Ten Commandments

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Pronunciations

Ten Commandments (TEN kuh-MAND-mints) listen

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Definitions

Example Sentences

  • "When we say, 'the Torah was given to Moshe on Mount Sinai', we're saying that the laws were given to Moshe who transmitted it to the people later. He brought down the physical tablets of the Ten Commandments, which he smashed, as you know." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • English

Who Uses This

  • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

Regions

  • North America

Dictionaries

  • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

Alternative Spellings

10 Commandments

Notes

  • "The Ten Commandments are: (1) I am the Lord your God; (2) You shall have no other Gods before me; (3) You shall not swear falsely nor take God’s name in vain; (4) Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy; (5) Honor your father and mother; (6) Do not murder; (7) Do not commit adultery; (8) Do not steal; (9) Do not bear false witness against your neighbor; and (10) Do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor...
    Shavuot celebrates [the] giving of the Written Law. The first five commandments describe the relationship of man to God; the next five describe the relationship of man to man. The motif of the stone tablets is a popular one in synagogues and religious decorative art, especially because Judaism forbids the making of images of God or the depiction of human figures in synagogues." (JPS)

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