Ten Commandments

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According to the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments were rules for life given by God to the Jews at Mt. Sinai.^[1] Sometimes these rules are also called Decalogue (from Greek, can be translated as ten statements). The name decalogue first occurs in the Septuagint. The Jews received the commandments after they had left Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses. The commandments can be found in the Bible in the book of Exodus chapter 20 and in slightly different form in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 5. They are also implied in the Qur'an. Since there have been many translations, there may be variations in the way the commandments are written.

Contents 1 Commandments in the Bible 1.1 Interpretation 1.2 Different numbering 2 Muslim understanding 3 What others say about them 4 Problems 4.1 Sabbath day 4.2 Killing or murder 4.3 Different interpretations of stealing 4.4 The problem with images of God 4.5 The Ritual Decalogue 5 Influence 6 References 7 Other websites

[change] Commandments in the Bible

The Bible in Basic English^[2] lists the commandments from Exodus in this way:

1. I am the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house. You are to have no other gods but me.
2. You are not to make an image or picture of anything in heaven or on the earth or in the waters under the earth: You may not go down on your faces before them or give them worship: for I, the Lord your God, am a God who will not give his honour to another; and I will send punishment on the children for the wrongdoing of their fathers, to the third and fourth generation of my haters; And I will have mercy through a thousand generations on those who have love for me and keep my laws.
3. You are not to make use of the name of the Lord your God for an evil purpose; whoever takes the Lord's name on his lips for an evil purpose will be judged a sinner by the Lord.
4. Keep in memory the Sabbath and let it be a holy day. On six days do all your work: But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on that day you are to do no work, you or your son or your daughter, your man-servant or your woman-servant, your cattle or the man from a strange country who is living among you: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and everything in them, and he took his rest on the seventh day: for this reason the Lord has given his blessing to the seventh day and made it holy.
5. Give honour to your father and to your mother, so that your life may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
6. Do not put anyone to death without cause.
7. Do not be false to the married relation.
8. Do not take the property of another.
9. Do not give false witness against your neighbour.
10. Let not your desire be turned to your neighbour's house, or his wife or his man-servant or his woman-servant or his ox or his ass or anything which is his.

The Bible does not number the commandments. Different religious groups have numbered them in different ways. The Jews, followed by Christian Protestants, end the first commandment with "You are to have no other gods but me." as above. Catholics and Lutherans end the first commandment at "I will have mercy through a thousand generations on those who have love for me and keep my laws." and separate in their last two commandments the desire for a man's wife from the desire for other things he owns.

[change] Interpretation

These commandments are translated from Ancient Hebrew to Simple English, so the exact words chosen cannot mean to us exactly what they meant to the Hebrews. There is a variety of interpretations of these commandments:

To "put anyone to death without cause", called murder, may mean all killing including execution and war, or exclude these.^{[needs proving]}

To "be false to the married relation", called adultery, is when a married person has sex with a person other than his or her spouse. The Bible does not say this includes unmarried people having sex with each other, although some people think this. Some have interpreted Exodus 22:16 to mean that if two unmarried people have sex, they should make a commitment to one another.

To "give false witness" called lying, may include all lying, or only include lying in a court, called perjury.^{[needs proving]}

To "desire ... your neighbour's house, or his wife, or his servant or his ox" , implies that wives and servants were owned by a man in Moses' time, although this is not so today.^{[needs proving]} Some people say that this means trying to get what the person wants, while others say it means even wanting it.

In the New Testament, Jesus talked about who was guilty of breaking these commandments. He said that even if someone was just angry and rude to another person, they might be judged for murder, and if they just looked with desire or lust at a woman, they had committed adultery in their heart.^[3]

[change] Different numbering

The commandments passage in Exodus has more than ten imperative statements, there are 14 or 15 in all. While the Bible itself gives the count as "10", using the Hebrew phrase ʻaseret had'varim—translated as the 10 words, statements or things, this phrase does not appear in the passages usually presented as being "the Ten Commandments".^[4] Various religions divide the commandments differently. The table below shows those differences.

Division of the Ten Commandments by religion/denomination

Commandment	Jewish	Orthodox	Roman Catholic, Lutheran**	Anglican, Reformed, and other Christian
I am the Lord your God	1	1	1	preface
You shall have no other gods before me	2			1
You shall not make for yourself an idol		2		2
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God	3	3	2	3
Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy	4	4	3	4
Honor your Father and Mother	5	5	4	5
You shall not murder*	6	6	5	6
You shall not commit adultery	7	7	6	7
You shall not steal	8	8	7	8
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor	9	9	8	9
You shall not covet your neighbor's house	10	10	9	10
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife			10

Notes:

*	The Roman Catholic Church uses the translation 'kill' (less specific) instead of 'murder'.[5]
**	Some Lutheran churches use a slightly different division of the Ninth and Tenth Commandments (9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; 10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his workers, or his cattle, or anything that is your neighbor’s).[6]

[change] Muslim understanding

Muslims reject the Bible's version of the Ten Commandments. Islam teaches that the Bible is a revelation from God but the text used in Judaism and Christianity has been corrupted. The Ten Commandments are not explicitly mentioned in the Qur'an but each is implied by the following verses in the Quran (using Jewish numbering):

1. "There is no other god beside God."(Qur'an 47:19)
2. "My Lord, make this a peaceful land, and protect me and my children from worshiping idols." (Qur'an 14:35)
3. "Do not subject God's name to your casual swearing, that you may appear righteous, pious, or to get credibility among the people." (Qur'an 2:224)
4. "O you who believe, when the Congregational Prayer (Salat Al-Jumu`ah) is announced on Friday, you shall hasten to the commemoration of GOD, and drop all business." (Qur'an 62:9)^[7]
5. "....and your parents shall be honored. As long as one or both of them live, you shall never say to them, "Uff" (the slightest gesture of annoyance), nor shall you shout at them; you shall treat them amicably." (Qur'an 17:23)
6. "....anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people." (5:32)
7. "You shall not commit adultery; it is a gross sin, and an evil behavior." (Qur'an 17:32)
8. "The thief, male or female, you shall mark their hands as a punishment for their crime, and to serve as an example from God. God is Almighty, Most Wise." (Qur'an 5:38)
9. "Do not withhold any testimony by concealing what you had witnessed. Anyone who withholds a testimony is sinful at heart." (Qur'an 2:283)
10. "And do not want what we bestowed upon any other people. Such are temporary ornaments of this life, whereby we put them to the test. What your Lord provides for you is far better, and everlasting." (Qur'an 20:131)

[change] What others say about them

In general, religions other than those mentioned (Judaism, Christianity,Islam) do not recognise the Ten Commandments as ethical standards. Many of them (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, etc.) have similar laws or principles though.^[8] In the atheist Soviet Union the Moral Code of the Builder of Communism was a set of rules that resembled the Ten Commandments.

[change] Problems

[change] Sabbath day

Most Christians believe that Sunday is a special day of worship and rest. It is there to remember the Resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week on the Jewish calendar. They say that there is an analogy between the obligation of the Christian day of worship and the Sabbath-day ordinance. These two rules are not literally identical though. They say that this ordinance is no longer valid, because God has replaced his old creation by a new one (2 Corinthians 5:17). For this reason, the obligation to keep the Sabbath is not the same for Christians as for Jews. They say there are examples in the New Testament, and in other writings surviving from the first few centuries.

Some conservative Christians are "Sabbatarians". Most of these follow the Reformed traditions. Sabbatarians think the first day of the week or Lord's Day is the new Sabbath. This is because the 4th commandment has never been revoked and Sabbath-keeping is in any case a creation ordinance.

Still others believe that the Sabbath remains as a day of rest on the Saturday, reserving Sunday as a day of worship. In reference to Acts 20:7, the disciples came together on the first day of the week (Sunday) to break bread and to hear the preaching of the apostle Paul. This is not the first occurrence of Christians assembling on a Sunday; Jesus appeared to the Christians on the "first day of the week" while they were in hiding. One can maintain this argument in that Jesus himself maintained the Sabbath, although not within the restrictions that were mandated by Jewish traditions; the Pharisees often tried Jesus by asking him if certain tasks were acceptable according to the Law (see: Luke 14:5). This would seem to indicate that while the Sabbath was still of importance to the Jews, Sunday was a separate day for worship and teaching from Scriptures.

The Seventh-day Adventists and other churches disagree with some of these views. They argue that the custom of meeting for worship on Sunday originated in paganism, specifically Sol Invictus and Mithraism (in which sun-god worship took place on Sunday). This is therefore an explicit rejection of the commandment to keep the seventh day holy. Instead, they keep Saturday as the Sabbath as a memorial to God's work of creation (Genesis 2:1–3, Exodus 20:8–11, Exodus 16:23,29–30) believing that none of the Ten Commandments can ever be destroyed (Matthew 5:17–19, Exodus 31:16). Seventh-day Sabbatarians claim that the seventh day Sabbath was kept by the majority of Christian groups until the 2nd and 3rd century, by most until the 4th and 5th century, and a few thereafter, but because of opposition to Judaism after the Jewish-Roman wars, the original custom was gradually replaced by Sunday as the day of worship. The history of these changes is certainly not altogether lost regardless of any belief in a suppression of the facts by a conspiracy of the pagans of the Roman Empire and the clergy of the Catholic Church. See Great Apostasy.

Jews had come to be hated in the Roman Empire after the Jewish-Roman wars. This led to the criminalization of the Jewish Sabbath. Hatred of Jews is apparent in the Council of Laodicea (4th Century AD) where Canon 37–38 states: "It is not lawful to receive portions sent from the feasts of Jews or heretics, nor to feast together with them." and "It is not lawful to receive unleavened bread from the Jews, nor to be partakers of their impiety." [2] In keeping with this rejection of the Jews, this Roman council also criminalized the Jewish Sabbath as can be seen in Canon 29 of the Council Laodicea: "Christians must not Judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honoring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema (excommunicated) from Christ."[3]

[change] Killing or murder

Various translations exist of the sixth commandment; the Hebrew words לא תרצח are translated either as "thou shalt not kill" or "thou shalt not murder". Older Protestant translations of the Bible, those based on the Vulgate and Roman Catholic translations usually translate it "Thou shalt not kill". Jewish and newer Protestant versions tend to use "You shall not murder". There is controversy as to which translation is more faithful, and both forms are quoted in support of ethical standpoints.

The Vulgate (Latin) translation has Non occides, i.e. "Thou shalt not kill". English translations using "kill" include the King James (Authorised) (1611) [although note Matthew 19:18 "do no murder", following the Vulgate non homicidium facies], the American Standard (1901) and Revised Standard (American Protestant, 1952) Versions. Almost all Roman Catholic translations, including the Douay-Rheims Bible (1609/1752), the New American Bible (1970), the New Jerusalem Bible (1985) and the Christian Community Bible (1986), have "kill". Martin Luther (German, 1534) also uses töten (kill).

Protestant translations using "murder" include the New International Version (American, 1978), New American Standard Bible (American, 1971), New English Bible (British Protestant, 1970), and the New King James (American, 1982), New Revised Standard (American, 1989) and English Standard (American Protestant, 2001) Versions. Jewish translations almost all use "murder", including the Jewish Publication Society of America Version (1917), the Judaica Press tanach (1963) and the Living Torah (1981). A Jewish exception is the Artscroll or Stone Edition tanach (1996).

The many examples in the Old Testament of killing sanctioned by God, are quoted in defense of the view that "murder" is more accurate. Furthermore, the Hebrew word for "kill" is "הרג" - "harog", while the Hebrew word for "murder" is "רצח" - "retzach", which is found in the Ten Commandments "לא תרצח" - "lo tirtzach".

[change] Different interpretations of stealing

Many academic theologians (such as German Old Testament scholar A. Alt: Das Verbot des Diebstahls im Dekalog (1953)) suggest that commandment "you shall not steal" was originally intended against stealing people — against abductions and slavery. This would be the same as the Jewish interpretation of the statement as "you shall not kidnap" (e.g. as stated by Rashi).

[change] The problem with images of God

Christianity says that a very important element of the commandment not to make "any image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above" is "and bow down and worship it". Another understanding on this comes from Roman Catholicism: they hold that one may build and use "likenesses", as long as the object is not worshipped. As a result, many Roman Catholic Churches and services feature images, some feature statues, and in some Orthodox services, icons are venerated. For most Roman Catholics, this practice is understood as fulfilling the observance of this commandment, as they understand these images are not being worshipped.

Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that the incarnation of invisible God as a visible human, Jesus, makes it permissible and necessary to venerate icons.

For Jews and Muslims veneration violates this commandment. Jews and Muslims read this commandment as prohibiting the use of idols and images in any way.

Some Protestants will picture Jesus in his human form, while refusing to make any image of God or Jesus in Heaven.

Very few Christians oppose the making of any images at all. 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, and some Protestant groups have criticized the use of stained-glass windows by many other denominations. Jehovah's Witnesses criticize the use of all of the above, as well as the use of the cross. Amish people forbid any sort of graven image, such as photos.

[change] The Ritual Decalogue

The term "Ten Commandments" without a modifier generally applies to the lists mentioned in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. However, there is a continuous story being told starting in Exodus 31:18 (where the stones are created), Exodus 32:19 (where the tablets are broken) and Exodus 34. This story lists a very different set of commandments. This version is sometimes called "Ritual Decalogue". Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the people after him who followed the documentary hypothesis, note that Exodus 34:28 seems to refer to these Ten Commandments rather than the traditional ones. These people thought that the commandments in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 show a later set of Ten Commandments, and that the ten listed in Exodus 34 were the original Ten Commandments, now known as the Ritual Decalogue (as opposed to the better-known "Ethical Decalogue"). The differences between the two Decalogues highlight the development of sacred texts over a long time and from differing narrative traditions by incorporating two differing sets of Ten Commandments.

[change] Influence

The commandments have influenced Jewish ethics and law and, through Judaism and Christianity, Western ethics and law since the Roman Empire.^{[needs proving]}

[change] References

[change] Other websites

• The ten Commandments, at the Website of the Vatican