The second is the so-called
Talmudic Division used by Jews today, and one that appears - or at least inferred - in the Babylonian Talmud (Tractate
Makkot 24a). Since some readers may not be familiar with it, here is how the commandments are divided.
1.) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
2.) You shall have no other gods before me.
3.) You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.
4.) Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
5.) Honor your father and your mother.
6.) You shall not murder.
7.) You shall not commit adultery.
8.) You shall not steal.
9.) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10.) You shall not covet.
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (usually dated to around the 7th century, or perhaps even much later into the medieval period) says this in its version of Exodus 20:
The first word, as it came forth from the mouth of the Holy One, whose Name be blessed, was like storms, and lightnings, and flames of fire, with a burning light on His right hand and on His left. It winged its way through the air of the heavens, and was made manifest unto the camp of Israel, and returned, and was engraved on the tablets of the covenant that were given by the hand of Mosheh, and were turned in them from side to side: and then called He, and said, “
Sons of Israel, my people, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out free from the land of Mizraim, from the house of the bondage of slaves.”
The second word which came forth from the mouth of the Holy One, whose Name be blessed, was like storms, and lightnings, and flames of fire. A burning light was on His right hand and on His left and was borne through the air of the heavens, returned, and was made manifest unto the camp of Israel; it returned, and was engraved on the tablets of the covenant, and was turned in them from side to side. Then called He, and said, "*House of Israel, my people, you shall have no other God besides me. You shall not make to yourselves image or figure, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, or worship before them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God and an avenger, punishing with vengeance, recording the guilt of wicked fathers upon rebellious children unto the third and unto the fourth generation of them who hate me; but keeping mercy and goodness for thousands of generations of the righteous who love me, and who keep my commandments and my laws.
My people of the house of Israel, let no one of you swear by the name of the Word of the Lord your God in vain; for in the day of the great judgment the Lord will not hold guiltless any one who swears by His name in vain…*"
There is a Jewish legend about how God only was just done saying two commandments when the people, terrified of the Divine voice and the various phenomena, asked Moses speak instead. Rashi in his Commentary on Exodus 19:19 refers to it:
When Moses would speak and make the Decalogue heard to Israel - for they heard from the mouth of God only “I am…” and “You shall not have” (
Makkot 24a) - the Holy One, blessed be He, would assist him [Moses] by giving him strength so that his voice would be strong and audible.
Not surprisingly, writers such as Maimonides (in his
Sefer ha-Mitzvot) used this division. Ibn Ezra, in his
commentary on Deuteronomy, notes that while “
all the scholars of antiquity believed that the First Commandment is ‘I am’”, thinks it odd that God would give two commandments straight and only then pause, which led him to propose that ‘I am the LORD’ is the preamble “[introducing] the Commander”, while the first commandment is “You shall no other gods”. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house” would be the ninth commandment, while not coveting your neighbor’s wife is the tenth.
In his anti-Christian polemic
Against the Galileans, Julian the Apostate - as quoted by St. Cyril of Jerusalem - shows that he is also familiar with this reckoning or something similar to it, which may show that this also has quite a bit of an early origin (Julian reigned from 360 to 363):
That is a surprising law of Moses, I mean the famous decalogue! “Thou shalt not steal.” “Thou shalt not kill.” “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” But let me write out word for word every one of the commandments which he says were written by God himself.
“I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.” Then follows the second: “Thou shalt have no other gods but me.” “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” And then he adds the reason : " For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third generation." “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” “Remember the sabbath day.” “Honour thy father and thy mother.” " Thou shalt not commit adultery." “Thou shalt not kill.” “Thou shalt not steal.” “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” “Thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbour’s.”
Now except for the command “Thou shalt not worship other gods,” and “Remember the sabbath day,” what nation is there, I ask in the name of the gods, which does not think that it ought to keep the other commandments? So much so that penalties have been ordained against those who transgress them, sometimes more severe, and sometimes similar to those enacted by Moses, though they are sometimes more humane.
