several public parks in Utah.
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