And God spoke all these words (Exodus 20:1).
God commanded Moses to put the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were engraved in the ark of the covenant (Exod 24:12; 31:18; Deut 10:1-5), since these ten commandments were the basic legal terms of the covenant that God made with Israel. This display was photographed at the full-size model of the tabernacle in Timna Park in southern Israel.
I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt (Exodus 20:2).
Although pyramids continued to be built in Egypt until the Roman period, the largest and best-known date to the 4th dynasty, long before the Exodus. Israelites living in Egypt at the time of Moses would have been familiar with these monumental structures.
You shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3).
The phrase “you shall have no” is more woodenly “there shall not be to you.” In this context, “having” should be understood as reverencing, serving, or worshiping God. This Egyptian figurine worships on bended knee with outstretched arms, a position used in Egyptian art to portray worship. This bronze object was photographed in the Louvre Museum.
You shall not make for yourself an idol (Exodus 20:4).
An “idol” (Heb. pesel) was a divine image made of wood, stone, or metal. In the ancient world, they most often took the form of a human or an animal. The Egyptians often combined the human and animal forms, as in the example shown here. This artifact was photographed at the Louvre Museum.
Nor shall you make any likeness of anything that is in heaven above (Exodus 20:4).
The Egyptians worshiped the sun both as the god Re/Ra and as the god Aten. Worship of the sun can be traced back to at least the 5th dynasty (ca. 2400 BC) but became particularly prominent during the reign of Akhenaten (14th c. BC). This relief depicts Akhenaten and the royal family worshiping Aten. Aten is portrayed as a sun disc with a uraeus (cobra, a symbol of royalty and divinity), with hands reaching down to the worshipers, who hold up lotuses to the god. This relief was photographed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
