Jewish Perspective on the Ten Commandments

balshan

Well-known member
So for example...

@Jewjitzu are you in the lineage of any of the twelve tribes?

@Open Heart are you in the lineage of any of the twelve tribes?

@balshan are you in the lineage of any of the twelve tribes?

Please post where I have ever said I am Jewish? I may have from family studies a very distant great, great, great, grandmother but she is the last of the female line and I am not sure whether she is. I was informed her surnname is Jewish. So no I do not claim to be Jewish at all. But everyone should be treated with respect.

But Jewish people have keep records both oral and written of their lineage and also God promises they will always exist. If they cease to exist then He is not real.

Jer 31

35 This is what the Lord says,

he who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar—
the Lord Almighty is his name:
36 “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,”
declares the Lord,
“will Israel ever cease
being a nation before me.”

This is what the Lord says:

37“Only if the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the Lord.



38 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”
God will never reject His people, if He does it means His word cannot be trusted. God can be trusted.
 
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tdidymas

Active member
So you're saying the Scriptures is a lie?

A Jew told a Gentile to .....

Tit 2:15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.
It's talking about among the churches, not as an evangelistic strategy. See how Paul did it in Acts 17 to gentiles, and to the Jews in Acts 13. There is no rebuking or derogatory statements in those messages.
 

balshan

Well-known member
Now can we return to discussing the op. My Hebrew is very limited and I like usual when trying to speak another language I mispronounce even the letters is the alefbet.

As a reminder post 1 was:

I'd like to get the majority Jewish perspective on the 10 commandments, in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.

1. What do the Jews call those two passages?
2. How are those 10 statements listed?

So the word which is often translated commandment is actually word or statement? Have I got this correct?
 

Jewjitzu

Well-known member
Now can we return to discussing the op. My Hebrew is very limited and I like usual when trying to speak another language I mispronounce even the letters is the alefbet.

As a reminder post 1 was:

I'd like to get the majority Jewish perspective on the 10 commandments, in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.

1. What do the Jews call those two passages?
2. How are those 10 statements listed?

So the word which is often translated commandment is actually word or statement? Have I got this correct?
Generally, in Hebrew mitzvah is commandment, chuqa is statute, mishpat is judgement, torah is law or instruction.

In Exodus 20, divrei is words or statements, sayings. We call it the ten sayings or statements.
 

Open Heart

Well-known member
Now can we return to discussing the op. My Hebrew is very limited and I like usual when trying to speak another language I mispronounce even the letters is the alefbet.

As a reminder post 1 was:

I'd like to get the majority Jewish perspective on the 10 commandments, in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.

1. What do the Jews call those two passages?
2. How are those 10 statements listed?

So the word which is often translated commandment is actually word or statement? Have I got this correct?
They are literally the 10 words. But sometimes we also call them the ten statements or ten commandments.

Remember that in Israel, teh majority of observant Jews are orthodox, while in the US, the majority of religious Jews are reform. And that doesn't even begin to address that there are many secular Jews. It's very hard to make a blanket statement about Jews.

Here is how Judaism groups the verses:

The Commandments (in Jewish Tradition)
First Commandment (Exodus 20:2)
I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Second Commandment (Exodus 20:3-6)
You shall have no other gods beside Me. You shall not make for yourself any graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord Your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Third Commandment (Exodus 20:7)
You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11)
Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord Your God, in it you shall not do any manner of work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

Fifth Commandment (Exodus 20:12)
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord God gives you.

Sixth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not murder.

Seventh Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not commit adultery.

Eighth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not steal.

Ninth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Tenth Commandment (Exodus 20:14)
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, nor his wife, his man-servant, his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
 

balshan

Well-known member
That is ridiculous and unbiblical. I gave you an example of what a Jew told a Gentile to do. Yes. I am declaring the Scriptures to people that are pretending to be something they're not. You're not my Master. Back off. I owe nothing to you and you'll not decide what I say or don't say.
No it is talking about Christian to Christian, not non Christians. So what you posted is ridiculous and unbiblical. You are no one's master. The Jewish people are not claiming to be anything at all. Oh if only we could control what you say or don't say that would be a miracle.
 

balshan

Well-known member
Generally, in Hebrew mitzvah is commandment, chuqa is statute, mishpat is judgement, torah is law or instruction.

In Exodus 20, divrei is words or statements, sayings. We call it the ten sayings or statements.
But even though different words are used, they would be considered a statement on how God wants us to live. I mean if we look at Western laws they are a basis of most of those laws in how we are to live and treat one another. Is this correct or is do the different words mean something else altogether?
 

balshan

Well-known member
They are literally the 10 words. But sometimes we also call them the ten statements or ten commandments.

Remember that in Israel, teh majority of observant Jews are orthodox, while in the US, the majority of religious Jews are reform. And that doesn't even begin to address that there are many secular Jews. It's very hard to make a blanket statement about Jews.

Here is how Judaism groups the verses:

The Commandments (in Jewish Tradition)
First Commandment (Exodus 20:2)
I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Second Commandment (Exodus 20:3-6)
You shall have no other gods beside Me. You shall not make for yourself any graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord Your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Third Commandment (Exodus 20:7)
You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11)
Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord Your God, in it you shall not do any manner of work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

Fifth Commandment (Exodus 20:12)
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord God gives you.

Sixth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not murder.

Seventh Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not commit adultery.

Eighth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not steal.

Ninth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Tenth Commandment (Exodus 20:14)
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, nor his wife, his man-servant, his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
Let me see even though there are different groups within Judaism they would consider them all a statement on how to live?
 

Open Heart

Well-known member
Let me see even though there are different groups within Judaism they would consider them all a statement on how to live?
I attend a Reform synagogue because it is the only synagogue in my town. I do not understand in the slightest how they justify not keeping the sabbath, etc.
 

balshan

Well-known member
I attend a Reform synagogue because it is the only synagogue in my town. I do not understand in the slightest how they justify not keeping the sabbath, etc.
I am not sure what you mean by not keep sabbath. Do you mean they do not keep it as a day of rest?
 

Open Heart

Well-known member
I am not sure what you mean by not keep sabbath. Do you mean they do not keep it as a day of rest?
Right. It's considered "optional." They do not refrain from work, they will light shabbat candles after sunset in the winter, etc. There was a big hoopla in our synagogue when we had an author come and lecture just before shabbat, and then after the lecture she sold her books AFTER shabbat had started. When I get frustrated with them, I can sometimes make snarky remarks about the "ten suggestions."
 
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Yahchristian

Well-known member
I attend a Reform synagogue because it is the only synagogue in my town. I do not understand in the slightest how they justify not keeping the sabbath, etc.

Maybe this will help you understand.

When American Jews were ...

Are you certain in your belief of God?

Just under 1/4 said Yes!
 

tdidymas

Active member
Generally, in Hebrew mitzvah is commandment, chuqa is statute, mishpat is judgement, torah is law or instruction.

In Exodus 20, divrei is words or statements, sayings. We call it the ten sayings or statements.
דָּבָר - how do you pronounce this (transliteration)? In Exodus 34:28, Moses calls it "the ten words," and this is the word shown in the lexicon available to me, and the lexicon pronounces it dabar. Is it different than the "divrei" you are talking about?
 

Jewjitzu

Well-known member
דָּבָר - how do you pronounce this (transliteration)?
Da-var. If the second letter, bet, has a dagesh in it, it is pronounced like a b. Otherwise like a v.

I'm Sephardic in ancestry, which is different than how Ashkenazi Jews pronounce things.

In Exodus 34:28, Moses calls it "the ten words," and this is the word shown in the lexicon available to me, and the lexicon pronounces it dabar. Is it different than the "divrei" you are talking about?
Divrei is plural for word, so it would be words, statements, or sayings.

 

Jewjitzu

Well-known member
But even though different words are used, they would be considered a statement on how God wants us to live. I mean if we look at Western laws they are a basis of most of those laws in how we are to live and treat one another. Is this correct or is do the different words mean something else altogether?
They all used as a basis for how Jews should live and have specific context and meaning.

Some apply to general laws for living, some ceremonial, some court judgements, and some just laws with no apparent rational basis for them like the laws concerning the red heifer and cleansing from the dead.

Keep in mind, in general it is joked 2 Jews 3 opinions. Even within Orthodoxy, they are many flavors of Jews.

There's another joke about a Jew stranded on an island. He built 2 synagogues. One he wouldn't attend and one that he did. So, even within close circles, there are strong opinions and disagreements. Even the greatest Rabbi's disagreed.
 
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