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Exodus 20:1

וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר
dâbar
and — perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
אֱלֹהִ֔ים
ʼĕlôhîym
gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
אֵ֛ת
ʼêth
properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)
כָּל
kôl
properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
הַדְּבָרִ֥ים
dâbâr
the — a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
הָאֵ֖לֶּה
ʼêl-leh
the — these or those
לֵאמֹֽר
ʼâmar
to/for — to say (used with great latitude)
Exodus 20:1 · Masoretic Text (WLC)
AMPLIFIED · 1 of 3
Then God spoke all these words:
Rabbi's unlock
Exodus 20:1New

Hebrew calls these the "Ten Words" (aseret ha-dvarim), not the Ten Commandments - and the distinction matters. The Bible's first "command" isn't even labeled one: it's God's blessing over newly-created humanity, "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28). Every command that follows, including these ten, carries that same DNA - not a checklist to complete, but an invitation into the kind of wisdom that leads to life, meant to be turned over and meditated on rather than simply obeyed.

that's everything Rabbi's current library has flagged for this passage — new sources are added every week
Today's memory verse · from this session
Then God spoke all these words:
Exodus 20:1
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