Decalogue

The Decalogue (from Greek deka, ten, and logos, word) is the name given by the Greek fathers to the Ten Commandments, called in the Hebrew text the "ten words" (aseret ha-devarim, Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13; 10:4). They were inscribed by God on two tablets of stone and given to Moses at Sinai (Exodus 31:18), first broken when Moses saw the golden calf (Exodus 32:19) and rewritten on a second pair of tablets (Exodus 34:1). The commandments are recorded in Exodus 20:3–17 and repeated in Deuteronomy 5:6–21. They govern Israel's relationship with God (commandments 1–4) and with fellow human beings (commandments 5–10). Jesus affirmed their continuing authority and deepened their ethical demands in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:17–48). The traditional division of the commandments into two tablets differs between Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant traditions.