Ten Commandments Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (, "Aseret ha'Dibrot"), also known as the Decalogue, are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and Christianity. The commandments include instructions to worship only God, to honour one's parents, and to keep the sabbath, as well as prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, theft, dishonesty, and coveting. Different religious groups follow different traditions for interpreting and numbering them. The Ten Commandments appear twice in the Hebrew Bible, in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Modern scholarship has found likely influences in Hittite and Mesopotamian
Ten Commandments in Catholic theology of the Commandments is one of the most common types of examination of conscience used by Catholics before receiving the sacrament of Penance. The Commandments appear in the earliest Church writings; the "Catechism" states that they have "occupied a predominant place" in teaching the faith since the time of Augustine of Hippo (AD 354–430). The Church had no official standards for religious instruction until the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215; evidence suggests the Commandments were used in Christian education in the early Church and throughout the Middle Ages, but with inconsistent emphasis. The lack of instruction in them by some