Exodus 20

The chapter

Exodus 20 is the chapter of the Ten Commandments. God speaks the words directly to Israel from Mount Sinai, in fire, thick darkness, and the sound of a trumpet — the only chapter of Scripture in which God addresses a whole nation with an audible voice. The chapter closes with instructions for a plain earthen altar, that God's name may be recorded in every place He is remembered.

Who wrote it

Traditionally attributed to Moses, who received the Law on Sinai (Exodus 24:12; 31:18; 34:1). Christian tradition holds Moses to be the author of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible).

Historical and geographical context

The setting is the third month after the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 19:1), at the base of Mount Sinai in the Sinai peninsula, c. 1446 BC in the Long Chronology. The whole encampment of Israel is present. The chapter is the covenant charter for a nation that had been slaves fifty days earlier.

The Ten Commandments (KJV)

• Exodus 20:3 (KJV) 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.'
• Exodus 20:4-6 (KJV) 'Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…'
• Exodus 20:7 (KJV) 'Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain…'
• Exodus 20:8-11 (KJV) 'Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.'
• Exodus 20:12 (KJV) 'Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.'
• Exodus 20:13 (KJV) 'Thou shalt not kill.'
• Exodus 20:14 (KJV) 'Thou shalt not commit adultery.'
• Exodus 20:15 (KJV) 'Thou shalt not steal.'
• Exodus 20:16 (KJV) 'Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.'
• Exodus 20:17 (KJV) 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house…'

Christ-centred reading

Christ Himself summarised the Ten Commandments in two: love the Lord with all thy heart, and love thy neighbour as thyself (Matthew 22:37-40). The first table (commandments 1-4) is love of God; the second table (5-10) is love of neighbour. Christ did not abolish this law but fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17).

In Christian tradition

• Taught to every catechumen in every century of the Church.
• The Book of Common Prayer includes the Ten Commandments at the beginning of every Communion service.
• The Westminster Shorter Catechism gives a full commentary on each commandment.
• The Roman Catechism, the Lutheran Small Catechism, and the Eastern Orthodox catechisms all give central place to Exodus 20.

Connected People

• Moses — the receiver of the Law.
• Christ Jesus — the fulfiller.
• Israel — the whole assembly.

Connected Places

• Mount Sinai — the mountain of the Law.
• Egypt — the house of bondage the LORD brought them out of.

Household application

Teach the Ten Commandments to the children by heart before they are eight. It is the household's rule of life.

Once a week, at family prayer, read the ten aloud together. Let each member of the house think quietly about one commandment they need most this week. No accusing, no scoring — an examination of conscience that ends in the sign of the Cross.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read Exodus 19-24 together as the covenant unit.
• Pray (Chapel) — Say the Ten Commandments as a household act of penitence on Fridays.
• Family (Kitchen Table) — Post them near the family table — the rule of the house.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah' or Watts's metrical version of Exodus 20.
• Learn (Workshop) — Study the Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 41-81, on the Ten Commandments.

Further reading

Exodus 19-24 in the KJV — the whole covenant unit.

Deuteronomy 5 — the second giving of the Ten Commandments.

Matthew 22:34-40 — Christ's two great commandments.

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Moses
• Mount Sinai
• Egypt
• Christ Jesus
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.