Read Exodus 20:2-3 at Bible Gateway.
Paragraph division
Exo 20:2-6 {s} Israel shall have no gods before YHVH
The Hebrew paragraph divisions do not place the first and second commandments in separate paragraphs, as they do all the other commandments. This means that to God, the two, Have no gods before Me, and Do not make idols, are intrinsically connected. Obeying the one means obeying the other; conversely, violating one means violating the other.
Hebrew roots
Before is Strong’s H6440, paniym, a concrete noun meaning, “face:”
The face, also the presence of one through the sense of being in the face of. [Always written in the plural form, פנים; frequently used with the prefix “ל”, meaning “to” or “for,” [i.e.,] “to the face of” or “before.”]
Dr. Jeff Benner, The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon
It is from Strong’s H6437 פנה panah, a primitive root meaning, “to turn oneself,” that is, to turn the face toward. The ancient pictographs are pey + nun + hey.
pey פ, ף = the mouth, thus open, blow, scatter, edge
nun נ, ן = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
hey ה = man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The story is to open (pey) the seed (nun), meaning the root is going down; so the face bowed down (pey + nun) in worship (hey).
My conjecture in my notes as to the context of the Hebrew idiom, “before My face:”
Having no other gods before Me, means, Have no other gods in My face, to which you turn toward (when in need?) i.e., to which you bow down in worship.
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