Why Are There 3 Different Versions of the Ten Commandments in the Bible?

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If the Ten Commandments are the unchanging word of God, why does the Bible contain three different versions? Yes, you read that right. The “Ten Commandments” are not consistent, and depending on where you look in the Bible, they change—sometimes dramatically.

Did God forget what He told Moses? Did ancient scribes rewrite history? Or is something far more shocking at play?

Let’s break it down.

Version #1: The One Everyone Knows (Exodus 20:1-17)

This is the version most people are familiar with—the one that gets displayed in courthouses and Sunday school lessons. It includes:

  1. No other gods.
  2. No idols.
  3. Don’t misuse God’s name.
  4. Keep the Sabbath.
  5. Honor your parents.
  6. Don’t murder.
  7. Don’t commit adultery.
  8. Don’t steal.
  9. Don’t lie.
  10. Don’t covet.

Seems pretty straightforward, right? But hold on. There’s another version… and it’s not quite the same.

Version #2: The Retelling (Deuteronomy 5:6-21)

Deuteronomy means “second law”, and sure enough, Moses repeats the Ten Commandments here. But there are differences:

  • The reason for the Sabbath commandment is changed—instead of God resting on the 7th day, it now commemorates Israel’s escape from Egypt.
  • The wording of “coveting” is changed, separating the prohibition into two separate commands.

Why the differences? Is Moses changing the words of God? Or are the authors of Deuteronomy tweaking the law to fit their narrative?

But the biggest twist is yet to come.

Version #3: The One Nobody Talks About (Exodus 34:10-28)

Brace yourself. In Exodus 34, Moses goes back up Mount Sinai to receive the commandments again—and they are completely different! Instead of moral laws like “Don’t murder,” we get:

  1. No treaties with other nations.
  2. Don’t worship idols.
  3. Observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
  4. Give God the firstborn of every womb.
  5. Rest on the seventh day.
  6. Celebrate the Feast of Weeks.
  7. All males must appear before God three times a year.
  8. Don’t mix sacrificial blood with yeast.
  9. Don’t leave the Passover meal leftovers overnight.
  10. Don’t boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Wait… what happened to “Thou shall not kill”?

Even more shocking—this is the only version the Bible explicitly calls “the Ten Commandments”!

“And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you… And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.’” (Exodus 34:27-28)

Yes, you read that correctly. The version without “Thou shalt not kill” is the one God Himself calls the Ten Commandments!

Why Are There Three Different Versions of the Ten Commandments?

Most people assume there is just one set of Ten Commandments, but the Bible actually contains three different versions, each with different wording, priorities, and even commandments. Instead of a single, unchanging divine law, the commandments were rewritten over time to fit evolving religious and political needs.

The Three Versions of the Ten Commandments

  1. Exodus 20 – The most well-known version, listing moral laws such as “Do not kill” and “Do not steal.”
  2. Deuteronomy 5 – Almost identical to Exodus 20, but with key differences, such as a different reason for keeping the Sabbath.
  3. Exodus 34 – The most shocking version, which doesn’t focus on morality at all. Instead, it contains laws about sacrifices and festivals—yet it is the only passage that explicitly calls itself “the Ten Commandments.”

These versions suggest that the commandments were not fixed from the beginning but instead evolved alongside Israelite society.

The Influence of Earlier Laws: The Code of Hammurabi

The idea that divine laws were given to a nation’s leader was not unique to the Israelites. The Ten Commandments closely resemble earlier law codes, particularly the Code of Hammurabi, written in Babylon around 1750 BCE—hundreds of years before Moses was said to have lived.

How Do We Know the Age of the Code of Hammurabi?

  • Archaeological Evidence – The Code of Hammurabi is inscribed on a 7-foot-tall basalt stele, which was discovered in 1901 in Susa (modern Iran). It dates to 1750 BCE, based on the reign of King Hammurabi.
  • Cuneiform Tablets – Fragments of the code have been found on clay tablets from the 18th century BCE, confirming its widespread use in Babylonian society.
  • Historical References – The code mentions cities and rulers that align with known historical records from the period.

This dating makes it clear: the Israelites were not the first to write down moral laws—they were borrowing from older legal traditions.

Parallels Between Hammurabi and the Ten Commandments

Code of Hammurabi (c. 1750 BCE)Ten Commandments (c. 8th–7th century BCE)
“If a man steals from the temple or palace, he shall be put to death.”“You shall not steal.”
“If a man commits murder, he shall be killed.”“You shall not kill.”
“If a man commits adultery, both he and the woman shall be drowned.”“You shall not commit adultery.”
“If a man bears false witness, he shall be punished.”“You shall not bear false witness.”

The similarities suggest that the Israelites did not receive their laws in isolation—they were part of a larger legal tradition that existed centuries before the Bible was written.

Why Were the Commandments Rewritten?

Scholars explain the different versions of the commandments using the Documentary Hypothesis, which argues that the first five books of the Bible were compiled from different sources:

  • Exodus 20 (Elohist source, 8th–9th century BCE) – A version of the commandments that focuses on moral laws, likely developed as Israelite society expanded.
  • Deuteronomy 5 (Deuteronomist source, 7th century BCE) – A reformulation of the commandments to fit King Josiah’s religious reforms, which sought to centralize worship in Jerusalem.
  • Exodus 34 (Possibly the oldest version, Yahwist source, 10th century BCE) – A version that does not focus on morality but instead on ritual laws, showing that the early Israelites were more concerned with sacrifices and festivals than ethical codes.

The fact that Exodus 34 is the only passage that explicitly calls itself “the Ten Commandments” raises an uncomfortable question:

Is our modern version of the Ten Commandments an invention of later biblical editors?

The “True” Ten Commandments?

If Exodus 34 is the original, then the idea that the Ten Commandments were primarily about ethics is a later rewrite. Instead of being divinely dictated and fixed in stone, the commandments changed to reflect different political and religious needs over time.

This means that the modern belief in one eternal set of Ten Commandments is a myth—what we actually see in the Bible is a gradual rewriting of laws, influenced by older cultures, and shaped by human hands.

Sources:


Books

  1. Richard Elliott Friedman – Who Wrote the Bible?
    • A detailed exploration of the Documentary Hypothesis and how biblical texts were compiled.
  2. Joel Baden – The Composition of the Pentateuch: Renewing the Documentary Hypothesis
    • Examines how different sources contributed to the Torah, including variations in the Ten Commandments.
  3. Michael Coogan – The Ten Commandments: A Short History of an Ancient Text
    • Traces the history and interpretations of the Ten Commandments, including their historical context.
  4. David Wright – Inventing God’s Law: How the Covenant Code of the Bible Used and Revised the Laws of Hammurabi
    • Argues that biblical laws were directly influenced by older Mesopotamian law codes.
  5. John Van Seters – The Edited Bible: The Curious History of the “Editor” in Biblical Criticism
    • Discusses how scribes and editors altered biblical texts over time.


Academic Articles & Journals

  1. Moshe Weinfeld – “The Origin of the Ten Commandments” (Harvard Theological Review)
    • Analyzes the differences between the three versions of the commandments.
  2. Raymond Westbrook – “The Laws of Biblical Israel and the Ancient Near East” (Biblical Archaeology Review)
    • Compares biblical laws to Mesopotamian legal traditions, including the Code of Hammurabi.
  3. Bernard Levinson – “The First Constitution: Rethinking the Origins of Rule of Law and Separation of Powers in Light of Deuteronomy” (Cardozo Law Review)
    • Explores the legal innovations of Deuteronomy and how they reflect historical changes.


Web Sources

  1. The Ancient History Encyclopedia – “Code of Hammurabi”
  2. Biblical Archaeology Society – “How Many Versions of the Ten Commandments Are in the Bible?”
  1. The Jewish Virtual Library – “The Ten Commandments”

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