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1300 BC: The Ten Commandments | Add
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Facts of Law - misc.
This edition of the Ten Commandments is referenced in the History of the Law page and as part of Lloyd Duhaime's LAW Museum Archives collection.
According to the Bible, it was in approximately 1300 BC that Moses received a list of ten laws directly from God. These laws were known as the Ten Commandments and were transcribed as part of the Book of Moses, which later became part of the Bible. Many of the Ten Commandments continue in the form of modern laws such as "thou shalt not kill" (modern society severely punishes the crime of murder), "thou shalt not commit adultery" (modern society allows a divorce on this grounds) and "thou shalt not steal" (modern society punishes theft as a crime). The Bible chapter that contains the Ten Commandments (Exodus) follows the recitation of the Commandments with a complete set of legal rules, which are based on the "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" legal philosophy of Hammurabi's Code.
The first four Commandments are not related to justice per se but are purely religious statements. But others represent basic principles of justice which have been adhered to by society since they were first published. For some societies, the Commandments were a turning point where essential points such as "thou shalt not kill" or "commit adultery" were accepted as law; behavior that was from that point on formally and officially condemned. The Bible makes it quite clear that to transgress the Commandments was punishable: "the soul that sinneth, it shall die", "sin is the transgression of the law" and "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments".
Christians will be familiar with formal religious statements such as "The almighty God will punish all those who disobey the above ten commandments. Therefore let us love and fear God and take care that in no way we act contrary to the above commandments."
In the context of legal history, the words of a British father explaining to friends that the first book he gave to his son who was aspiring to become a lawyer was "the Bible, the Holy Bible."
"The Bible ... for a lawyer?!" exclaimed his friends.
"Yes sir," answered the proud father. "the properest and most scientific book for an honest lawyer, as there you will find the foundation of all law as well as all morality."
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I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.
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EDITOR'S NOTE
Comment rec'd on May 2, 2001:
"Hello: I applaud your efforts to harness the Internet as a vehicle for informing the public. However, when you accept that responsibility, you at least imply that you will conscientiously spread the word correctly.
The Sixth Commandment does NOT read : 'Thou shalt not kill'.
The correct translation from the Hebrew or the Greek is: 'Thou shalt not murder'.
Anyone, such as I, who has fought in a war to protect our freedom has probably killed many. I refuse to feel guilt for having done that in my role as a soldier. You should not continue to proliferate this error and thereby challenge all who take risks of death themselves while participating in the inevitable and necessary killing that may be essential to preserving this nation, under God.
Very sincerely yours,
W.E.H.
Lt Col USAF (Ret)
Served during WWII, Korea and Vietnam"
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