Exodus 20:1-3

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 20:3

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME (EXO. 20:3) "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." This is the first and great commandment of God, having an expanded meaning as given by Christ, "The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength" (Mark 18:29-30). "The Lord is one ..." Jewish scholars take this as a denial of the doctrine of the Trinity, but the word... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Exodus 20:1

Exodus 20:1. All these words— These refer to all that is spoken to the end of the 17th verse; i.e. to the ten words or commandments, as Moses calls them, Deu 4:13 which words God himself spoke from the midst of the fire, Deu 5:22 on which account it is called a fiery law, Deuteronomy 33:2. These were the only words which God himself spoke to the people; the rest were delivered to Moses. See Exo 20:21-22 compared with Deuteronomy 5:22. And it is most probable, that, in this solemn intercourse... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Exodus 20:2

Exodus 20:2. I am the LORD thy God, &c.— This is supposed, by some, to be the preface of the first commandment; but it appears, rather, to be the general introduction to them all, especially as it is found in Leviticus 19:25; Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 19:34, &c. subjoined to a great variety of commandments. Jehovah, being about to deliver laws to the Hebrews, as their peculiar God and King, in these words recognizes his august titles, and his just authority over them: grounding his... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Exodus 20:3

Exodus 20:3. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me— After the general preface follow the commandments; which, as we read hereafter, were delivered by God to Moses in two tables; the one containing, according to that division which has since generally prevailed, the four first commandments, which comprize our duty towards God; the other, the six last, which comprize our duty towards our neighbour: and hence that grand division made by our Saviour, of the love of GOD, and the love of our... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 20:1

1. And God spake all these words—The Divine Being Himself was the speaker (Deuteronomy 5:12; Deuteronomy 5:32; Deuteronomy 5:33), in tones so loud as to be heard—so distinct as to be intelligible by the whole multitude standing in the valleys below, amid the most appalling phenomena of agitated nature. Had He been simply addressing rational and intelligent creatures, He would have spoken with the still small voice of persuasion and love. But He was speaking to those who were at the same time... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 20:2

2. I am the Lord thy God—This is a preface to the ten commandments—the latter clause being specially applicable to the case of the Israelites, while the former brings it home to all mankind; showing that the reasonableness of the law is founded in their eternal relation as creatures to their Creator, and their mutual relations to each other. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 20:3

3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me—in My presence, beside, or except Me. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 20:1-2

Preface 20:1-2These verses form a preamble and historical background to the Decalogue that follows. The Israelites were to obey God on the double basis of who He is and what He had done for them.Most scholars have divided the Ten Commandments (cf. Deuteronomy 5:6-18) into two groups but in two different ways. The older Jewish method, called Philonic after the Jewish scholar Philo, was to divide them in two groups of five commandments each. The Jews believed that this is how God divided them on... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 20:1-17

2. The Ten Commandments 20:1-17"We now reach the climax of the entire Book, the central and most exalted theme, all that came before being, as it were, a preparation for it, and all that follows, a result of, and supplement to it." [Note: Cassuto, p. 235.] There are two types of law in the Old Testament, and these existed commonly in the ancient Near East. Apodictic laws are commands with the force of categorical imperatives. They are positive or negative. The Ten Commandments are an example of... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 20:3

The first commandment 20:3"The Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches follow Augustine in making Exodus 20:2-6 the first commandment, and then dividing Exodus 20:17, on covetousness, into two. Modern Judaism makes Exodus 20:2 the first commandment and Exodus 20:3-6 the second. The earliest division, which can be traced back at least as far as Josephus, in the first century A.D., takes Exodus 20:3 as the first command and Exodus 20:4-6 as the second. This division was supported unanimously by the... read more

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