The 10 Commandments

The 10 commandments were given to Moses at Mount Sinae about 1300 years BC. The exact date is not known.

About 600,000 men at Mount Sinae chose to accept the commandments and entered into a covenant with God.

The covenant is a contract. Males who chose God entered into the covenant with God by circumcising male children 7 days after birth.

Thus, was born the Jewish people.

They chose God. God did not choose them.

The 7 Noahide Laws

Prior to the 10 Commandments, after the great flood about 2400 BC, Noah railed against God for destroying life on earth.

God and Noah reached a fundamental agreement,

whereby

God would never destroy mankind again. “He would stay out of the affairs of Mankind” (Late Prof. of Judaic Antiquities. Jerusalem university)

and in return,

Mankind would agree to 7 laws to create a moral and just world.

The laws were clearly intended for all mankind, “the sons of Noah”, בני נח

The 7 Noahide Laws

1. Do not worship idols.

2. Do not curse God.

3. Do not to commit murder.

4. Do not to commit adultery or sexual immorality.

5. Do not steal.

6. Do not to eat flesh torn from a living animal.

7. Establish courts of justice.

The laws were expanded and increased to 10 commandments. Therefore we will not delve into the deeper meaning of the Noahide laws.

The meaning of the 10 commandments in the Torah

The 10 commandments in the Torah (the original Old Testament) are intended for the ethical and spiritual survival of the Jewish people.

The commandments consist of two types.

5 Religious commandments, for example, belief in God.

5 Ethical commandments, for example, respect for life.

The 10 Commandments

Translated by Aryeh Kaplan

#1

A religious commandment

I am God your Lord (who brought you out of bondage in Egypt).

אשר אלהינו יהוה

Believe in God and his goodness.

Allocation: Keter

#2

A religious commandment

Thou shalt have no other Gods (Elohim) before me.

אלהים Elohim

Do not represent Elohim by a statue or a picture in heaven above or earth below.

Allocation: Chokmah

#3

A religious commandment

Do not take the name of God (Adonai) your Lord (Elohim) in vain.

יהוה Adonai Elohim אלהים

Do not speak on behalf of God. Do not use His name trivially or unnecessarily.

Allocation: Binah

#4

A religious commandment

Remember the Sabbath day (Shabat, Saturday). Keep it holy.

שבת Shabat

One must work only 6 days and not on Shabat, the 7th day. Shabat commences at sunset on Friday evening and closes on sunset Saturday evening.

Allocation: Chesed

#5

A religious commandment

Honor thy father and thy mother.

Respect and preserve your heritage. Respect who and what you are.

Allocation: Netzach

#6

An ethical commandment

Do not kill.

Respect for life. Do not commit murder.

Allocation: Binah

#7

An ethical commandment

Do not commit adultery.

Protect the sanctity of marriage. Condemns incest, bestiality, and homosexuality.

Allocation: Gevurah

#8

An ethical commandment

Do not steal.

This commandment condemns all forms of dishonesty, for example, plagiarism.

Allocation: Hod

#9

An ethical commandment

Do not bear false witness.

לשון הרע Lashon hara (Evil speech)

This commandment condemns gossip, slander (lashon hara), and judging others.

Allocation: Yesod

#10

An ethical commandment

Do not covet your neighbour’s house.

This commandment condemns envy of another’s wife, servants, animals, or anything else that belongs to them.

Allocation: Malkut

Commentary on the Commandments

The 7 Noahide laws are intended for all mankind.

The 10 commandments are intended for Jewish people.

In the Jewish tradition it is blasphemous to consider Jesus as any form of God.

Jesus did not exist when the commandments were accepted at Mount Sinai. Jewish tradition views Jesus as a man, not a divine entity, and the concept of God having a son is considered nonsensical, as all humans are considered children of God.