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Definition: Ten Commandments from Collins English Dictionary

pl n

1 the Ten Commandments Old Testament the commandments summarizing the basic obligations of man towards God and his fellow men, delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai engraved on two tables of stone (Exodus 20:1–17) Also known as: the Decalogue


Ten Commandments

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In the Old Testament, the laws given by God to the Hebrew leader Moses on Mount Sinai, engraved on two tablets of stone. They are: 1. to have no other gods besides Jehovah (the One God ); 2. to make no images of anything in heaven or on earth, or in the water under the earth, and not to worship idols; 3. not to use the name of God for evil purposes; 4. to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy; 5. to honour (respect) one's father and mother; 6. not to commit murder; 7. not to commit adultery; 8. not to commit theft; 9. not to give false evidence; and 10. not to be covetous – do not desire another man's house; do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns. The commandments form the basis of Jewish and Christian moral codes; the ‘tablets of the Law’ given to Moses are also mentioned in the Koran. The giving of the Ten Commandments is celebrated in the Jewish festival of Shavuot . The Ten Commandments are found in the Old Testament in Exodus…
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Full text Article Ten Commandments

From Culture Wars in America: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices
Members of the Religious Right kneel in prayer at...
The culture wars have brought an ongoing series of legal battles and public debates between the Religious Right and groups like the American Civil Liberties Union over the appropriateness and constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments on public property such as schools, courthouses, and…
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Full text Article TEN COMMANDMENTS

From Encyclopedia of Religion and the Law in America
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue, according to traditional Jewish and Christian belief, came to Moses while he was on Mount Sinai, after the Jews fled Egypt. The Ten Commandments guided the lives of the ancient Israelites and have a major role in the moral conduct of Christians and…
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Full text Article Ten Commandments

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Judaism
This carpet from Afghanistan displays Moses after...
Also known as: Decalogue; the Decalogue While Judaism counts 613 total commandments, only 10 were given directly by God to the people of Israel. The rest Moses obtained from God and brought back to the people at Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments (Greek for “10 words,” an accurate translation of the…
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Full text Article Ten Commandments

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In the Old Testament, the laws given by God to the Hebrew leader Moses on Mount Sinai, engraved on two tablets of stone. They are: 1. to have no other gods besides Jehovah (the One God ); 2. to make no images of anything in heaven or on earth, or in the water under the earth, and not to worship…
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Full text Article Ten Commandments

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Catholicism
Also known as: decalogue Latin: cum , “with” + mandare , “to order”; Greek: deka , “ten” + logos , “word,” “saying.” The Ten Commandments, also known by their Greek name the Decalogue (symbol “X”, are a short list of stipulations imposed by God on Israel as terms for maintaining his Covenant with…
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Full text Article Ten Commandments controversy

From Encyclopedia of American Religious History
In many ways the controversy over the government's relationship to the Ten Commandments dates back to the colonial period and the debate between John Cotton and Roger Williams over the question of whether the government should enforce the “first book of the decalogue,” that is the first four…
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Full text Article Ten Commandments

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
List of religious precepts sacred in Judaism and Christianity . They include injunctions to honour God, the Sabbath , and one’s parents, as well as bans on idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, theft, false witness, and covetousness. In the book of Exodus , they are divinely revealed to Moses on…
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Full text Article Commandments, Ten

From Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology
Sometimes called the Decalogue (‘ten words’ from the Septuagint , cf. Exod. 34:28; Deut. 10:4), the Ten Commandments are a series of injunctions said to be authored directly by God (Exod. 31:18; Deut. 4:13). They are the first and only commandments the whole people of Israel hear directly from God, …
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Full text Article Ten commandments for media consumers

From Dictionary of Media and Communication Studies
In ‘Ethics for media users’ published in the European Journal of Communication (December 1995), Cees J. Hamelink discussed the role the viewer, reader and listener should adopt in relation to the ‘quest for freedom, quality and responsibility in media performance’, arguing that the consumer must not…
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Full text Article Ten Commandments

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
or Decalogue [Gr.,=ten words], in the Bible, the summary of divine law given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They have a paramount place in the ethical systems of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Listed in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, the commandments are divided into divided into duties…
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