Portfolio on the Ten Commandments



Portfolio on the Ten Commandments

Introduction

The Ten Commandments appear in the Scriptures in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy. They contain general principles that, when applied, both positively and negatively, producing the fruit of God's Kingdom in our personal lives and our nation. They have application in all spheres of life, both internally and externally. They form the foundation comprising the moral and social universe. The Ten Commandments are the basic law of God which contains broad principles that flow from the other specific laws. Examples of some of these laws specific or case laws can be seen in various parts of the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy (White,2001). Followers of Judaism, Orthodox churches and most Protestant and Eastern claim that they receive the original text of the Ten Commandments from the Book of Exodus (Exodus). However, according to the Catholic Church the text from the Book of Exodus has no special originality, since the text from the Book of Deuteronomy, also found in the Bible, differs somewhat from the text of the Book of Exodus (the main differences concern the motivation of the order handling the Sabbath, and highlight the wife in the suppression of desire (White,2001). This paper details out the historical and theological view of the Ten Commandments according to the bible and its applicant in the society.

The Biblical Account

Ten Commandments are also called the Decalogue (Gr.; Ten Words), spoken by God at Mount Sinai (Ex. 20; Dt. 5). According to Exodus, the giving of the Law at Sinai began with a public theophany, at which God spoke to the entire people (after this event, additional laws were communicated privately to Moses), which was preceded by the appearance of the divine fire cloud; three days of preparation; and manifestations of fire, thunder, and lightning; and accompanied by the sounding of the horn (Harris,2003).

The Ten Commandments according to the bible are as follows (Bandstra,2003):

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, the house of bondage.

Thou shalt not have any other gods before me.

Do not take the name of God in vain.

Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother.

Thou shalt not kill.

Do not commit adultery.

Do not steal.

Do not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Do not covet thy neighbor's wife.

The Ten Commandments were said to be the quintessence of the Law, somehow containing or alluding to all six hundred and thirteen commandments therein (Y., Sheq. 6.1).

The account of the giving of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy (4.9-14, 5.1-28) essentially follows that in Exodus. The main difference is that Deuteronomy describes the promulgation of the Ten Commandments as a covenant in its own right and the subsequent giving of the laws as a second, complementary covenant (Meeks,1993).

Deuteronomy explains that the full body of laws was communicated privately to Moses as the result of the people's fear of direct confrontation with God, a motif already adumbrated in Exodus. In both accounts, the “Ten Words” were inscribed by God on ...