The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are the ten covenant words God gave to Israel through Moses, recorded chiefly in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. They summarize foundational duties toward God and neighbor and remain central for Christian moral instruction.
God’s ten covenant commands to Israel, summarizing duties toward the Lord and toward other people.
The Ten Commandments are the Decalogue, the ten words God gave to Israel through Moses as part of the covenant at Sinai, later repeated in Deuteronomy for the next generation. In Scripture they are not presented as a detached philosophical ethic but as divine revelation given to a redeemed people. They establish basic covenant loyalties: exclusive worship of the Lord, reverence for His name, holy rest, honor within the household, protection of life, marital faithfulness, respect for property, truthful speech, and contentment. Christian theology has long treated the Decalogue as foundational for moral instruction, while also recognizing that believers are not under the Mosaic covenant as a covenantal administration. The Ten Commandments therefore should be read first in their biblical and covenantal setting, then in light of the whole canon and the teaching of Christ and the apostles.
The commandments are given after the exodus from Egypt, grounding obedience in redemption: 'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt' (Exodus 20:2). They appear within the covenant narrative of Sinai, written on tablets and associated with Israel’s life before God. Later Scripture repeatedly appeals to them as a summary of moral duty.
Historically, the Decalogue stood at the center of Israel’s covenant life and later became a major framework for Jewish and Christian moral teaching, catechesis, and legal reflection. Christian traditions have differed on the numbering of the commandments, but all recognize the same core biblical text.
In Jewish usage the commandments are often called the 'ten words' or 'ten sayings' (Hebrew: aseret haddevarim). They are linked to the tablets of testimony and to covenant identity, not merely to abstract moral reasoning. Second Temple and later Jewish tradition continued to treat them as a central summary of covenant faithfulness.
Hebrew: עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים (aseret haddevarim), 'the ten words' or 'ten sayings.' The Greek Old Testament commonly speaks of them as the 'ten words' (deka logoi), which lies behind the term Decalogue.
The Ten Commandments are central to biblical ethics because they come directly from God and summarize duties toward Him and toward other image-bearers. They also highlight God’s holiness, human accountability, and the need for heart-level obedience. In Christian interpretation they help expose sin, guide moral formation, and point to the deeper righteousness fulfilled in Christ.
As a moral category, the Ten Commandments are not a humanly generated code but a revealed standard. They challenge naturalistic or relativistic accounts of morality by grounding duty in the character and authority of God. Their structure also shows that love for God and love for neighbor are inseparable in biblical ethics.
Do not detach the commandments from the covenant setting in which they were given. Do not confuse their enduring moral authority with a claim that believers remain under the Mosaic covenant as such. Also avoid reducing them to a bare list of rules without their larger biblical context of redemption, holiness, and covenant faithfulness.
Christian interpreters generally agree that the Decalogue remains profoundly important, but differ on covenantal framing, Sabbath application, and the exact numbering of the commands. Some traditions emphasize continuity with moral law more strongly than others; all should be tested against Scripture.
This entry should remain within historic biblical orthodoxy: God gave the commandments by revelation, they are authoritative, and they are to be interpreted by Scripture as a whole. The entry should not imply salvation by law-keeping or collapse the distinction between Israel under the Mosaic covenant and the church under the new covenant.
The Ten Commandments continue to shape preaching, discipleship, conscience, family life, public ethics, and Christian education. They help believers understand sin, responsibility, and the kind of life that honors God and serves others.