60 Fun Facts About Ten Commandments

According to the Hebrew Bible, to whom did God give the Ten Commandments?

He went up the mountain twice: the first set of tablets was smashed, the second was stored in the Ark.

On which mountain were the commandments revealed?

The mountain is also called Horeb in the text; the revelation came amid thunder, fire and a very loud trumpet.

What were the Israelites worshipping when Moses came down and smashed the first tablets?

They had decided something must have happened to him and pressed Aaron to make it.

Where were the second set of tablets later placed?

The tablets themselves are called the "tablets of the testimony" or "tablets of the covenant" in Hebrew.

What alternative name for the Ten Commandments comes from the Greek for "ten words"?

The Septuagint translators coined dekalogos, which passed through Latin into English.

How long was Moses on the mountain when he received the tablets?

The mountain had been covered by cloud for six days first, and he went in on the seventh.

Besides Exodus 20, which book of the Bible contains a second full version of the commandments?

A third, very different list in Exodus 34 is nicknamed the "Ritual Decalogue" by scholars.

What does the Hebrew name Aseret ha-Dibrot literally mean?

Tyndale's English Bible called them "ten verses"; the Geneva Bible popularised "ten commandments".

On which day of the week is the Sabbath commandment observed in Judaism?

It runs from dusk to dusk; most Christians moved their day of rest to Sunday, the day of the resurrection.

The Samaritan version has a tenth commandment about the sanctity of which mountain?

Samaritans count as nine what others count as ten, then add the command to build an altar there.

The Nash Papyrus contains the commandments followed by the opening of which prayer?

It preserves the Second Temple practice of reciting the commandments daily before that prayer.

During which festival are the commandments read aloud in synagogue, besides the regular Torah cycle?

They are heard three times a year in all: in the Exodus and Deuteronomy readings and on this feast, which commemorates the giving of the Torah.

Which Church Father's Ten Commandments numbering, used by Catholics and Lutherans, splits coveting in two?

The Reformed and Orthodox traditions instead follow the Septuagint and keep images as a separate commandment.

In which 1980 case did the Supreme Court strike down Kentucky's classroom commandments law?

The court found the statute lacked any nonreligious legislative purpose; the ruling was cited again against Arkansas's 2025 law.

Which state's governor signed a 2024 law mandating the commandments in every public school classroom?

A federal judge called it "unconstitutional on its face"; Texas and Arkansas passed similar laws in 2025.

Which organisation placed thousands of Ten Commandments displays in US courthouses in the 1950s?

They used an unnumbered ecumenical text; the 2024 Louisiana law's wording turned out to come from that campaign.

Scholars have compared the structure of the commandments to the treaties of which ancient empire?

Like a king's treaty with his vassals, it opens by recalling the ruler's benevolent acts: "who brought you out of the land of Egypt".

Jewish tradition counts how many commandments in the Torah in total?

The Ten are seen as headings under which the rest can be grouped, an idea going back to Philo.

Dekalog, a ten-part television series built around the commandments, came from which country?

Each film is set in the same Warsaw housing estate and loosely explores one commandment.

In Matthew 19, after listing five of the commandments, Jesus adds which further command?

Paul does the same in Romans, tying five of the ten to the neighbourly-love command.

According to Exodus 31:18, the tablets were uniquely written with what?

That, their terse style and their place in the Ark are the ways the Bible marks them out from all other laws.

Which surah of the Quran describes Moses meeting God on the mountain and receiving the tablets?

The Quran presents the commandments as guidance on monotheism, justice and righteousness, close to but not identical with the biblical text.

Which English Bible established the phrase "ten commandments", later followed by the King James Version?

Tyndale and Coverdale had preferred "ten verses".

In one rabbinic pairing, "I am the Lord thy God" matches which second-tablet commandment?

The reasoning is that a murderer destroys the image of God; adultery is paired with idolatry, and theft with false oaths.

Which scholar argued that "thou shalt not steal" originally meant "thou shalt not kidnap"?

The Talmud reads it the same way, as a ban on stealing people rather than property.

Who produced, directed and narrated the 1956 film The Ten Commandments?

It was his fourth biblical picture, his first in widescreen and the last film he ever directed.

Who plays Moses in the 1956 film?

All three of the others were in the running; he won it partly for his resemblance to Michelangelo's statue of Moses.

Who plays Rameses, the Pharaoh who says "So let it be written, so let it be done"?

He was the first actor cast, and won the National Board of Review's Best Actor award for it.

Who plays the scheming princess Nefretiri?

The director chose her after watching Carnival Story at home three times; Jane Russell had wanted the part.

Which blacklisted actor did the director rehire to play the treacherous overseer Dathan?

He later wrote that the director "returned me to films" and "restored my self-respect".

Which studio released the 1956 film?

One of its executives asked whether it would really keep the title; Adolph Zukor leapt up to insist there would be no other.

In what year was the epic released in the United States?

It premiered on November 8 as a roadshow with an on-screen introduction from the director.

In which widescreen process was the film shot?

It was the director's first widescreen film, in Technicolor.

The film was nominated for seven Oscars. Which one did it win?

John P. Fulton's team parted the Red Sea, built the pillar of fire and wrote the commandments in fire.

Who composed the film's score, after Victor Young declined for health reasons?

He was originally hired only for the on-screen dance music, then wrote all two and a half hours.

Who plays the infant Moses found in the basket?

The associate producer suggested it as soon as the pregnancy was announced: "If it's a boy, who better to play the Baby Moses?"

Whose voice, slowed and deepened, speaks for God at the Burning Bush?

The idea comes from a Midrash legend that God spoke to Moses in the voice of his father so as not to frighten him.

In which country was the 1954 location shoot, including the giant Per-Rameses gate set?

The director met Prime Minister Nasser twice and camped near St Catherine's Monastery to film on the holy mountain itself.

Roughly how much water was released into the studio tank for the parting of the Red Sea?

The footage was printed in reverse to make the waters part, and up to 12 negatives were combined per shot.

Animators from which studio were borrowed for the Pillar of Fire and the fiery commandments?

The sparks were slow-motion burning magnesium, and the pillar contains nine shades of colour.

The director cast his Rameses after seeing him in which Broadway musical?

He went backstage at intermission and, by the actor's account, closed the deal in seven and a half minutes.

Which actress did the director want for Nefretiri before deciding her figure would not fill the gowns?

His office was said to be full of her photographs in early 1954.

Since 1973 the film has aired annually on US network television during which season?

It is one of the most-watched films ever made; adjusted for inflation its gross is put at around $2 billion.

What was the film's production budget, then the largest ever?

It earned about $122.7 million in ticket sales on first release and was the top film of 1956.

Which actor turned down the role of Joshua as too small, handing it to John Derek?

He had starred in the director's previous film, The Greatest Show on Earth; the director called it his "worst mistake".

Which horror star plays Baka, the master builder Moses kills?

Basil Rathbone wrote in asking for the part and lost out to him.

Which 1949 novel supplied the Nefretiri romance and other subplots?

The other two Moses novels were also bought; the shared title later went to DreamWorks' 1998 cartoon.

The lead was partly cast for his resemblance to whose sculpture of Moses?

He also impressed the director with his knowledge of Moses and ancient Egypt.

The 1956 film remakes the biblical prologue of the director's silent film from which year?

Fans had written for decades asking for a new version because the world "needs a reminder of the Law of God".

What happened to the director after he climbed the 107-foot Egyptian gate set to check a shot?

Doctors ordered weeks of bed rest; he was back at work within days, and it was his last film.

Moses's red robe with black and white stripes turned out to match the colours of which Israelite tribe?

The designer said it was woven on an ancient loom from goat's hair.

Who plays Sephora, the shepherdess who becomes Moses's wife?

She was so keen to work for the director she did not care what he paid, which she later realised was rather the point.

Which unusual electronic instrument features in the film's score alongside the shofar?

The leitmotif approach was modelled, at the director's request, on Wagner's operas.

The bass voice of God in the tablet-giving scene came from a singer with which group?

Jesse Delos Jewkes's voice was thickened further with the vox humana stop of the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ.

In the AFI's 2008 "Ten Top Ten", the film was ranked where among epics?

It had been added to the National Film Registry in 1999.

Which chapter, dealing with worship of Yahweh, do scholars call the 'Ritual Decalogue'?

That passage deals with proper worship of Yahweh rather than murder or theft, so scholars distinguish it from the traditional 'Ethical Decalogue'.

Which Mel Brooks film features a satirical scene about the Ten Commandments?

Other modern treatments include the Polish series Dekalog and the American comedy The Ten.

Roughly how much did the 1956 film The Ten Commandments gross on its initial release?

It was the most successful film of 1956 and, per Guinness, the eighth most successful film ever once adjusted for inflation.

Who plays Moses's brother Aaron in the 1956 film?

Carradine won the role in October 1954; Hardwicke played Pharaoh Sethi and Wilcoxon was the film's associate producer.

From what material did DeMille have the film's commandment tablets hewn?

The replicas used on set had wooden cores covered in fiberglass, chipped and hand-painted to match the real stone.