Read Exodus 20:1-17 at Bible Gateway.
The Ten Commandments are known as the Aseret Hadebarot in Hebrew, The Ten Words. The two tablets Moses received did not contain all the text recorded in Exodus 20. That text is from the Torah scroll which Moses wrote. The Torah scroll of Exodus 20, however, did contain the Ten Words that were on the tablets. According to the rabbis, the Ten Words were:
- I AM.
- HAVE BEFORE NOT.
- TAKE NOT.
- REMEMBER.
- HONOR.
- MURDER NOT.
- ADULTERY NOT.
- STEAL NOT.
- BEAR FALSE WITNESS NOT.
- COVET NOT.
The Ten Words are all verbs, and I have been investigating their Hebrew root word parables.
Word One. I AM, Strong’s H3068 יהוה YHVH, the personal name of God from the verb hayah, “to be.”
Word Two. HAVE BEFORE NOT, Strong’s H6440 פינם paniym, “in the face of,” from the verb panah, “to (not) turn the face toward;” the one we turn our face toward in time of need is the one we worship.
Word Three. TAKE NOT, Strong’s H5375 נשא nasa, “to (not) persistently grab hold with strength.”
Word Four. REMEMBER. Strong’s H2142 זכר zakar, “to remember the covenant cut, wherein the open palm of blessing was laid on the head.”
Word Five. HONOR. Strong’s H3513 כבד kabad, “a great weight of glory which hangs about someone.”
Word Six. MURDER NOT. Strong’s H7523 רצח ratsach, a primitive root meaning, “to (not) murder.” The 3-letter root is resh + tsadey + chet.
resh ר = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
tsadey צ, ץ = the trail, thus a man concealed, journey, chase, hunt
chet ח = the wall, thus outside, divide, half
The story: The man (resh) lying in wait (tsadey, as a man conceals himself when hunting along the trail) to divide (chet) another’s spirit from his body. The Hebrew makes it clear that there is a distinction between premeditation, which the commandment forbids, and capital punishment or defense of self and others, which the commandment does not forbid.
Word Seven. ADULTERY NOT. Strong’s H5003 נאף na’aph, a primitive root meaning, “to (not) commit adultery.” The 3-letter root is nun + aleph + pey.
nun נ, ן = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
pey פ, ף = the mouth, thus open, blow, scatter, edge
The story: The seed (nun) of strong (aleph) lust or craving (pey as the ravenous open mouth that is not satisfied). One of the hard sayings of Yeshua is His teaching on adultery, found in Mat 5:27-32: whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery in his heart. But by it we learn that just as the act of murder is a fruit that first must come from a seed of hatred in the heart, the act of adultery is a fruit that first must come from a seed of lust in the heart.
Word Eight. STEAL NOT. Strong’s H1589 גנב ganab, a primitive root meaning, “to (not) steal.” The 3-letter root is gimel + nun + bet.
gimel ג = the foot, thus foot, walk, gather
nun נ, ן = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
bet ב = the house, thus house, household, family, in, within
The verb is “to steal;” the concrete noun is “thief;” and the abstract concept is “theft.” Thus, gathering (gimel) the seed (nun) from the house (bet); i.e., to take away that which provides for the family’s material needs. The root of material wealth consists in food for people and livestock, for only when this need is met can a family go on to produce material gain in other areas as craftsmen or tradesmen, for example.
Word Nine. BEAR FALSE WITNESS NOT. Strong’s H5749 עוד uwd, “to (not) repeat what one has seen, sworn at the patriarch’s door,” where all judgment was rendered. False witness is to lie, deal falsely, about what one has seen.
Word Ten. COVET NOT. Strong’s H2530 חמד chamad, “to (not) desire as in a heat of lust.”
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