The Ten Commandments Are Not What You Think They Are
Just another example of Biblical ignorance in today’s culture
As incredible and insane as this may sound, what is often presented as the Ten Commandments — on plaques, and in Christian writings and sermons, taken from Exodus 20 — differs greatly from the list seen later in Exodus that actually and specifically declare they are The Ten Commandments… written by God Himself.
In other words, the list recorded in Exodus 34 is not only specifically declared to be The Ten Commandments, but is also the list that was later placed into the Ark of the Covenant. It is much different than the list in Exodus 20, the one most people are familiar with.
Let us begin with what Exodus records as the real list in Chapter 34, word-for-word from the New American Standard Bible, reputed to be the best English translation.
The Two Tablets Replaced
34:1 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself two stone tablets like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you smashed.
[Read verse 1 again. Note that it says God will write the same words on the tablets that were on the ones that were smashed. That clearly indicates that the list in Exodus 20 never existed. The list in Chapter 34 is the same list that was written on the original tablets.]
2 So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain. 3 And no one is to come up with you, nor let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain; even the flocks and the herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.”
4 So he cut out two stone tablets like the former ones, and Moses got up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and he took the two stone tablets in his hand. 5 And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the Lord.
6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth; 7 who keeps faithfulness for thousands, who forgives wrongdoing, violation of His Law, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, possession inflicting the punishment of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
8 And Moses hurried to bow low toward the ground and worship.
9 Then he said, “If in any way I have found favor in Your sight, Lord, please may the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate, and pardon our wrongdoing and our sin, and take us as Your own possession.”
The Covenant Renewed
10 Then God said, “Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform miracles, which have not been produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live will see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am going to perform with you.
11 “Be sure to comply with what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite from you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Commandment #1: 12 Be careful that you do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst.
13 But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones, and cut down their Asherim 14 — for you shall not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God — 15 otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they would prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons also to prostitute themselves with their gods.
Commandment #2: 17 You shall not make for yourself any gods cast in metal.
Commandment #3: 18 “You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.
Commandment #4: 19 “The firstborn from every womb belongs to Me, and all your male livestock, the firstborn from cattle and sheep. 20 You shall redeem with a lamb the firstborn from a donkey; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None are to appear before Me empty-handed.
Commandment #5: 21 “You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest.
Commandment #6: 22 And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest,
Commandment #7: and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will drive out nations from you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.
Commandment #8: 25 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to be left over until morning.
Commandment #9: 26 “You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.
Commandment #10: “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” [Feel free to reread that again…yes, it says exactly what you thought it said.]
We continue with Exodus 34:
27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Note that it is this list that is referred to as The Ten Commandments in verse 28 above…not the list in Exodus 20.
As an aside, note that every single one of the real Ten Commandments in Exodus 34 would clearly be in violation of the U.S. Constitution if the government ever tried to enforce any of them. People are free to obey them all, but not to suggest they were the basis for our constitution which so many incredibly and loudly declare.
The same would be true of seven of the ten listed in Exodus 20, which are not the real Ten as declared in Exodus 34:1 and again in verse 28, but for some reason, many believe they are.
Let us take a quick look at Exodus 20, also word for word from the New American Standard Bible.
Exodus 20:1 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. (Violates the U.S. Constitution…freedom of religion)
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. (Violates the U.S. Constitution) 5 You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. (Violates the U.S. Constitution… freedom of speech)
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Violates the U.S. Constitution) 9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Violates the U.S. Constitution… freedom of speech)
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery. (Violates the U.S. Constitution)
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Should have said against anyone, not just against your neighbor.)
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Violates the U.S. Constitution… capitalism is built upon desiring more. Also note that a wife is clearly considered part of man’s property.)
For further reading, regarding Moses and this time period, please see the following articles:
Ten Reasons why the Bible’s Story of the Exodus is Not True.
We know that the first five books of the Bible had several authors, and Moses was certainly not one of them. To explain the scholarly basis for that statement, here are two links to articles that discuss it.
And for a deeper review showing that the Ten Commandments is not the only thing most preachers and apologists get wrong, here are Ten More Fatal Flaws of the Bible.
The following are a few facts you can safely believe:
