Aseret haDibrot: The "Ten Commandments"

Aseret haDibrot:

The "Ten Commandments"

The Ten Commandments (or Decalogue) are a list of religious and moral imperatives that feature prominently in both Judaism and Christianity and in fact are the primary sources of the moral code for both religions. The name decalogue is derived from the Greek name .

According to Jewish tradition, God gave the Jewish people 613 mitzvot (commandments). All 613 of those mitzvot are equally sacred, equally binding and equally the word of God. All of these mitzvot are treated as equally important, because human beings, with our limited understanding of the universe, have no way of knowing which mitzvot are more important in the eyes of God. Pirkei Avot, a book of the Mishnah, teaches "Be as meticulous in performing a 'minor' mitzvah as you are with a 'major' one, because you don't know what kind of reward you'll get for various mitzvot."

But what about the so-called "Ten Commandments," the words recorded in Exodus 20, the words that God Himself wrote on the two stone tablets that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai (Ex. 31:18), which Moses smashed upon seeing the idolatry of the golden calf (Ex. 32:19)? In the Torah, these words are never referred to as the Ten Commandments. In the Torah, they are called Aseret ha-D'vareem (Ex. 34:28, Deut. 4:13 and Deut. 10:4). In rabbinical texts, they are referred to as Aseret haDibrot. The words d'vareem and dibrot come from the Hebrew root Dalet-Bet-Resh, meaning word, speak or thing; thus, the phrase is accurately translated as the Ten Sayings, the Ten Statements, the Ten Declarations, the Ten Words or even the Ten Things, but not as the Ten Commandments, which would be Aseret ha-Mitzvot.

The Aseret haDibrot are not individual mitzvot; rather, they are categories or classifications of mitzvot. Each of the 613 mitzvot can be subsumed under one of these ten categories, some in more obvious ways than others. For example, the mitzvah not to work on shabbat rather obviously falls within the category of remembering the sabbath day and keeping it holy. The mitzvah to fast on Yom Kippur fits into that category somewhat less obviously: all holidays are in some sense a sabbath, and the category encompasses any mitzvah related to sacred time. The mitzvah not to stand aside while a person's life is in danger fits somewhat obviously into the category against murder. It is not particularly obvious, however, that the mitzvah not to embarass a person fits within the category against murder: it causes the blood to drain from your face thereby shedding blood.

Jewish understanding of the Ten Commandments

Judaism understands the Ten Commandments in the following way:

"I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt…" — This commandment is to believe in the existence of God.
"You shall have no other gods besides Me… Do not make a sculpted image or any likeness of what is in the heavnes above…" — This commandement is a prohibition to believe in or worship any other deities, gods, or spirits. It is also a prohibition against objects like crucifixes, and any forms of paintings or artistic representations of God.
"You shalt not swear falsely by the name of the Lord…" - This commandment is to never take the name of God in a vain oath. Note that in Exodus 20, the Hebrew Bible reads "in a vain oath" , while in Deuteronomy it reads "in a false oath" .
"Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy"
"Honor your father and your mother…" — This commandment is an interesting development when compared to other laws of the Ancient East (e.g. Hammurabi code) that do not call for equal respect of the father and the mother.
"You shall not murder" — The Hebrew Bible makes a distinction between murdering and killing, and explicitly notes that murder is always a heinous sin, while killing is sometimes necessary, and in these cases just in the eyes of God. Thus, Jews take offense at translations which state "Thou shall not kill", which Jews hold to be immoral. Many Protestant and most Catholic Christians hold that this verse forbids abortion; Judaism disagrees.
"You shall not commit adultery"
"You shall not steal" (sometimes interpreted as kidnapping, since there are other injunctions against stealing property in the Bible).
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor"
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house…" Note that in Exodus 20, the Hebrew Bible reads "… neighbour's house, … neighbour's wife, nor his manservant…" etc. (note the wife comes after the house, among the household belongings), while Deuteronomy 5, "thy neighbour's wife, … thy neighbour's house, his field" etc. This change in the position of the wife is thought to be indicative of the social rise of women between the writing-down of the two versions.

The Two Tablets: Duties to God and Duties to People

Judaism teaches that the first tablet, containing the first five declarations, identifies duties regarding our relationship with God, while the second tablet, containing the last five declarations, identifies duties regarding our relationship with other people.

You may have noticed, however, that the fifth category, which is included in the first tablet, is the category to honor father and mother, which would seem to concern relationships between people. The rabbis teach that our parents are our creators and stand in a relationship to us akin to our relationship to God. Throughout Jewish liturgy, God is referred to as Avinu Malkeinu, our Father, our King. Disrespect to our biological creators is not merely an affront to them; it is also an insult to the Creator of the Universe. Accordingly, honor of father and mother is included on the tablet of duties to God.

These two tablets are parallel and equal: duties to God are not more important than duties to people, nor are duties to people more important than duties to God. However, if one must choose between fulfilling an obligation to God and fulfilling an obligation to a person, Judaism teaches that the obligation to a person should be fulfilled first. This principle is derived from the story in Genesis 18, where Abraham is communing with God and interrupts this meeting to fulfill the mitzvah of providing hospitality to strangers (the three men who appear). The Talmud gives another example, disapproving of a man who, engrossed in prayer, would ignore the cries of a drowning man. When forced to choose between our duties to a person and our duties to God, we must pursue our duties to the person, because the person needs our help, but God does not need our help.

Catholic and Orthodox Christian understanding of the Ten Commandments

Catholic and Orthodox Christians understand the Ten Commandments in the following way:

(Deuteronomy, RSV)

The first three commandments govern the relationship between God and humans.

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 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 upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. — The text of what Catholics recognize as the first commandment precedes and follows the "no graven images" warning with a prohibition against worshipping false gods. Some Protestants have claimed that the Catholic version of the ten commandments intentionally conceals the biblical prohibition of idolatry. But the Bible includes numerous references to carved images of angels, trees, and animals (Exodus 25:18-21; Numbers 21:8-9; 1 Kings 6:23-28l 1 Kings 6:29ff; Ezekiel 41:17-25) that were associated with worship of God. Catholics and Protestants alike erect nativity scenes or use felt cut-outs to aid their Sunday-school instruction. (While not all Catholics have a particularly strong devotion to icons or other religious artifacts, Catholic teaching distinguishes between veneration — which is paying honor to God through contemplation of objects such as paintings and statues, and adoration — which is properly given to God alone.)
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." — The moral lesson here involves more than simply a prohibition of swearing; it also prohibits the misappropriation of religious language in order to commit a crime, to participate in occult practices, or blaspheming against places or people that are holy to God.
"Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your manservant, or your maidservant, or your ox, or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day." — By healing the sick on the sabbath, Jesus supported the idea that performing works of charity would be an appropriate way of keeping the sabbath holy. Restaurant and entertainment workers must work on Sundays in order to provide traditional leisure activities.

The next group of commandments govern public relationships between people.
"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you; that your days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with you, in the land which the LORD your God gives you." — This commandment emphasizes the family as part of God's design, as well as an extended metaphor that God uses for his relationship with his creation.
"You shall not kill." — Since respect for life includes an obligation to respect one's own life and the lives of people under one's protection, it is legitimate to use force — even fatal force — against the threats of an agressor who cannot be stopped any other way. While Catholic teaching recognizes the right of states to execute criminals when necessary to preserve the safety of citizens, the Church argues that other methods of protecting society (incarceration, rehabiliation) are increasingly available in the modern world; thus, there are now few if any cases that really necessitate capital punishment.
"Neither shall you commit adultery." — For Catholics, marriage is a sacrament; unlike most Catholic sacraments, which are performed by a priest, in marriage, the husband and wife convey sanctifying graces upon each other. Adultery is the breaking of this holy bond, and is thus a sacrilege.
"Neither shall you steal."
"Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor."

These last two commandments govern private thoughts.
"Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife…"
"…and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's."

Protestant Christian understanding of the Ten Commandments

There are many different denominations of Protestantism, and it is impossible to generalise in a way that covers them all. But many Protestant Christians understand the Ten Commandments in the following way:

The First Commandment
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

This Commandment prohibits polytheism. It establishes the theological proposition that there is but one God, the Creator of heaven and earth. The worship or veneration of, or prayer to, any lesser or created being is forbidden.

The Second Commandment
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 the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them…

As the First Commandment prohibits polytheism, the Second Commandment also prohibits the closely related concepts of idolatry, fetishism, and animism. First, it means what it says: we are not permitted to perform any act of worship, veneration, or prayer to any image, fetish, or relic.

As the First Commandment establishes God's unique status, this one establishes His sovereignty and His Lordship over creation. To attempt to "consecrate" some object, to make it holy, to endow it with special religious virtue, to give it mana, to claim it has the power to work miracles, to suggest that God is somehow present in it in a way that is not present elsewhere — all of these sins pretend to call God from His heaven and subject Him to human manipulation, in a way that denies His almightiness, His sovereignty, and the supremacy of His Will.

The First and Second Commandments, read together, defend the absolute abstraction and otherness of God, call us to worship in Spirit and in truth, rather than with worldly pomp and vainglory, and underline the inadequacy and distortion in any attempts to make Him accessible to human weakness.

The third Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain…

Some Protestants read this Commandment as forbidding any and all oaths, including judicial oaths and oaths of allegiance to a government, noting that human weakness cannot foretell whether such oaths will in fact be vain.

The Fourth Commandment
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

The Protestant understanding of this Commandment is not dissimilar to the Roman Catholic perspective stated above. Many Protestants are increasingly concerned that the values of the marketplace do not dominate entirely, and deprive people of leisure and energy needed for worship, for the creation of civilised culture. The setting of time apart from and free from the demands of commerce is one of the foundations of a decent human society.

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.

The Protestant understanding of this Commandment is not dissimilar the Roman Catholic perspective stated above. Protestants have also observed that this Commandment is the only Commandment that promises a reward for obedience.

The Sixth Commandment
Thou shalt not kill.

Many Protestants broaden this Commandment with Jesus' observation in the Sermon on the Mount that those who think wrathful thoughts about their neighbour are guilty of murder in their hearts. Most Protestants view the Ten Commandments as providing the basic structure for the Sermon on the Mount, and read the Sermon as a commentary on the Commandments.

The Seventh Commandment
Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Protestants typically do not recognise marriage as a sacrament. They also often broaden this commandment with Jesus' observation that those who think lustful thoughts about their neighbour are guilty of adultery in their hearts.

The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.

This one is fairly self-explanatory. Many Protestants believe that property rights are an important foundation of civilisation. This Commandment is read as the source of God's warrant for their establishment.

The Ninth Commandment
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

A general prohibition against the repetition of any harmful falsehood.

The Tenth Commandment
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

A general prohibition against covetousness and greed.

Muslim understanding of the Ten Commandments

Muslims reject the validity of the Ten Commandments as such, as Islam teaches that the entire text of the both the Tanakh and the New Testament are false and misleading documents meant to deceive mankind from learning the true will of Allah (God). For Muslims, the true will of God is embodied only in the Quran.

Controversies

For Christians, Sunday is a special day of worship, in observance of the Easter Sunday fulfillment of the new covenant of Jesus. For Jews, this Christian practice of worshipping on the first day of the week is seen as an explicit rejection of the commandment to keep the seventh day holy.

Christianity holds that the essential element of the commandment not to make "any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above" is "and bow down and worship it". As a result, many Christian buildings and services feature images, some feature statues, and in some Orthodox services, icons are venerated. For most Christians, this practice is understood as fulfilling the observance of this commandment, as the images are not being worshipped. In addition, Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that the incarnation of Jesus Christ makes it permissible to venerate icons, and even necessary in order to preserve the truth of the Incarnation. For Jews (and some Protestants as well) this practice is seen as an explicit rejection of the commandment. Very few Christians oppose the making of any images at all, but some groups have been critical of the use others make of images in worship. In particular, the Orthodox have criticized the Roman Catholic use of decorative statues, Roman Catholics have criticized the Orthodox veneration of icons, some Protestant groups have criticized the use of stained-glass windows by many other denominations, and Jehovah's Witnesses criticize the use of all of the above, as well as the use of a cross. No Christian groups forbids the use of images in secular life (as Islam does).

There is an ongoing dispute in the United States concerning the posting of the Ten Commandments on public property. Certain conservative religious groups, alarmed by the banning of officially-sanctioned prayer from public schools by the U.S. Supreme Court, feel the need to protect their right to express their religious beliefs in public life. As a result they have successfully lobbied many state and local governments to display the ten commandments in public buildings. As seen above, any attempt to post the "Ten Commandments" on a public building necessarily takes a sectarian stance; Protestants and Roman Catholics number the commandments differently.

Secularist liberals oppose this, arguing that it is violating the separation of church and state. Conservative groups claim that the commandments are not necessarily religious, but represent the moral and legal foundation of society. Liberal groups counter that they are explicitly religious, and that statements of monotheism like "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" are unacceptable to many religious viewpoints, such as atheists or followers of polytheistic religions.

Many religious Jews oppose the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools, as they feel it is wrong for public schools to teach their children Judaism. The argument is that if a Jewish parent wishes to teach their child to be a Jew (as most do), then this education should come from educated and practicing Jews, and not from non-Jews. This position is based on the demographic fact that the vast majority of public school teachers in the United States are not Jews; the same is true for the students. This same reasoning and position is also held by many believers in other religions. Many Christians have some concerns about this as well; for example, can Catholic parents count on Protestant or Orthodox teachers to tell their children their particular understanding of the commandments? Differences in the interpretation and translation of these commandments can sometimes be significant.

Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union have launched lawsuits challenging the posting of the ten commandments in public buildings. Opponents of these displays include a number of religious groups, including some Christian denominations, both because they don't want government to be issuing religious doctrine, and because they feel strongly that the commandments are inherently religious. Many commentators see this issue as part of a wider kulturkampf (culture war) between liberal and conservative elements in American society.