Introduction
What are the Ten Commandments?
Definition of the Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments are a set of basic laws given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai during the forty days Moses spent on the mountain speaking with God. During the Exodus when Moses and the Israelites left the slavery of Egypt through the power of God, they wandered the desert while God provided the Israelites with food called manna and water to drink. After three months of wandering Moses lead the Israelites to the foot of Mount Sinai during the Hebrew month of Sivan. Moses was then commanded by God to prepare the Jewish people for God's descent and visit. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Three days later thick dark clouds hung over the mountain. The sound of the Shofar, or ram's horn (trumpet), were heard echoing across the desert. The earth began to tremble and shake. Then the Israelites heard a voice, it was God's voice. God then called to Moses to come up to the top of the mountain where he received the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments often called the Decalogue (a word that stems from the Greek word "dekalogus") is a list of basic religious and moral laws which were written by God and given to Moses on Mount Sinai in the form of two stone tablets. In the Hebrew language, they are termed "the ten statements." The name "decalogue" is derived from the Greek name found in the Septuagint. The Septuagint was a Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures. Most commonly the Ten Commandments refer to the passages in Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Moses was however given a second copy of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 34 due to the destruction of the first set of tablets.
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