Decalogue: The name given by the Greek fathers to the ten commandments; "the ten
words," as the original is more literally rendered
(Exodus 20:3-17) These
commandments were at first written on two stone slabs
(Exodus 31:18) which
were broken by Moses throwing them down on the ground
(Exodus 32:19) They
were written by God a second time
(Exodus 34:1) The decalogue is alluded
to in the New Testament five times
(Matthew 5:17,18,19; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20)
(Romans 7:7,8; 13:9; 1 Timothy 1:9,10) These commandments have been divided since
the days of Origen the Greek father, as they stand in the Confession
of all the Reformed Churches except the Lutheran. The division
adopted by Luther, and which has ever since been received in the
Lutheran Church, makes the first two commandments one, and the third
the second, and so on to the last, which is divided into two. "Thou
shalt not covet thy neighbour's house" being ranked as ninth, and
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife," etc., the tenth.
