Expert: Clifford H. Readout, Jr. - 10/22/2007

Question


What other differences are there between the wording of the Ten Commandments in Exodus and the wording of the Ten commandments in Deuteronomy?  

Answer
Dear Latrice,

Your question asks, “What *other* differences are there,” but you don’t mention any differences.  Accordingly, I cannot answer about “other” differences, but I can write to you about the differences that exist, and why.

The primary difference is one of time. The events recorded in Exodus and Deuteronomy took place many, many years apart, Exodus near the beginning of the journey through the wilderness, and Deuteronomy almost forty years later.

Also in Exodus Moses records what the Lord told him when He first gave him the “ten commandments.” (Exodus 20:1 “And God spake all these words, saying…”).

The title “Deuteronomy” is derived from a word literally meaning, “repetition of the Law,” and the Book records the second time Moses told Israel what God had told him. (Deuteronomy 4:44 “And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:” and Deuteronomy 5:1 “And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.”)

In addition to being a second telling of the Law, there is a difference in the purpose of telling the Law to the people. In Exodus a specific covenant was being established between God and the present and future generations of the children of Jacob (Israel).  In Deuteronomy, Moses was also establishing the distinction between this covenant and those that preceded it, and the complete obligation of the people to abide by its terms.

The difference in the English wording in Exodus and Deuteronomy are due to the fact that different scholars translated each portion of the Old Testament from Hebrew into English, and translation is a complex and difficult task.  Examining the Hebrew text reveals no difference in meaning of the actual commands as recorded in both passages, and practically no difference in the specific Hebrew wording.  The text of Deuteronomy also includes more words spoken by Moses in explanation of the commands.

Several things about the two passages are remarkable. It is remarkable that they are so very nearly identical in every respect, and completely identical regarding the actual wording and meaning of the commandments.  This demonstrates the precision of the preservation of the original words God gave Moses and the importance of them to him and the people. Otherwise, much more difference would be apparent.  It is equally remarkable that any differences occur at all.  The differences that do occur are entirely minor, and could have been, and would have been, eliminated by Moses any scribe or copyist if they were not convinced that the actual words were being and had been inspired by The Almighty. Thus, both the near exactness and the differences should assure us that God has been involved in the preservation of the text throughout the generations.

Here are the two accounts together, to make it easy to see the both the exactness and minor variances due to the reasons mentioned above:

1.  Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Deuteronomy 5:6 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

2.  Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Deuteronomy 5:7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. :8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

3.  Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Deuteronomy 5:11 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

4.  Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Deuteronomy 5:12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. 13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. 15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

5.  Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Deuteronomy 5:16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

6.  Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
Deuteronomy 5:17 Thou shalt not kill.

7. Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Deuteronomy 5:18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery.

9. Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
Deuteronomy 5:19 Neither shalt thou steal.

9. Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Deuteronomy 5:20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

10. Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Deuteronomy 5:21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Yours for Truth,

CR