In this chapter we have an account of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; the preface to it, Ex. 20:1, Ex. 20:2, the ten commandments it consists of, Ex. 20:8–17, the circumstances attending it, which caused the people to remove at some distance, Ex.

And God spake all these words Which follow, commonly called the decalogue, or ten commands; a system or body of laws, selected and adapted to the case and circumstances of the people of Israel; striking at such sins as they were most addicted to, and they were under the greatest temptation of…

I am the Lord thy God This verse does not contain the first of these commands, but is a preface to them, showing that God had a right to enact and enjoin the people of Israel laws; and that they were under obligation to attend unto them with reverence, and cheerfully obey them, since he was the…

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ] This is the first command, and is opposed to the polytheism of the Gentiles, the Egyptians, from whom Israel was just come, and whose gods some of them might have had a favourable opinion of and liking to, and had committed idolatry with; and the…

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image An image of anything graven by art or man’s device, cut out of wood of stone, and so anything that was molten, or cast into a mould or form, engraved by men, and this in order to be worshipped; for otherwise images of things might be made for other…

Thou shall not bow down thyself to them Perform any worship to them, show any reverence of them by any gesture of the body; one being mentioned, bowing the body, and put for all others, as prostration of it to the earth, bending the knee, kissing the hand, lifting up of hands or eyes to them, or by…

And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me And show their love by worshipping God, and him only, by serving him acceptably with reverence and godly fear, by a cheerful obedience to all his commands, by all religious exercises, both internal and external, as follows: and keep my…

Thou shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain Make use of the name Lord or God, or any other name and epithet of the divine Being, in a light and trifling way, without any show of reverence of him, and affection to him; whereas the name of God ought never to be mentioned but in a grave and…

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ] By abstaining from all servile work and business, and from all pleasures and recreations lawful on other days, and by spending it in religious exercises, both internal and external.

Six days shalt thou labour This is not to be taken for a precept, but a permission; not as a command enjoining men to work and labour with their hands, to provide for themselves and families things useful and necessary, and honest in the sight of God; but as a grant and allowance of so many days to…

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God Not which he rested on, and ceased from the works of creation in, though he did rest on the seventh day of the creation, and so on every other day since, as well as that; nor does it appear, nor can it be proved, that this day appointed to the…

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, &c] And of which six days, and of the several things made in each of them, see the notes on the first chapter of Genesis: and resteth the seventh day: which does not suppose labour, attended with weariness and…

Honour thy father and thy mother, &c] Which is the fifth commandment of the decalogue, but is the first commandment with promise, as the apostle says, and is the first of the second table: this, though it may be extended to all ancestors in the ascending line, as father’s father and mother,…

Thou shalt not kill. ] Not meaning any sort of creatures, for there are some to be killed for the food and nourishment of men, and others for their safety and preservation; but rational creatures, men, women, and children, any of the human species, of every age, sex, condition, or nation; no man…

Thou shall not commit adultery, ] Which, strictly speaking, is only that sin which is committed with another man’s wife, as Jarchi observes; but Aben Ezra thinks the word here used signifies the same as another more commonly used for whoredom and fornication; and no doubt but fornication is here…

Thou shall not steal. ] Which is to take away another man’s property by force or fraud, without the knowledge, and against the will of the owner thereof.

Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour. ] Neither publicly in a court of judicature, by laying things to his charge that are false, and swearing to them, to his hurt and damage; nor privately, by whispering, tale bearing, backbiting, slandering, by telling lies of him, traducing…

Thou shall not covet thy neighbour’s house This is the tenth and last commandment, and is an explanation of several of the past; showing that the law of God not only forbids external acts of sin, but the inward and first motions of the mind to it, which are not known, and would not be thought to be…

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, &c.] That is, they heard the one, and saw the other; they heard the dreadful volleys of thunder, and saw the amazing flashes of lightning, which were like lamps and torches, as the word used signifies; by a communication of senses, one…

And they said unto Moses Who was now come down from the mountain, and to whom the heads of the tribes and elders of the people came from the camp, and out of their tents, by whom the people said to him, as follows, see (Deut. 5:23, Deut.

And Moses said unto the people By representatives and messengers, the heads of the tribes and elders: fear not; be not afraid of God with a slavish fear; be not afraid of the thunders and lightnings, as if they were like one of the plagues of Egypt, which terrified Pharaoh and his people; be not…

And the people stood afar off Still kept their distance in their camp and tents; or the heads and elders of the people having had this conversation with Moses, returned to their tents as they were bid, and to the people in the camp, and there they continued while Moses went up to God with their…

And the Lord said unto Moses When Moses was come near the thick darkness where God was: thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel; at his return unto them, and which he was to deliver in the name of God, and as his words: ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven; descending from…

Ye shall not make with me This is a proposition of itself, as appears by the accent Athnach placed at the end of it, which divides it from the following, and therefore “gods of silver” belong to the next clause or proposition; something seems to be wanting to complete the sense, which the…

An altar of earth thou shall make unto me This was a temporary precept, and only in force until the tabernacle was built, and respects occasional altars, erected while on their travels, and were to be made of turfs of earth, and so easily and quickly thrown up, as their case and circumstances…

And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone If they chose instead of an earthen one to make one of stone, as they might in rocky places, where they came, and in such an one where they now were, Mount Sinai, under which hill an altar was built, , thou shall not build it of hewn stone; which would…

Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar That is, you priests, the sons of Aaron, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase the words; the altar of burnt offering built when the tabernacle was seemed not to require any, being but three cubits high, but that in Solomon’s temple…