I hear a lot of theists claim that US Law is deeply based on the Ten Commandments. I want to examine that claim. To me the most obvious way to do that is to examine the Ten Commandments. Of course our first challenge is to determine which version to use. The choices are:
- Exodus 20:2-17,
- Exodus 34:12-26, and
- Deuteronomy 5:6-21
Looking at these, I’m going to guess that the set at Exodus 20:2-17 is the one most people accept as THE Ten Commandments. I’ll need to chose a specific translation, too. For that I’m using my “The Harper Collins Study Bible.” I’ll take what I take to be a complete commandment as a unit, whether it is one verse or a few, and comment on what that particular Commandment means relative to US Law. In order to do that, I’ll set aside one post for each Commandment. This post is my overview.
The format for each of the observations will be in four parts:
- Quote from the Bible
- My interpretation what it means
- How it relates to US Law
- Commentary
Now, before I get into those, let me list the version that I will be using. The double dashes are paragraph breaks. For easier parsing I’m listing each verse on its own line:
Exodus 20 (starting from 1, to provide context)
1. Then God spoke all these words:
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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. [or “besides”]
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4. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,
6. but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation* of those who love me and keep my commandments. [or “to thousands”]
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7. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
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8. Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.
9. Six days you shall labor and do all your work.
10. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work – you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.
11. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
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12. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
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13. You shall not murder*. [or “kill”]
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14. You shall not commit adultery
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15. You shall not steal.
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16. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
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17. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
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(including 18-21 as I believe these also provide context)
18. When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid* and trembled and stood at a distance, [Sam Gk Syr Vg: MT “they saw”]
19. and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
20. Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”
21. Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
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Hopefully, I managed that without serious typographical errors. In the next posts I will comment on each commandment as I understand them, their historical values and so on, and how they may or may not relate to US Law.
