The Ten Commandments have a central place in Judaism and Jewish history, being the first 10 commandments given by God through Moses to the Jews at Mount Sinai. Show
Taking place following the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, the moment of delivering the Ten Commandments remains a central part of the Jewish faith, as it marks a time where God Himself spoke to the entirety of the Jewish people, rather than to just a single prophet. The delivery of the Ten Commandments are still celebrated every year in the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. According to Jewish tradition, the Ten Commandments were inscribed on a set of two tablets by God Himself. These were the second set of tablets, however, as the first set were destroyed by Moses after he witnessed the sin of the Golden Calf. These two tablets were said to have been placed in the Ark of the Covenant, where they supposedly remain, though there whereabouts following the destruction of the First Temple are unknown. But what are the 10 commandments? Where are they mentioned in the Bible? What do they mean? And what did Jesus think about them? Here's everything you need to know. ‘MOSES WITH the Ten Commandments,’ Philippe de Champaigne, 1648: Why not read them every day? (credit: Wikimedia Commons)What are the 10 commandments in simple terms? Where are the 10 commandments in the Bible?The Ten Commandments are as follows, as listed in the Torah:
Moses_521 (credit: Courtesy) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); What do the 10 commandments mean?While several of them are rather short, the exact meanings of the Ten Commandments has been the subject of fierce rabbinic debate for thousands of years. Broadly speaking, there are two points that are widely agreed upon regarding these rules. The first is that the Ten Commandments themselves are divided into two parts, with the first five being mitzvot that deal with the relationship between people and God and the second five being mitzvot that deal with the relationship between people. This can be a bit confusing, however, regarding commandment five, honor your father and mother. However, it is from this interpretation that we are able to infer that respecting one's parents is a divinely ordained mitzvah and should be treated with the same level of seriousness as one's relationship with God. The second point is the severity of the Ten Commandments. For the most part, violating any of the Ten Commandments, assuming there is such a punishment in Jewish law for it, is always a capital offense. In other words, breaking the Ten Commandments would be a death sentence. However, each of the commandments have also been the subject of its own interpretation. Here are some breakdowns of the deeper meaning behind the Ten Commandments:
Mount Sinai 370 (credit: Wikimedia Commons)What is the 10 commandments Bible story?If by Bible story you mean where in the Bible they are located, they are in two places. The first is in parashat Yitro in the Book of Exodus, where the Ten Commandments are given at Mount Sinai. The second is in parashat Ve'etchanan in the Book of Deuteronomy, as part of Moses's speech to the Jewish people before they enter the Land of Israel. But if by Bible story you mean the story about the Ten Commandments leading up to it, this follows hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt before the Exodus. It is immortalized in both the Bible, artwork and many adaptations, most famously the 1956 film The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brenner, considered one of the greatest and most successful films of all time. Since the 1970s, it is even aired every year on TV in honor of Passover and Easter. How many commandments are in the Bible?Despite the significance and importance in the Ten Commandments, these 10 mitzvot are not necessarily considered the most important in Judaism, nor are they all the mitzvot. Jewish tradition emphasizes that there is a set number of 613 commandments in the Bible. Did Jesus abolish the 10 commandments?Not entirely. Christian belief holds that the New Testament invalidated a lot of Mosaic law, as shown in the Old Testament. As such, the idea of the Ten Commandments as a concept may have been invalidated. However, Jesus himself reaffirmed most of them in his lifetime, as shown in the New Testament. It is for this reason why Christians still prohibit murder, idolatry, adultery and so on. The one commandment that was not reaffirmed by Jesus, however, was commandment number four, remember Shabbat, the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. This is why while Christians do have a Sabbath, on Sunday, they do not keep it the same way the Jews do. Where are the the 10 commandments in the Bible?The Bible actually contains two complete sets of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 and Deut. 5:6-21). In addition, Leviticus 19 contains a partial set of the Ten Commandments (see verses 3-4, 11-13, 15-16, 30, 32), and Exodus 34:10-26 is sometimes considered a ritual decalogue.
Are there 9 or 10 Commandments?A: There's only one version of the Ten Commandments, and it's in the Bible in two places (Exodus 20:1-14 and Deuteronomy 5:6-18).
|