The basic laws given to Israel through Moses following the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 20:1–17; Deuteronomy 5:6–21). The first four commandments safeguard Israel's special relation to God; the remaining six protect individuals within the community and promote their well-being.
The Ten Commandments are to govern the life of Israel as the people of God
Israel should obey God alone
Exodus 20:2–3 parallel Deuteronomy 5:6–7 See also Deuteronomy 6:13–15
“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.
Idolatry forbidden
Exodus 20:4–6 parallel Deuteronomy 5:8–10 See also Exodus 32:1–8; Leviticus 19:4; 1 Corinthians 10:7
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
God's name should not be misused
Exodus 20:7 parallel Deuteronomy 5:11 See also Matthew 7:21
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
A day of rest is commanded
Exodus 20:8–11 parallel Deuteronomy 5:12–15 See also Exodus 16:23; Leviticus 19:3; Isaiah 56:2; Jeremiah 17:21–22
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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 which you must not do any work— neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
Parents are to be honoured
Exodus 20:12 parallel Deuteronomy 5:16 See also Matthew 15:4; Ephesians 6:1–3
Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Murder is forbidden
Exodus 20:13 parallel Deuteronomy 5:17 See also Genesis 4:8–16; Matthew 5:21
You shall not murder.
Adultery is forbidden
Exodus 20:14 parallel Deuteronomy 5:18 See also Leviticus 18:20; 2 Samuel 11:2–5; Matthew 5:27; Hebrews 13:4
You shall not commit adultery.
Stealing is forbidden
Exodus 20:15 parallel Deuteronomy 5:19 See also Leviticus 19:11, Leviticus 19:13
You shall not steal.
False witness is forbidden
Exodus 20:16 parallel Deuteronomy 5:20 See also Leviticus 19:11
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Coveting is forbidden
Exodus 20:17 parallel Deuteronomy 5:21 See also Leviticus 19:17–18; Job 31:9–12; Romans 7:7
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
The circumstances surrounding the giving of the Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments written on stone tablets
Exodus 24:12 See also Deuteronomy 4:13, Deuteronomy 9:9–10
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here, so that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
The stone tablets broken
Exodus 32:19 Moses broke the stone tablets when he saw that the Israelites had sinned by making the golden calf. See also Deuteronomy 9:16–17
As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.
A second set of stone tablets made
Exodus 34:1, Exodus 34:28 See also Deuteronomy 10:1–2
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant — the Ten Commandments.
The second set of stone tablets put in the ark of the covenant
Exodus 40:20 See also Deuteronomy 10:1–2
Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.