Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:1-17

The ten commandments collectivety. The ten commandments form a summary of our main duties towards God, and towards man. They stand out from the rest of the Old Testament in a remarkable way. 1 . They were uttered audibly by a voice which thousands heard—a voice which is called that of God himself ( Deuteronomy 5:26 ) and which filled those who heard it with a terrible fear ( Exodus 20:19 ). 2 . They were the only direct utterance ever made by God to man under the Old Covenant. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:1-17

The ten commandments severally. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT . To the Christian the First Commandment takes the form which our Lord gave it—"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all-thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment' ( Matthew 22:37 , Matthew 22:38 ). Not merely abstract belief, not merely humble acknowledgment of one God is necessary, but heartfelt devotion to the One Object worthy of our devotion, the One Being in all the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:1-18

The moral law-General survey. View this law of the ten commandments as— I. AUTHORITATIVELY DELIVERED . "God spake all these words, saying," etc. ( Exodus 20:1 ). An authoritative revelation of moral law was necessary— 1 . That man might be made distinctly aware of the compass of his obligations . The moral knowledge originally possessed by man had gradually been parted with. What remained was distorted and confused. He had little right knowledge of his duty to God, and very... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:2

I am the Lord thy God . The ten precepts were prefaced by this distinct announcement of who it was that uttered them. God would have the Israelites clearly understand, that he himself gave them the commandments. It is only possible to reconcile the declarations of the New Testament, that the law was given by the ministration of angels ( Acts 7:53 ; Galatians 3:19 ; Hebrews 2:2 ) with this and other plain statements, by regarding God the Son as the actual speaker. As sent by his... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 20:1-17

The Hebrew name which is rendered in our King James Version as the ten commandments occurs in Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13; Deuteronomy 10:4. It literally means “the Ten Words.” The Ten Commandments are also called the law, even the commandment Exodus 24:12, the words of the covenant Exodus 34:28, the tables of the covenant Deuteronomy 9:9, the covenant Deuteronomy 4:13, the two tables Deuteronomy 9:10, Deuteronomy 9:17, and, most frequently, the testimony (e. g. Exodus 16:34; Exodus 25:16),... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 20:1

Exodus 20:1. God spake all these words The law of the ten commandments is a law of God’s making, and a law of his own speaking. God has many ways of speaking to the children of men: he speaks by his Spirit, his providences, and our own consciences, his voice in all which we ought carefully to attend to: but he never spake at any time, or upon any occasion, as he spake the ten commandments, which therefore we ought to hear with the more earnest heed. This law God had given to man before;... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 20:2

Exodus 20:2. I am the Lord thy God Herein God asserts his own authority to enact this law; and proposeth himself as the sole object of that religious worship which is enjoined in the four first commandments. They are here bound to obedience. 1st, Because God is the Lord, Jehovah, self-existent, independent, eternal, and the fountain of all being and power; therefore he has an incontestible right to command us. 2d, He was their God; a God in covenant with them; their God by their own... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 20:1-17

Basic principles of the covenant (20:1-17)The form of the covenant God made with Israel followed a pattern that was common in the ancient world when an overlord made a covenant with his subjects. God introduced himself to his people by declaring his name and status as Yahweh the sovereign Lord, and recounting to his people what he had graciously done for them. He reminded them that their God was living and active, and that the words they were about to hear were a revelation direct from him... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Exodus 20:1

God spake . Hebrew. Elohim : hence of universal application. Compare Hebrews 1:0 .Deuteronomy 4:12 .Hebrews 12:26 ; Not Jehovah, for this title would have limited the law to Israel. See App-4 , and note on Exodus 6:2 . all these words . It has been asserted that there are three strata of laws in the Pentateuch (1) The Prophetic code. Exodus. 20-23 and Exodus 34:17-20 . (2) The Priest code. Rest of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. (3) The Deuteronomy code. But the Structures of these books,... read more

Group of Brands