What are “the Ten Commandments” called in Hebrew, Greek, and English?
- It is aseret ha devarim, in Hebrew, meaning "the ten words." In the Septuagint, the scripture translated in Greek (the language in which the New Testament is written), it is translated as decalogus.
Deca means "10" and logus is the plural form of logos, meaning "word." In English, it is "ten commandments."

When were the Ten Commandments
proclaimed?
In the first year of the exodus, on the sixth day of the third month (1446BC, 50 days after the exodus), right before Moses ascended Mount Sinai for the fourth time, God himself proclaimed it to all Israelites in a loud voice.

Does the number “10” have a special meaning?
① It symbolizes completion. In the Bible, “10” is used to describe the state of being completely filled as necessary, without lacking anything.
The Bible uses the number 10 often.
· The ten plagues that prevailed in the land of Egypt at exodus
· In Solomon’s temple, the height of the two cherubim on top of the covenant of God was ten cubits. Also, the wings of each cherubim extended ten cubits.
· As for every matter of wisdom and understanding, Daniel was ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers in the country.

② It is a number that returns to the beginning. It symbolizes the end of the basic digits.

③ It symbolizes the period of tribulation that saints must endure.
· The books of Revelation and Daniel record that the period of tribulation that saints will suffer is ten days.

Aren’t the Ten Commandments for the Israelites only?
They are fundamental norms and orders of life proclaimed for all mankind in the world. As the chief among all ancient laws, the Ten Commandments have greatly influenced religions, moral standards, and ethics of humanity. Laws on earth change as nations or societies change, but the Ten Commandments are the laws for all ages, given to the entire mankind as everlasting Words of God.
Therefore, they are standards for holy living not only to the Israelites who lived 3,500 years ago, but also to each individual saint, the people of God today.

Are the Ten Commandments moral doctrine?
The Ten Commandments are not merely moral doctrine. It is the Word of the beginning of ages that creates out of nothing. It is the Word of God that lives and works now as well. The phrase “all these Words (Exodus 20:1)” in the prologue of the commandments indicates the ten words that He was about to proclaim, the Ten Commandments.
Where the Word of God is, His power works. Those who focus on, meditate and believe in the Word receive the power to keep these commandments from the almighty God.

What is the prologue of the Ten Commandments about?
The word in the Exodus 20:1-2, spoken before God proclaimed the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:3 is called the prologue of the Ten Commandments: “Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” First of all, the Bible says, “Then God spoke all these words.” It reveals that God Himself is the originator and giver of the Ten Commandments.

Were the Ten Commandments proclaimed unilaterally by God?
God made it clear that the Ten Commandments were the covenantal relationship between you and Me. “I” is the Lord of covenant, “the Lord,” and “you” are the object of the covenant, “the one who receives the word.” Although Korean Bible does not have the “you,” in each of the Ten Commandments, in the original Hebrew scripture each commandment has the “you,” the second person singular pronoun, clearly showing each individual of the Israelites and their community are the object of the covenant. God repeated that He became “your God” and emphasized that He and the Israelites are in an unbreakable covenantal relationship.

Aren’t the Ten Commandments frightening laws?
The Ten Commandments are the gospel of love and grace of God, who gifted true freedom to slaves. The prologue of the Ten Commandments says “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,” declaring that the commandments imply God’s fervent love. “The land of Egypt” signifies the land of sin, where people worship idols.
So God’s taking the Israelites out of there is His abundant mercy and grace. “The house of slavery” signifies the miserable life in Egypt where the people suffered tribulations and abuse. Their being liberated from the place and given true freedom was what God’s authority and absolute grace did.

Are the Ten Commandments only applicable to the Old Testament times?
The Ten Commandments are an eternal covenant.
It is given as a “covenant (berit).” God said in Exodus 34:28, “He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments” and called the two stone tablets “the tablets of the covenant” (Deuteronomy 9:9). God’s covenant is eternal and thus the Ten Commandments are the eternal covenant for all generations. The Ten Commandments were fulfilled by Jesus Christ in the New Testament era after flowing through the progression of redemptive history. The Ten Commandments become the criteria of judgment for those who do not repent till the end. That is why the Ten Commandments are an eternal covenant that cannot be abolished forever.

Did God give the Ten Commandments through Moses?
God gave the Ten Commandments to all Israel with His voice at the Mount Sinai. The very first words that God gave to the people of Israel were the Ten Commandments. Among the Old and New Testaments, they are the only words that God spoke to the Israelites directly in His voice and the only words that He wrote with His Hand (“fingers” in the original scripture). As the Ten Commandments are the precious words that God wrote with His fingers one by one for His covenantal people, it has eternal power.

Is the writing of each commandment the same in length?
The length of each commandment varies. The fourth commandment is a lot longer than the others(over 1/3 of the whole Ten Commandments), The order from longest to shortest are the second (over 1/4 of the whole Ten Commandments), the fifth, tenth, third, first, ninth, sixth, seventh, and the eighth. The number of Hebrew consonants in the entire Ten Commandments is 597 if calculated from Exodus chapter 20, and 667 (88 more consonants) if calculated from Deuteronomy chapter 5.

Where can we find the two stone tablets in which the Ten Commandments are inscribed?
We have to find them in our hearts. The words of the Ten Commandments should be realized and written in the tablets of our own hearts. The Bible describes the stone tablets where the Ten Commandments are written as “tablets of the testimony.” The Hebrew word, eduth, meaning “testimony” is derived from ed, meaning “witness, eyewitness.” Because the words of the Ten Commandments are our witnesses, we should not leave the Ten Commandments. We have to be the letters of Jesus Christ, where the Word of God is written. As the covenantal people, we need to be a living testimony that proclaims the boundless love of God to the world.

Why are the Ten Commandments referred to as the essence of all revelations of the Old and New Testaments?
Among the many commandments, Jesus precisely summed up His Words in two commandments, in Matthew 22:37-39. The first to fourth commandments of the Ten Commandments command us to "love God" and the fifth to tenth to "love thy neighbors." In Matthew 22:40 Jesus said, “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." Here the word depend is kremannymi in Greek, meaning “to hang on.” This signifies that all the other laws and words hang on to the Ten Commandments, represented by the two commandments. The Ten Commandments is indeed the head and the essence of all words.

The Ten Commandments, or “ten words” are the revelations in which the Will of God toward Israel is summed up. It is also the essence of all revelations in the 66 books of both the Old and New Testaments. All of the specific laws were derived from the “ten words.” Without knowing the Ten Commandments, the law of the whole Bible, we cannot understand the quintessence of the Christian gospel. Furthermore, we won’t be able to truly know Jesus Christ, the nature of eternal life, and the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, if we don’t understand them.

Written by_ Ji Keun-Wook

This is a summary of contents from The Eternal Covenant for all generations: the Ten Commandments(authored by Rev. Abraham Park, published by Huisun), the 7th book of the History of Redemptions series.



You shall have no other gods before Me.
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.
You shall not worship them or serve them.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house.