Also, what you saw was a variation of the Catholic listing. And why not divide them that way? It's not like there's anything particularly special about the number ten, and it's certainly not like there's any real clue where to split them up, or even if one OUGHT to split them up.
At one point, I counted about thirty commandments in the Ten Commandments. So everybody groups them into smaller chunks. Does it matter how they're grouped?
Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Remember also that all the punctuation is speculative, so sentence breaks can be reasonably put in somewhat different places. Further, in most situations, the verb "to be" is implied rather than explicit, so something like "Ani Adoshem" can either mean "I AM G-d", or "I, G-d. . . " -- that is, it can be a separate standalone concept, or simply an introduction to another concept.
It's an interesting exercise: what is the largest number of discrete commandments you can make out of those phrases? Personally, I could count "I am Adoshem" and "No gods before me" as two separate commandments. . .
no subject
At one point, I counted about thirty commandments in the Ten Commandments. So everybody groups them into smaller chunks. Does it matter how they're grouped?
Remember also that all the punctuation is speculative, so sentence breaks can be reasonably put in somewhat different places. Further, in most situations, the verb "to be" is implied rather than explicit, so something like "Ani Adoshem" can either mean "I AM G-d", or "I, G-d. . . " -- that is, it can be a separate standalone concept, or simply an introduction to another concept.
It's an interesting exercise: what is the largest number of discrete commandments you can make out of those phrases? Personally, I could count "I am Adoshem" and "No gods before me" as two separate commandments. . .