Ten Commandments
The LawMeaning: “The two tables of stone”
The Ten Commandments (Decalogue) encapsulate the whole duty of humanity — love toward God (commandments 1-4) and love toward neighbor (commandments 5-10). Jesus summarized the Law in two great commandments of love for God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). The first tablets were broken by Moses when Israel worshipped the golden calf; God provided a second set. The tablets were kept in the Ark of the Covenant. Paul teaches that the Law is holy and righteous (Romans 7:12) but points us to Christ for salvation.
The ten divine laws given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, written on two stone tablets by the finger of God. They form the foundational moral law for Israel and the bedrock of Western civilization.
What It Was
On Sinai God gave Moses “two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18). When Moses saw the golden calf he broke them; God then commanded a second pair, which Moses hewed and God re-inscribed (Exodus 34:1).
Biblical Significance & Symbolism
The tablets were laid up inside the Ark, under the mercy seat — law covered by atoning blood, the heart of the gospel in furniture. Paul calls the law “holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12), a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24); what stone could not write on the heart, the Spirit now does (2 Corinthians 3:3).
Timeline
God gives Moses the two tables of stone
Moses breaks them; God re-writes a second pair
Scripture References
18 versesExodus6 verses
Exodus 24:12
And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
Exodus 31:18
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
Exodus 34:1
And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
Exodus 34:4
And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
Exodus 34:28
And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. commandments: Heb. words
Exodus 34:29
And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
Deuteronomy9 verses
Deuteronomy 4:13
And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
Deuteronomy 5:22
These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
Deuteronomy 9:9
When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
Deuteronomy 9:10
And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
Deuteronomy 9:11
And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.
Deuteronomy 9:15
So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.
Deuteronomy 10:1
At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
Deuteronomy 10:3
And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.
Deuteronomy 10:4
And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me. commandments: Heb. words
1 Kings1 verse
1 Kings 8:9
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. when the: or, where the
2 Corinthians1 verse
2 Corinthians 3:3
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
Hebrews1 verse
Hebrews 9:4
Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
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Frequently asked about Ten Commandments
What was Ten Commandments in the Bible?
The ten divine laws given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, written on two stone tablets by the finger of God. They form the foundational moral law for Israel and the bedrock of Western civilization.
What does Ten Commandments symbolize?
The Ten Commandments (Decalogue) encapsulate the whole duty of humanity — love toward God (commandments 1-4) and love toward neighbor (commandments 5-10). Jesus summarized the Law in two great commandments of love for God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). The first tablets were broken by Moses when Israel worshipped the golden calf; God provided a second set. The tablets were kept in the Ark of the Covenant. Paul teaches that the Law is holy and righteous (Romans 7:12) but points us to Christ for salvation.
What does the name Ten Commandments mean?
The name Ten Commandments means “The two tables of stone”.
What was Ten Commandments made of?
Ten Commandments was made of stone tablets written by the finger of god (exodus 31:18).
Who made Ten Commandments?
Ten Commandments was made by God (the first pair); Moses hewed the second.
Where was Ten Commandments kept?
Ten Commandments was kept at Inside the Ark.
Where is Ten Commandments first mentioned in the Bible?
Ten Commandments is first mentioned in Exodus 24:12.
How often is Ten Commandments mentioned in the Bible?
Ten Commandments is mentioned in 18 verses across 5 books: Exodus, Deuteronomy, 1 Kings, 2 Corinthians, Hebrews.
Who wrote the Ten Commandments?
The first tablets were “written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18); after Moses broke them, God re-wrote a second pair that Moses had hewn (Exodus 34:1).
Where were the tablets kept?
Inside the Ark of the Covenant, beneath the mercy seat (Deuteronomy 10:5; Hebrews 9:4).
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