The Ten Commandments Given to Moses Quiz

Answer:

After the Israelites had escaped from captivity in Egypt (Exodus 12:51), they gradually made their way towards the land God was giving to them. When they reached the Sinai Desert they camped for a while by Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1-2). While they were there, God spoke to Moses on the Mount a few times (Exodus 19:3-15, 20-23) and each time Moses relayed God's words to the rest of the Israelites.

God then told Moses and his brother, Aaron, to climb up Mount Sinai again (Exodus 19:24). Once they were there, He told Moses of the Ten Commandments that His followers were to keep (Exodus 20:3-17), as given in the main text above. God also explained in detail how the Commandments were to be interpreted in practice, after which the brothers descended the mountain and again Moses told his people what God had said (Exodus 24:3).

Then God called Moses to ascend Mount Sinai once more and this time Moses stayed on the Mount for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 24:18). During this time He gave Moses further instructions, including how He was to be worshipped (Exodus 24:12-31:17). Eventually God gave Moses two tablets on which He had written the Ten Commandments and Moses took these down to the others (Exodus 31:18 and 32:15-16).

The second, fourth and tenth Commandments are too long to include in full in the main text, as indicated by the ellipses, but the complete versions are:

'You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments' (Exodus 20:4-6).

'Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy' (Exodus 20:8-11).

'You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor' (Exodus 20:17).