Commandments


Commandments

 

in Judaism, precepts of a moral and social character that the church invests with divine authority. The Ten Commandments in the Old Testament are ascribed to Moses by the Judaeo-Christian tradition. There are several variants of these commandments in the Bible (Exodus, ch. 20;Exodus, ch. 34;and Deuteronomy, ch. 5). Along with the most simple moral norms (“Thou shalt not kill” and “Thou shalt not steal”) the Ten Commandments also demanded strict obedience in the performance of ritual—observing rest on Sabbath and avoiding forbidden foods.