10 Commandments→10 Words עָ֫שֶׂר דָּבָר-eser dabar

“And God spoke all these words:”-Exodus 20:1

I am going to start off by making a bodacious statement. The phrase “The 10 Commandments” is an incorrect translation. The Hebrew word that is commonly translated into commandment is “dabar” and it does NOT mean commandment, it means word. It specifically refers to a neutral verbal utterance. Understanding this is important because the Scripture at this particular juncture is emphasizing the fact that G-d actually communicated in an audible voice. Although much of Scripture has come down to us via the agency of divine inspiration, the pronouncements following Exodus –20:1 have not! G-d spoke and all the people heard Him. There was absolutely no room for suspicion regarding what G-d had actually said.

Some may object saying ‘What’s the big deal with using the phrase the 10 commandments. First, in Exodus 20:1, it clearly states that G-d “spoke”. So whether we translate it “G-d spoke these words” or “G-d spoke these commandments,” the fact that he verbally communicated it is clear. Second, what follows after Exodus 20:1 are basically instructions for living. So isn’t the word “commandment” a most apt translation, even if the Hebrew “dabar” literally means a “verbal pronouncement”?

First, “word(s)” and “commandment(s)” are two different words that have two different meanings. Second, this leads me to my second bodacious statement. What you have traditionally been taught as being the first commandment is actually NOT the first commandment! “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” is NOT the first commandment! According to the original Hebrew, the first commandment or dabar is, “I am the Lord your G-d who brought you out of Egypt” and the second commandment is actually “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” What the Christian church has done in a spate of anti-Semitic frenzy is get rid of the real first dabar and break up the real second dabar into two commandments. I don’t know about you, but learning about what has happened seriously pisses me off! Well, I think we should accept G-d’s word exactly as it was given to us.

Now we know that G-d’s first verbal pronouncement to the Israelites was “I am the L-rd your G-d who brought you out of Egypt”. So let me ask you a question to press my point further. Does that sound like a “commandment” to you? It doesn’t, does it? And do you want to know why? BECAUSE IT ISN’T A COMMANDMENT! THAT’S WHY! And that’s why it is important to be faithful to the original Hebrew text. By doing so, the spiritual heritage we have in Israel through our Savior becomes all the more clear.

It would be best to think of what we traditionally call the 10 commandments to be the 10 declarations or principles that serve as the foundation for G-d’s various rulings that come after.

Amen.