Ten Commandments and Bible Structure
10 Commandments First Given Verbally
In Exodus chapter 19 Moses makes his first ascent up Mount Sinai to meet with God, and returns with instructions for the people of Israel to begin cleansing to santify themselves in preparation for God's appearance on the third day to speak to them. The ten commandments were first given in the Hebrew month Sivan in 1491 B.C.
And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. Exodus 19:11 (KJV)
In chapter 20 God gives the ten commandments verbally for all the children of Israel to hear. He is not actually seen, but speaks from a cloud atop Mount Sinai with accompanying trumpet blasts and a voice like thunder. There is no doubt God spoke the commandments directly to all the children of Israel before later writing them in stone tablets given to Moses.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Exodus 20:22 (KJV)
As you read your modern Bible, consider that the original manuscripts were not separated and numbered by chapter and verse. All characters of the Hebrew text were a continuous line without punctuation, and as a result some controversy exists as to the correct separation of text for each commandment in the translation.
Exodus 20 and Division of the Ten Commandments
The proper division of the verses that make up the ten commandments varies by denomination, and understanding Bible structure helps put truth in perspective. Most Christians separate the ten commandments as follows referencing verses from Exodus 20, and here I've listed commandments one through ten followed by the verse numbers.
One - verses 2 and 3
Two - verses 4, 5, and 6
Three - verse 7
Four - verses 8, 9, 10, and 11
Five - verse 12
Six - verse 13
Seven - verse 14
Eight - verse 15
Nine - verse 16
Ten - verse 17
Catholics join commandments one and two as shown above, and split number ten into two to form the ten commandments. Some Christian denominations exclude verse two from the first commandment. When asked which was the most important commandment, Christ paraphrased all in Matthew chapter 22 verses 37-40.
Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Matthew 22:36 (KJV)
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Matthew 22:37 (KJV)
This is the first and great commandment. Matthew 22:38 (KJV)
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Matthew 22:39 (KJV)
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:40 (KJV)
With experience, students may notice the structure of the Bible as being written with patterns including introversion and alteration, and you can find significance in numbers, also. Only Christ spoke stating "Verily, verily..." to preface a remark, and the double use of the word indicates emphasis here, and other instances of repetition throughout the Bible. Seeing this structure in the ten commandments helps understand the two commandment summarized answer from Christ.
The first 5 commandments include the phrase "the LORD your God", and the last 5 begin with "Thou shalt", so this defines part of the structure. The first 5 are about loving God (1-4) and your parents (5), and the last 5 are about love and consideration for neighbors, or fellow mankind. The summary reply of two basic commandments stated by Christ truly includes all 10.
Introversion follows a pattern or order with commandments 1 and 2 about thought, number 3 about word, and numbers 4 and 5 about deed. Commandments 6, 7, and 8 are about deed, number 9 is about word, and the tenth is about thought. Later in studying Psalms another sequence is revealed in Psalms 119 in which each verse begins in successive order using the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet through all 176 verses, or 8 times 22. The first 8 verses begin with the Hebrew letter Aleph (A), the next 8 begin with Beth (B), and then continuing in this sequence Psalms 119 is divided into 22 sections of 8 verses each beginning with one letter in consecutive order from the Hebrew alphabet.
Soon after the verbal presentation of the ten commandments, Mose ascends Mount Sinai for 40 days and receives the first set of tablets formed and written by God with the commandments etched in stone. It is incredible that in 6 weeks after God telling the children of Israel, in person, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" that they grew impatient waiting for Moses to return, and molded a golden calf to worship.
The word "before" in the commandment above does not mean "ahead of", but is translated from the Hebrew phrase al paniym (al paw-NEEM) with al meaning above, over, upon, or against, and paniym meaning the face. No wonder 3,000 men were put to death by the sword (Exodus 32:28) and another 20,000 died immediately from pestilence (1 Corinthians 10:8) as punishment for violating this commandment so soon after it was given.
There is perfection and structure in God's Holy Word that may not be apparent to casual readers. Acrostics in Hebrew characters from the original manuscripts are another example. While interesting and certainly evidence of the divine authorship of the Bible, students are encouraged to focus on His Word for the lessons taught and seek wisdom and understanding as the Holy Spirit guides you.
Article Source: www.ultimateriddles.com/exodus-bible-lesson-07.html.
About the Author: Jim Degerstrom is an author who works in a faith based business offering custom website design and graphic art services, and documents Bible studies at his Ultimate Riddles Spiritual Journey website and blogs about spiritual growth on his Ultimate Riddles Spiritual Study blog from Kissimmee, Florida USA.
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