10 Commandment Insights

From Bart Ehrman’s Lecture Series “Finding Moses”

Note in the Exodus 20 version that God saves them from slavery (grace) then provides commandments (obedience). He did not save them because they obeyed.

https://biblical-studies-academy.circle.so/c/finding-moses/sections/349876/lessons/1296674

Exodus 20

This presentation of the commandments begins with God’s grace; i.e. saving them from slavery. Then the commandments of obedience follow. Grace first then obedience.

1 Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 
3 you shall…..

Slide Content – “The Ten Commands: Meanings and Misreadings”

By Bart Ehrman from his Finding Moses lecture series.
  1. No Gods to be worshiped in addition to (ahead of?) Yahweh (monolatry) [This does not say there are no other Gods. Only that none are to be ahead of Yahweh.]
  2. No idols to be worshiped (of Yahweh or anything else)
  3. No false swearing by the name of Yahweh (in court or in private oaths)
  4. No work on the Sabbath (Saturday)
  5. Honor father and mother (spoken to adults)
  6. No illicit killing of other Israelites (allowances: capital punishment and non-Israelites) [Note that just after this God instructs them to kill the Canaanites, and others]
  7. Men are not to have sex with the wife of another and women are not to have sex with someone other than their husband (property rights)
  8. No stealing (kidnapping?) [The Hebrew word translated as stealing is also used when it would be translated as kidnapping.]
  9. No false accusations or false testimony in court (not about lying per see)
  10. No coveting–that is, no scheming to acquire another man’s property: his house, wife, slave, ox, donkey, or anything else.

Note – In the above list my inclusion of his verbal comments is in square brackets.

The text below is from OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com

The Ten Commandments have slightly different versions depending on religious traditions, specifically within Judaism, Christianity, and their various denominations. Below are the primary versions:

1. Jewish (Rabbinic) Version

The Jewish tradition, based on the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, organizes the Ten Commandments slightly differently compared to Christian traditions:

  1. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
  2. You shall have no other gods before Me; You shall not make for yourself an idol.
  3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
  4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
  5. Honor your father and your mother.
  6. You shall not murder.
  7. You shall not commit adultery.
  8. You shall not steal.
  9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
2. Catholic and Lutheran Version

The Catholic and Lutheran traditions, which are based on St. Augustine’s division of the commandments, differ slightly from the Jewish version:

  1. I am the Lord your God; You shall have no other gods before Me.
  2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
  3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.
  4. Honor your father and your mother.
  5. You shall not kill.
  6. You shall not commit adultery.
  7. You shall not steal.
  8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
  10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
3. Protestant (Reformed) Version

The Protestant tradition, particularly within Reformed churches, follows the Masoretic Text like Judaism but organizes it slightly differently:

  1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
  2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.
  3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
  4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
  5. Honor your father and your mother.
  6. You shall not murder.
  7. You shall not commit adultery.
  8. You shall not steal.
  9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  10. You shall not covet.
4. Eastern Orthodox Version

The Eastern Orthodox Church’s version is similar to the Protestant (Reformed) version, with only minor differences in phrasing:

  1. I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods.
  2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image.
  3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
  4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
  5. Honor your father and your mother.
  6. You shall not kill.
  7. You shall not commit adultery.
  8. You shall not steal.
  9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  10. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Differences in Emphasis and Division:
  • Catholic and Lutheran traditions combine the prohibitions against other gods and idols into a single commandment (1), while splitting the commandment on coveting into two (9 and 10).
  • Protestant (Reformed) traditions keep the prohibition against other gods and making idols as separate commandments (1 and 2) and combine coveting into one commandment (10).
  • Jewish tradition sees the introduction of God as a commandment on its own and similarly splits the prohibitions on coveting.

These variations reflect theological and interpretative differences between traditions.

End ChatGPT

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