Exodus 20:2
in Exodus 20“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
KJV
I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
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This verse in Exodus 20
Commentary
15 notes on this verseI am the Lord thy God - יהוה אלהיך Yehovah eloheycha. On the word Jehovah, which we here translate Lord, see Clarke’s note on Gen 2:4, and see Clarke’s note on Exo 6:3. And on the word Elohim, here translated God, see Clarke’s note on Gen 1:1. It is worthy of remark that each individual is addressed here, and not the people collectively, though they are all necessarily included; that each might feel that he was bound for himself to hear and do all these words.
This site's exposition
God spoke all these words
on Exodus 20:1-2
The law opens with a finished rescue, since the house of slavery lies behind them. The Hebrew root behind slavery is the one 1:13 and 1:14 use for the forced labour.
This site's exposition
I am the LORD your God
Your is singular in Hebrew, and Adam Clarke notes that the LORD addresses each hearer alone. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the verse as the preface, with the first clause binding all people and the rescue binding Israel. The name comes before any command.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Let [my opponents] insist, if they like, in contradiction to their own assertion, that worship of the one true God and the prohibition against idolatry is not to be preached to the unbaptized but to the already baptized. Do not, however, let them any longer say to those who are going to receive baptism that they need be instructed only on belief in God and after the reception of the sacrament they will be taught the manner of living required by the second precept on the love of neighbor. For both are contained in the law which the people received after the Red Sea, that is, after baptism. The commandments were not so distributed that before crossing the Red Sea the Jews were warned against idolatry and not until after their escape taught to honor father and mother, not to commit adultery, not to kill, and the remaining prescriptions for a rational and godly way of living.
In the first commandment of the Decalogue, just as the worship and service of the one Lord God is most clearly commanded, so for adoration and service to be shown by the faithful to any creature is most vehemently forbidden. For it is said there: …
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
For knowing the Creator, he says: I am the Lord your God. In that he says Lord, he intimates the power of the Father. In that he says God, he intimates the wisdom of the Son. In that he says your, he intimates the benevolence …
The Reformation1 voice
And surely it was necessary that, first of all, the right of the legislator should be established, lest what He chose to command should be despised, or contemptuously received. In these words, then, God seeks to procure reverence to Himself, before He prescribes the rule of a holy and righteous life.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I am the Lord thy God - Herein, God asserts his own authority to enact this law; and proposeth himself as the sole object of that religious worship which is enjoined in the four first commandments. They are here bound to obedience.
7 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
I am the Lord thy God - Herein, God asserts his own authority to enact this law; and proposeth himself as the sole object of that religious worship which is enjoined in the four first commandments. They are here bound to obedience.
I am the Lord thy God,....
It cannot be expected that he should be true to his brother who is false to his God. Now our duty to God is, in one word, to worship him, that is, to give to him the glory due to his name, the inward worship of our affections, the outward worship of solemn address and attendance.
It cannot be expected that he should be true to his brother who is false to his God. Now our duty to God is, in one word, to worship him, that is, to give to him the glory due to his name, the inward worship of our affections, the outward worship of solemn address and attendance.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I am the Lord thy God--This is a preface to the ten commandments--the latter clause being specially applicable to the case of the Israelites, while the former brings it home to all mankind; showing that the reasonableness of the law is founded in their eternal relation as creatures to their Creator, and their mutual relations to each other.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
I am the Lord thy God--This is a preface to the ten commandments--the latter clause being specially applicable to the case of the Israelites, while the former brings it home to all mankind; showing that the reasonableness of the law is founded in their eternal relation as creatures to their Creator, and their mutual relations to each other.
Modern Voices1 voice
Morality did not begin by one man saying to another, "I will not hit you if you do not hit me"; there is no trace of such a transaction. There is a trace of both men having said, "We must not hit each other in …
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
There are some very difficult questions to be raised in this chapter. Many say that God only uttered the first two statements.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָֽנֹכִ֖י֙ | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֑֔יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֧ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הוֹצֵאתִ֛יךָ | hotzetikha | I brought out you | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵאֶ֥רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| מִבֵּ֣֥ית | mibeit | from a house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| עֲבָדִיֽ֑ם׃ | ʾavadim | slaves | H5650 → | 799 times |
אָֽנֹכִ֖י֙I
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
יְהוָ֣ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֑֔יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
אֲשֶׁ֧רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הוֹצֵאתִ֛יךָI brought out you
hotzetikhaH3318 →1067 times
מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
מִבֵּ֣֥יתfrom a house of
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
עֲבָדִיֽ֑ם׃slaves
ʾavadimH5650 →799 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 5:6“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:2–17
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Exodus 20:2–17
Through
Exodus 13:3So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 24:18
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
- Deuteronomy 5:15
Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the…
- Deuteronomy 16:12
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and carefully follow these statutes.
- Deuteronomy 5:6
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Deuteronomy 15:15
Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.
- Deuteronomy 24:18
Through
Psalms 81:10I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it.
it leads to
- John 15:7
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
- Psalms 107:9
For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
- John 15:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies28
On this verse
On this chapter
- Creation and Evolution
- The Creation Week
- Generational Curses
- How Scripture Shapes Christian Ethics
- Naboth's Vineyard: 1 Kings 21
- If You Love Me, You Will Keep My Commandments
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About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, ON FAITH AND WORKS 11.17; Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2; Fulgentius of Ruspe, LETTER 8.4.9; GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy, Ch. 5: The Flag of the World (1908); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.