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Decalogue Per Verse

The Decalogue — Exodus 20:1–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21 (per-verse)

Stage-B per-verse depth on the highest-density principle-bearing Pentateuch section. Source: World English Bible (WEB), Gutenberg #8294. Quote anchors are working text pending Phase 7 char-for-char verification. Methodology & tags: ../00-methodology.md. Complements 01-pentateuch.md.

Chapter role

The Ten Words are the load-bearing covenant-ethics summary of the Torah, repeated in two settings (the Sinai event and Moses' Deuteronomic recapitulation a generation later). Together they fuse vertical (love of God: vv. 2–11) and horizontal (love of neighbour: vv. 12–17) obligation in one law. The Deuteronomic doublet adds two telling shifts that make it more than redundant: (1) the Sabbath warrant becomes liberation from slavery in Egypt rather than creation (Deut 5:15 vs Ex 20:11) — grounding rest in justice/memory rather than only cosmology; (2) the wife is named separately from the household in the coveting prohibition (Deut 5:21), a small but real shift toward personal dignity.

Atomic statements

D-C1: The covenant is grounded in liberation: God identifies himself as the one "who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." (FOUNDATIONAL / COVENANT+JUSTICE)

  • Exodus 20:2: "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
  • Deuteronomy 5:6: "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
  • Stance: assert · Importance: core · The law begins with grace already given.

D-C2: Exclusive worship of the one God — no other gods, no images, no idolatry. (FOUNDATIONAL / GOD)

  • Exodus 20:3–5: "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an idol… you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them…"
  • Deuteronomy 5:7–9: "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make an engraved image for yourself… you shall not bow down yourself to them…"
  • Stance: assert · Importance: core

D-C3: God shows hesed (loving kindness) to thousands of those who love him and keep his commandments. (FOUNDATIONAL / GOD+COVENANT)

  • Exodus 20:6: "…showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments."
  • Deuteronomy 5:10: "…showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments."
  • Stance: assert · Importance: core · Untranslatable: hesed

D-C4: The divine Name is not to be misused; Yahweh (WEB) holds the swearer to account. (FOUNDATIONAL / GOD+TRUTH)

  • Exodus 20:7: "You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."
  • Deuteronomy 5:11: same.
  • Stance: assert · Importance: core

D-C5: Sabbath rest is commanded for all — including servants, foreigner, and livestock — a rhythm of egalitarian rest. (FOUNDATIONAL / JUSTICE+COVENANT)

  • Exodus 20:8–11: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger… for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth…"
  • Stance: assert · Importance: core

D-C6: In Deuteronomy, the Sabbath warrant shifts from creation to liberation: rest is commanded because Israel was once a slave. (FOUNDATIONAL / JUSTICE+COVENANT)

  • Deuteronomy 5:12–15: "Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you… that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out…"
  • Stance: assert · Importance: core · This is the additive Deuteronomic shift: Sabbath as anti-slavery anamnesis.

D-C7: Honor of parents — the only "horizontal" command framed with a promise (long life in the land). (OPERATIONAL / IMAGO+COVENANT)

  • Exodus 20:12: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you."
  • Deuteronomy 5:16: "…that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you, in the land…"
  • Stance: assert · Importance: core

D-C8: Prohibition of murder. (FOUNDATIONAL / IMAGO+JUSTICE)

  • Exodus 20:13: "You shall not murder."
  • Deuteronomy 5:17: "You shall not murder."
  • Stance: deny (forbid) · Importance: core · Roots in Gen 9:6's imago Dei rationale (G1-C1).

D-C9: Prohibition of adultery — fidelity in covenanted union. (OPERATIONAL / COVENANT)

  • Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18: "You shall not commit adultery."
  • Stance: deny · Importance: core

D-C10: Prohibition of theft. (OPERATIONAL / JUSTICE)

  • Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19: "You shall not steal."
  • Stance: deny · Importance: core

D-C11: Prohibition of false witness — truthfulness in court and community. (OPERATIONAL / TRUTH+JUSTICE)

  • Exodus 20:16: "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."
  • Deuteronomy 5:20: same.
  • Stance: deny · Importance: core

D-C12: Prohibition of coveting — addressing interior desire, not just outward act. (FOUNDATIONAL / JUSTICE+IMAGO)

  • Exodus 20:17: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
  • Stance: deny · Importance: core · Interiorization of the law — anticipates Jer 31:33 / Matt 5:21–28.

D-C13: Deuteronomy separates wife from household property in the coveting prohibition — a subtle dignity shift. (OPERATIONAL / IMAGO)

  • Deuteronomy 5:21: "Neither shall you covet your neighbor's wife; neither shall you desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."
  • Stance: assert (qualifier) · Importance: supporting · In Exodus 20:17 the wife is listed inside the household; Deut 5:21 names her in a separate clause first — a load-bearing nuance for personhood.

D-C14: The Decalogue is given amid theophany; the people fear, Moses mediates, the law arrives through awe. (EXHORTATION / GOD)

  • Exodus 20:18–21: "All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings… 'Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don't let God speak with us, lest we die.'… Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was."
  • Stance: assert · Importance: supporting · The law is delivered through mediation and reverence, not as bare proposition.

Step 4 — Clusters

Cluster Atomic statements Intent
Liberation as ground of law C1, C5, C6 Grace precedes obligation; God's identity is "the one who freed you"
Worship of the one God C2, C3, C4 Exclusivity, no images, the Name held holy, hesed as response
Life-protection C7, C8 Honour parents; do not kill — the inviolability of personal life
Covenanted relations C9, C10, C11 Fidelity, property, truth — neighbour as protected
Interiority of the law C12, C13 Desire itself is addressed; wife distinguished from property
Theophanic delivery C14 Law given amid awe and through mediation

Step 5 — Internal tensions

  • Sabbath warrant: Ex 20:11 (creation) vs Deut 5:15 (liberation). Not a contradiction but a deliberate doubling: the rest commanded by the Creator is also commanded by the Liberator. Both warrants are retained.
  • The wife in the coveting list: Ex 20:17 lists wife within "house"; Deut 5:21 separates. The Deuteronomic version is read here as a refinement, not a retraction — captured in C13.

Step 6 — Synthesized chapter principles

D-P1: The covenant law is grounded in prior liberation

The Ten Words open not with "you shall" but with "I am" — God identifies himself as the liberator from Egypt before any command is issued. Obligation rests on a grace already given; obedience is response, not earning.

  • Tier: FOUNDATIONAL · Domain: COVENANT+JUSTICE · Covers: D-C1, D-C5, D-C6 · Evidence: Ex 20:2, Deut 5:6, Deut 5:15

D-P2: Exclusive worship of the one God, who is hesed

No other gods, no idols; the divine Name is held holy. The God who commands this is the God of hesed — loving kindness shown to "thousands" of generations of those who love and keep covenant.

  • Tier: FOUNDATIONAL · Domain: GOD+COVENANT · Covers: D-C2, D-C3, D-C4 · Evidence: Ex 20:3–7, Deut 5:7–11 · Untranslatable: hesed (WEB: "loving kindness")

D-P3: Sabbath rest is an egalitarian, liberative rhythm

Rest is commanded for the whole household — including servants, foreigner, and livestock — because Israel was once enslaved. Rest is not privilege but justice and anamnesis.

  • Tier: FOUNDATIONAL · Domain: JUSTICE+COVENANT · Covers: D-C5, D-C6 · Evidence: Ex 20:8–11, Deut 5:12–15 · Note: the Deuteronomic warrant (liberation) is the additive contribution.

D-P4: Personal life is inviolable — body, family, parents

Honour of parents (with promise), prohibition of murder, prohibition of adultery — the human person and the family bond are protected as fundamental.

  • Tier: FOUNDATIONAL · Domain: IMAGO+COVENANT · Covers: D-C7, D-C8, D-C9 · Evidence: Ex 20:12–14, Deut 5:16–18

D-P5: Property and truth-telling protect the neighbour as such

Neither theft nor false witness — the neighbour is protected in property and in reputation. The law institutes the neighbour as a category of obligation.

  • Tier: OPERATIONAL · Domain: JUSTICE+TRUTH · Covers: D-C10, D-C11 · Evidence: Ex 20:15–16, Deut 5:19–20

D-P6: The law reaches inward — desire itself is addressed

"You shall not covet" — the final commandment legislates the heart, not just the hand. This anticipates the prophetic and NT interiorization of the law (cf. Jer 31:33; Matt 5:21–28). The Deuteronomic separation of "wife" from household goods (D-C13) is a load-bearing nuance for personhood.

  • Tier: FOUNDATIONAL · Domain: JUSTICE+IMAGO · Covers: D-C12, D-C13 · Evidence: Ex 20:17, Deut 5:21

Step 7 — Traceability

Principle Atomic statements Verses
D-P1 C1, C5, C6 Ex 20:2, Deut 5:6, 5:15
D-P2 C2, C3, C4 Ex 20:3–7, Deut 5:7–11
D-P3 C5, C6 Ex 20:8–11, Deut 5:12–15
D-P4 C7, C8, C9 Ex 20:12–14, Deut 5:16–18
D-P5 C10, C11 Ex 20:15–16, Deut 5:19–20
D-P6 C12, C13 Ex 20:17, Deut 5:21

Step 8 — Quality

  • Coverage: 17 verses Ex + 16 verses Deut covered by ≥1 atomic statement (100%).
  • Orphaned: 0% at this granularity; theophanic frame (C14) noted as supporting.
  • Principles: 6 (within the 3–12 range).
  • Traceability: 100%.

Step 9 — Validation

  • Standalone comprehension (frame-independent): D-P3 (Sabbath as egalitarian rest grounded in memory of slavery), D-P4 (life and family protection), D-P5 (property/truth as neighbour-protection), and D-P6 (interiorization of law) are intelligible ethical claims to an outsider.
  • Frame-specific warrants: D-P1 (the Liberator is Yahweh), D-P2 (exclusive monotheism, the divine Name) carry theistic warrants — flagged for the Atlas as places where the claim (e.g., the law is grounded in liberation; truthfulness and life are obligatory) may converge across traditions while the warrant (a personal covenant God who liberated this people) diverges.
  • Cross-tradition Atlas note: the Decalogue's structure (vertical-then-horizontal love) is the seed Jesus and Paul will explicitly summarize (Mark 12:29–31; Rom 13:8–10) — see 14-sermon-on-the-mount-per-verse.md and 16-pauline-ethics-per-verse.md.