Analysis of commandments 6 to 10

The Hebrew word "ratsach" is translated as "kill" in the King James Version, Revised Standard Version, American Standard Version, and some other translations of the Bible. However, it is difficult to apply this in practice. Killing chickens and beef cattle is legal now as it was in biblical times. Nobody today is concerned about pulling vegetables from the garden, even though it kills them. The word "ratsach" is commonly believed to describe the premeditated killing of a human. It requires that the victim be a human being. Many other translations translate "ratsach" as "murder" in this verse.

This Commandment is not absolute. Not all murders are forbidden. Hebrew Scriptures specify many grounds for which this commandment is to be ignored, and a guilty party executed. Persons found guilty of temple prostitution, engaged women who are seduced by a man other than her future husband, women who practice black magic, some women who are raped in urban areas, children who cursed their parents, some non-virgin brides, Jews who collect firewood on Saturday to keep their families from freezing, persons proselytizing in favor of another religion, persons worshiping a deity other than Yahweh, strangers who entered the temple, etc; all were to be executed.

A few centuries ago, it was believed that male sperm contained large numbers of tiny babies which only required a woman's womb to grow and be born. Under that belief system, masturbation could be considered an act of mass murder. We now know that pregnancy requires conception, and that a unique DNA is formed at that time. But society has never reached a consensus on the definition of when human personhood begins. Unfortunately, the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Bible appears to be ambiguous on this matter. Thus, it does not help us decide about when, if ever, abortions are acceptable. If the Bible had defined when the start of personhood occurs, there might not be so much conflict over abortion today.

There are tens of thousands of violations of this commandment yearly in North America. Most are done by criminals who shoot people. A few dozen murders are committed by civil servants, who are employed by the state to kill inmates on death row with premeditation. Soldiers are often called upon to murder other humans, sometimes in self-defense, and other times in order to achieve a military objective. There are other biblical passages and a great deal of theological reasoning which have provided justification for the latter two actions.

Joshua and his army violated this commandment on numerous occasional as they marched through Canaan, apparently with God's approval. They were often ordered by God to commit genocide by killing every Pagan man, woman, youth, child, and newborn who lived in various cities of Canaan.

Some pacifist Christians take this commandment very seriously. They will not violate this commandment, even during times of war. Quakers, Mennonites and others are frequently able to volunteer for alternative service during wartime in order to conform to this commandment.

Historically, many Christian groups interpreted the Commandment as if it read "Thou shalt not murder people inside your group." The Christian Church has committed genocide many times in its history, exterminating such groups as the Cathars and Knights Templar. Starting in the late 15th century and continuing for 300 years, both Protestants and Roman Catholics rounded up heretics. "witches," and suspected Satan worshipers; the church executed many tens of thousands of them -- often by burning them alive. The Crusades against the Muslims are another indication of the misuse of this Commandment. Defenseless Jews and Muslims were massacred by the invading armies. In recent times, Serbian Orthodox Christians organized a major religiously-motivated genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, largely against Muslims.

The  Westminster Larger Catechism extends this commandment to include the "immoderate use of meat, drink, labor, and recreations; provoking words, oppression, quarreling," etc. It is not clear how they expanded the meaning of this verse to such an extreme.

This referred to a man engaging in sexual intercourse with a woman who was either married or betrothed to another man.

In ancient Israel, a women was considered a piece of property, who was generally owned by her father or husband.  If a man seduced a virgin, the transgression was treated as a commercial infraction. The woman would have lost part of her value to her father. Not being a virgin, she might not be able to find a husband in the future, and thus her father could not benefit financially from her marriage. The seducer was required to pay the virgin's father an amount of money, and perhaps to marry the woman. The woman has no say in the matter; some were forced to marry a rapist who they loathed. (Exodus 22:16-17)

None of the Ten Commandments prohibits same-sex relationships. Similarly no commandment or passage in the Hebrew Scriptures forbids a man engaging in heterosexual fornication (i.e. sexual activity outside of marriage) as long as the woman was neither a virgin, or was owned by (i.e. married or betrothed to) another man.

However, some Christian groups expand the scope of the 7th commandment to include an amazing array of behaviors.  The Westminster Larger Catechism, still used by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and some other denominations contains the following entry. Like most catechisms this is in a question and answer format:

A "stew" is a brothel. Since sexual fantasies are a normal part of being human, it would appear that the church would consider adultery to be nearly universal throughout the world. ₁

Masturbation usually involves sexual fantasizing. According to words attributed to Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus Christ) in Matthew 5:27-28, a man lusting after a woman is equivalent to him committing adultery. Some have argued that the seventh commandment's prohibitions extend to masturbation -- at least for men.

"...this Commandment has been interpreted to refer to only one kind of theft; namely, to someone who kidnaps a person, forces him or her to work for him, and then sells him or her into slavery. This, like the previous prohibitions mentioned in the verse, murder and adultery, is a Capital Crime; that is, punishable by the death-penalty." ₂ Since slavery has now been abolished in North America, this commandment is no longer applicable.

In modern times, the commandment is interpreted to mean the stealing of any piece of property. This is not directly related to its original meaning.

The Westminster Larger Catechism includes: "The covetousness; inordinate prizing and affecting worldly goods... envying at the prosperity of others; as likewise idleness, prodigality, wasteful gaming..."

This forbids perjury while testifying in a courtroom. In ancient Israel, a person who lies in court receives the penalty that would be due a person guilty of the crime at question.

The common meaning of this commandment is unchanged today.

The Westminster Larger Catechism includes the sins of passing unjust sentence, tale bearing, whispering, boasting, etc.

1. To wish for enviously.
2. To desire inordinately or culpably ~ vi: to feel inordinate desire for what belongs to another. ₃

Religious liberals believe that the original text included only the first seven words. That is because the word "house" by itself was assumed to include all of a man's possessions: his building, wife, male slaves, female slaves, children, animals, etc.

A woman, in biblical times, was considered to be the property first of her father and after marriage of her husband.

Many biblical translations shy away from the term "slave" and use a more ambiguous word like "manservant." We have even heard Christian radio programs refer to slaves as "butlers" and "maids." The Decalogue is not talking about servants here. A master could beat his slave so severely that she/he died within a few days, and not be charged with an offense. With the exception of a very few countries slavery has been abolished today. The many rules and regulations which condoned and governed slavery in the Bible are now ignored. There is a growing world-wide consensus that slavery, the owning of one person by another, is profoundly immoral; it was not considered as such by the Decalogue.

The Westminster Larger Catechism interprets this commandment, close to its original meaning: "The sins forbidden in the tenth commandment are, discontentment with our own estate; envying and grieving at the good of our neighbor, together with all inordinate motions and affections to anything that is his." It seems to recognize that a man's wife, slaves and children are among his possessions.

Modern-day society has abandoned many of the biblical concepts mentioned in this commandment. Women are generally regarded as free individuals, with a value and status equal to men; they are not classed as property -- as something to be owned. Slavery has been abolished in all but two countries, although near slavery is still found in many areas of the world.