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Questions tagged [ten-commandments]

The commandments on two tablets which Moses received on Mount Sinai as described in Exodus and Deuteronomy. Also known as the Decalogue.

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Was the Sabbath in force at the time of Abraham?

Those Christians who observe Saturday as the Sabbath often claim that when God rested on the seventh day he sanctified it and set it apart for holy use. Genesis 2:1-3 1 Thus the heavens and the earth ...
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Do the ten commandments cascade from the greatest to the least in Exodus 20:1-17?

In Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21 the commandments are listed in a more or less similar way.Was thinking whether there are listed this way so as to potray a cascading pattern from the greatest ...
collen ndhlovu's user avatar
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Does Isaiah 45:5-6 teach that only one God can exist?

Now, to be clear, this question is not on whether YHWH is the only God that should be worshipped. That’s pretty simple. It is my belief that the Ancient Israelites were at least aware that they were ...
ellied's user avatar
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Is the second of the Ten Commandments redundant?

In the Ten Commandments, the First Commandment prohibits having false gods: You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exod. 20:3; Deut 5:7, NKJV) The Second Commandment prohibits making carved images:...
The Editor's user avatar
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Are the Ten Commandments directed toward a masculine audience?

This may be a semi-niche question, but I recently came across the HuffPost article "The Marginalization of Women: A Biblical Value We Don't Like to Talk About" which makes a polemic argument ...
ellied's user avatar
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Was Moses a thief in stealing the gold of the Egyptians before fleeing?

Moses broke the Commandment 'Thou shalt not steal' (Ex 20:15) - why? He also broke the Commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' (Ex 20:13). What is the Bible telling us here? Ex 3:21, 22 - And I will grant ...
j kovacs's user avatar
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Using the word: father. Is Exodus 20:12 contradicting Matthew 23:9? (or vice-versa)?

I wonder if the ten commandments, specifically the fifth commandment. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Exodus 20:12 is ...
Milla's user avatar
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What is James 2:10 saying about the nature of sin?

In James 2:10-12 we read: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou ...
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What's the difference between לֹ֥֖א and אַל?

What's the difference between לֹ֥֖א and אַל? For example, in Exodus 20 the Lord repeatedly states, "thou shalt not לֹ֥֖א ..." (see vss. 3-4, 7, 13-17). However, in contrast, Moses states in ...
Mike Harris's user avatar
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Did Israel ever become a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6)? If so, how were they so?

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests ...
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Why does Deut. 5:5 have "you ... did not go up the mountain," as if all of Israel was supposed to have climbed the mountain?

—I stood between the LORD and you at that time to convey the LORD‘s words to you, for you were afraid of the fire and did not [וְלֹֽא־] go up [עֲלִיתֶ֥ם Qal perfect 2nd person masculine plural of עלה -...
Perry Webb's user avatar
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What does the Bible mean in Exodus 20:4 when it speaks of "the waters under the earth"

What does the Bible mean by "in the waters under the earth" ? What is found in the waters under the earth? Fish, gold, silver, and other creatures and precious stones, metals, and minerals ...
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Why is the wording of Deut. 5:12–16, 21 different from Exodus 20:8–12, 17?

Why is the wording of Deut. 5:12–16, 21 different from Exodus 20:8–12, 17? Given the fact that the wording for the fourth and tenth commandments differs in Deuteronomy, how shall we explain this if ...
Perry Webb's user avatar
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Does the Bible forbid the making of representational art, or just the worship of it?

In Exodus 24:4-5 (KJV) one reads Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under ...
Gonçalo Peres's user avatar
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1 Kings 20:35, 37-40 Isn't God telling the prophet to lie a violation of the commandment you shall not lie

1 Kings 20:35 By the word of the Lord one of the company of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me with your weapon,” but he refused. 1 Kings 20:37-40 The prophet found another man and said, ...
exodus's user avatar
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Is Paul talking about the 10 commandments or the entire Mosaic Law in Romans 13:8-10?

Romans 13:8-10 (ESV): 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not ...
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2 answers
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Different reason for Sabbath

In Exodus 20:1-17 and in Deuteronomy 5:6-21 we read about the 10 Commandments. The major difference between both passages is in the following two excerpts Exodus 20:8-11 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, ...
Tiago Martins Peres's user avatar
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How big were the stone tablets?

In Exodus 34:4 we read And Moses cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and he started early in the morning, and he went up to Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him, and he took in his hand ...
Gonçalo Peres's user avatar
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Would the ancient Hebrew word/concept of adultery (תִנְאָף) have included homosexual sex?

Exodus 20 commands the people to not תִנְאָף, translated "commit adultery." What would have been included in their concept of this? Would a man having sex with another man have been ...
Stephen Collings's user avatar
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1 answer
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Does Exodus 20:14 ("thou shalt not commit adultery") include bestiality?

Bestiality is forbidden in several verses of the Old Testament. For example: Exodus 22:19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. Leviticus 18:23 Neither shalt thou lie with any ...
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(Deuteronomy 6:5) The Shema, Command, Statement, or something else?

I am reading the Hebrew text of Deuteronomy 6:5. This is the famous "commandment" to love God with all your heart/soul/strength. Jesus quotes it, Jews still say it nightly at bedtime and ...
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Is Colossians 2:16 addressing "ceremonial" Sabbaths only and excluding the "moral" Sabbath?

Colossians 2:16 (NIV) 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. Can we infer from the ...
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2 votes
0 answers
104 views

Can we conclude that the mandate to keep a literal seventh day Sabbath is obsolete from Exodus 31:12-17, Hebrews 8 and Hebrews 4? [closed]

I will present 3 passages from Scripture and what I understand from each one. 1) Exodus 31:12-17 (NIV) 12 Then the Lord said to Moses, 13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This ...
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5 votes
8 answers
793 views

Are Christians being licensed not to keep the Sabbath according to Colossians 2:16-17, Romans 14:5-8 and Acts 15?

Is Paul giving Christians license to omit Sabbath observance in Colossians 2:16-17 and Romans 14:5-8? Is this corroborated by Acts 15? Below the passages: Colossians 2:16-17 16 Therefore let no one ...
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12 votes
9 answers
2k views

Is Jesus implying that He expects his disciples to be Sabbath-keepers in Matthew 24:20?

In Matthew 24:15-25 (NIV) we read: 15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let ...
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Can the Ten Commandments be interpreted as declarative?

There is a variation in how John 14:15 is translated: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." ESV “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." NASB “If you love me, keep ...
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Exode 20:4, Exode 20:4 … … [closed]

Honestly, Let us take a thing, whoever it is, which is necessarily either in the sky, on the earth, or in the waters under the earth. To display a picture of N on a screen, does not make a ...
gustav.b's user avatar
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7 answers
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Does the expression "Commandments of God" in Revelation 14:12 refer to the ten commandments on stone tablets given to Moses?

Does the expression Commandments of God in Revelation 14:12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.( ESV ) refer to the ...
Siju George's user avatar
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4 answers
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Why did the Israelites lose the battles to the Benjamites after receiving the green light from God?

In Judges 20:18,23. The men of Israel enquired and sought counsel from the Lord to fight with the Benjamites because of their wickedness towards the concubine of the Levite(Judges 19:25-26,20:4). The ...
Ere Oludiya's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
149 views

Reconcile Honour thy father and mother with abuse [closed]

To ensure the child is a willing participant within abuse, many who abuse their children use Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your ...
Chris Rogers's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
183 views

Does Deuteronomy distinguish laws written in books from those written in stone?

In Exodus and later in Deuteronomy, Moses brings down tables of stone from the mountain with what is now commonly known as the Ten Commandments, including the one that commands: "You shall not kill....
Possibility's user avatar
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3 votes
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Is "ten commandments" the best translation of עשרת הדברים?

An overwhelming majority of the modern English translations render the words עשרת הדברים in Deuteronomy 4:13, 10:4 and Exodus 34:28 (biblehub links) as the "Ten Commandments". I believe that this is ...
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6 votes
0 answers
544 views

The "Ten Commandments" enumeration compared to the Masoretic text [closed]

As noted in the popular modern Hebrew commentary on the Old Testament Da’at Miqra, which quotes one of the leading modern scholars of Old Testament textual criticism, Rabbi Mordechai Breuer, there is ...
Arithmomaniac's user avatar
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4 answers
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Did the Commandment "You shall not commit adultery" Originally Refer to Miscegenation?

There are some claims that the original word translated as Adultery "μοιχεία" or "moicheuo" originally refereed to race mixing (and bestiality) and not unfaithfulness. The Hebrew word is "נאף" or "na'...
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According to Exodus 20:8-11 when is the Sabbath to be observed?

Which day is the correct Sabbath as prescribed in the ten commandments found in Exodus 20:8-11? 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 ...
Tawanda Muzavazi's user avatar
11 votes
4 answers
4k views

What does "before me" in Exodus 20:3 mean?

In Exodus 20:3, we read: You shall have no other gods before me. [ESV] The ESV here provides a textual note on before, saying "or besides." And indeed, many translations use that phrasing. ...
Nathaniel is protesting's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
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Were myths considered to be a violation of the second commandment?

The Bible consistently instructs against idols. It is the second of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or ...
Revelation Lad's user avatar
2 votes
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In Exodus, Were the Tablets of Stone a Testimony, or did they Contain Testimony? [duplicate]

Closely Related: - What was written on the stone tablets? - Why were the Ten Commandments written on two tablets? - Does anyone know for sure what was written in the tablets mentioned in Exodus 16:34? ...
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Did Jesus write on stone in John 8:6?

In John 8 (KJV), Jesus stoops down to write something. We are not told what he wrote, but one line of thinking is that he wrote the Ten Commandments with "his finger" on solid stone, just as God had ...
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5 votes
1 answer
209 views

Nash papyrus. How different it really is?

I've read that the Nash papyrus commandments have differences with the ones found at the Hebrew Bible of the time. I was only able to find out that one of them is the sequence of 3 of the ...
Alvaro's user avatar
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Did Ezekiel intend to contradict Exodus 20?

From the Decalogue, Exodus 20:5 (ESV): You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and ...
Susan's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
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10 Commandments: Ketubah or Suzerain

In Exodus 20, we are given the 10 commandments. Some have compared this gift of the 10 commandments to a Ketubah - a Jewish marriage contract, while others have compared this to a Suzerain Covenant ...
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In Ephesians 2:15 exactly what part of the Law has been abolished?

St Paul, speaking in the context of Jew and Gentile being brought together, declares that the "law of commandments" were abolished. "For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has ...
Christian Gedge's user avatar
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2 answers
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At the time of Moses, who were to obey the ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), Israel or the whole of humanity?

We sometimes talk to people outside any faith community as if they are supposed to know the ten commandments and follow them. Who were the commandments originally intended for?
TruthSeeker's user avatar
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2 answers
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Where is Moses when the ten commandments are given?

Reading from Exodus 19-20: Ex 19:24 Then the LORD said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, or ...
Jay's user avatar
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What was written on the stone tablets?

The wikipedia page, and most other depictions of the tablets are that they are of the ten commandments. When I read Exodus, it seems at least to me a little less clear as to what exactly was written, ...
Jay's user avatar
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9 votes
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The Ten Commandments were based on the Code of Hammurabi?

A topic that was discussed among peers was that the Ten Commandments of Christian and Jewish faith were based off the Code of Hammurabi. I looked into the Wikipedia article and was informed that ...
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5 answers
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In Exodus 20:7 what does it mean to "take the name of the Lord your God in vain"?

In Exodus 20:7 we read (what is commonly considered to be) the third Commandment: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His ...
Jas 3.1's user avatar
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18 votes
7 answers
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In Deuteronomy 4:13 why were the Ten Commandments written on two tablets?

When Moses is given the Ten Commandments they are apparently written on two tablets: He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on ...
Soldarnal's user avatar
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45 votes
4 answers
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Is "kill" a valid translation for Exodus 20:13 (Thou shalt not kill)?

Exodus 20:13 (KJV) Thou shalt not kill. Many political statements have been made about this verse. This translation has been used by many to support their pacifist desires. However, it seems that ...
Richard's user avatar
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