Exodus 20:1-17 Ten Commandments

"And God spoke all these words:

'I am the LORD your God,

who brought you out of Egypt,

out of the land of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol

in the form of anything in heaven above

or on the earth beneath

or in the waters below.

You shall not bow down to them or worship them;

for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God,

punishing the children for the sin of the fathers

to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me

and keep my commandments.

You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God,

for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

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 it you shall not do any work,

neither you, nor your son and daughter,

nor your manservant or maidservant,

nor your animals,

nor the alien within your gates.

For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

but he rested on the seventh day.

Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Honor your father and your mother,

so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house.

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,

or his manservant or maidservant,

his ox or donkey,

or anything that belongs to your neighbor.' "

Exodus 20:1-17 (NIV)

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God gave these ten commandments to the Israelites in the pattern of a royal treaty.  These treaties had a recognizable structure:

• First, the king would identify himself ("I am the LORD your God...."),

• Next, the king would give a history of his gracious dealings with his people ("...who brought you out  of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.")

• Finally, the king would set out the covenant stipulations.  In this case, these would be the Ten Commandments, which are found in verses 3-17.

• The people were to give their king complete obedience and allegiance.  They could trust that the king would continue to care for them and provide for their needs and protection.

Therefore, although the LORD was already functioning in this way, this is a formal acknowledgment of God as Israel's King and of Israel as His covenant people.

In further posts I will discuss the ten individual commandments, or 'words' (a technical term for these types of covenant stipulations).  Both the Hebrew (        ) and Greek ('Decalogue') words for this term also mean "Ten Words".