Exodus 20:1-17

Exodus 20:1-17

[1] And God  spake  all these words,  saying,  [2] I am the LORD  thy God,  which have brought  thee out of the land  of Egypt,  out of the house  of bondage.  [3] Thou shalt have no other  gods  before me.  [4] 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:  [5] Thou shalt not bow down  thyself to them, nor serve  them: for I the LORD  thy God  am a jealous  God,  visiting  the iniquity  of the fathers  upon the children  unto the third  and fourth  generation of them that hate  me; [6] And shewing  mercy  unto thousands  of them that love  me, and keep  my commandments.  [7] Thou shalt not take  the name  of the LORD  thy God  in vain;  for the LORD  will not hold him guiltless  that taketh  his name  in vain.  [8] Remember  the sabbath  day,  to keep it holy.  [9] Six  days  shalt thou labour,  and do  all thy work:  [10] But the seventh  day  is the sabbath  of the LORD  thy God:  in it thou shalt not do  any work,  thou, nor thy son,  nor thy daughter,  thy manservant,  nor thy maidservant,  nor thy cattle,  nor thy stranger  that is within thy gates:  [11] For in six  days  the LORD  made  heaven  and earth,  the sea,  and all that in them is, and rested  the seventh  day:  wherefore the LORD  blessed  the sabbath  day,  and hallowed  it. [12] Honour  thy father  and thy mother:  that thy days  may be long  upon the land  which the LORD  thy God  giveth  thee. [13] Thou shalt not kill.  [14] Thou shalt not commit adultery.  [15] Thou shalt not steal.  [16] Thou shalt not bear  false  witness  against thy neighbour.  [17] 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. 

What does Exodus 20:1-17 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

"We now reach the climax of the entire Book, the central and most exalted theme, all that came before being, as it were, a preparation for it, and all that follows, a result of, and supplement to it." [1]
There are two types of law in the Old Testament, and these existed commonly in the ancient Near East. Apodictic laws are commands with the force of categorical imperatives. They are positive or negative. The Ten Commandments are an example of this type of law, which occurs almost exclusively in the Old Testament and rarely in other ancient Near Eastern law codes. "Thou shalt ..." and "Thou shalt not ..." identify this type of law. Casuistic laws are commands that depend on qualifying circumstances. They are also positive or negative, and there are many examples in the Mosaic Law (e.g, Exodus 21:2-11, et al.) as well as in other ancient Near Eastern law codes. This type of law is identifiable by the "If ... then ..." construction.
Compared with other ancient Near Eastern codes (e.g, the Code of Hammurabi) the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) is positive and concise. God allowed the Israelites much freedom. There were comparatively few restrictions on their personal behavior (cf. Genesis 1:29-30; Genesis 2:16-17).
"The Ten Commandments were unique in Old Testament times because they possessed prohibitions in the second person singular and because they stressed both man"s exclusive worship of one God and man"s honoring the other person"s body, rights, and possessions. Breaking these commandments would result in spiritual confusion and in human exploitation." [2]
The Ten Commandments use verbs, not nouns. Nouns leave room for debate, but verbs do not. God gave His people ten commandments, not ten suggestions.
Though Moses did not mention it here, angels played some part in mediating the law from God to the Israelites through him (cf. Deuteronomy 33:2; Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2).