Are there two sets of Ten Commandments?

In Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21 are listed the classical Ten Commandments that most people know about. But in Exodus 34:10-26 is a list of ten or so seemingly random commands, Exodus 34:28 indicates that these are also referred to as the Ten Commandments. So what gives? Are these two different versions of the Ten Commandments?

The “Ten Commandments” of Exodus 34

This is a version of the “Ten Commandments” of Exodus 34 listed on an atheist website:

1. Do not worship any god other than Yahweh.
2. Do not make molten gods.
3. Keep the feast of unleavened bread.
4. The firstborn offspring of every cow and sheep is to be sacrificed to God.
5. The seventh day of each week is set aside to rest.
6. Observe the feast of weeks.
7. All males must appear before God three times per year.
8. The blood of a sacrifice shall not be offered together with yeast, nor shall the sacrifice of the Passover feast be left until the next morning.
9. The “first of the firstfruits” of the land are to be brought before God.
10. Do not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk.

First of all you can see already that something is not right here. The first one is actually three commandments. Number 8 is actually two diffeeent commands. Actually if you have a good look at the text you can find no less than 16 commandments:

1. Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the promised land.
2. Pull down the altars of the pagans.
3. Do not bow down to anyone by Yahweh.
4. Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the promised land (repeated)
5. Don’t make gods out of metal.
6. Observe the festival of unleavened bread.
7. Sacrifice every firstborn of the cattle or redeem every firstborn male child.
8. Do not appear before God empty handed.
9. Rest on the sabbath.
10. Celebrate the Festival of Weeks
11. Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering
12. Three times a year all males must appear before God.
13. Do not offer sacrifices along with anything leavened.
14. The sacrifice of the Passover should not be kept overnight.
15. The best of the first fruits goes to God.
16. Do not boil a goat in its mothers milk.

So you see there are a lot more commandments than just 10. This in itself should be proof enough that these commandments are not the “Ten Commandments.”

But what are they?

The context of Exodus 20-33 is how God gave the covenant code to the Israelites and how they immediately broke them. Chapter 34 is when God renews the covenant with Israel. So we need to understand it from that perspective. And it makes sense when you realize that each of these commands are simply reiterations of previously mentioned commands.

• The commands to not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land comes from Exodus 23:32,33.
• The command to pull down their altars is from Exodus 23:24.
• The command to not bow down to any other gods is from Exodus 20:3. This is also the first of the Ten Commandments.
• The command to not make any idols out of metal is from Exodus 20:4,5. This is also the second of the Ten Commandments.
• The command to keep the feast of unleavened bread is from Exodus 23:15.
• The command to redeem the firstborns hails back to Exodus 13:13.
• The commandment to not appear empty handed is also from Exodus 23:15.
• The command to rest on the sabbath is the fourth of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:8-10 and also in Exodus 23:12.
• The commands to observe the feast of weeks and ingathering is from Exodus 23:16.
• The commandment that all males come thrice a year is from Exodus 23:14,17
• The commandment to not sacrifice blood with leaven comes from Exodus 23:18
• The commandment to not let the passive meal remain until morning is from Exodus 12:10
• Both commands to give the best and to not boil a goat in its mother’s milk come from Exodus 23:19.

So every command except two is a direct repetition of some of the commandments found between Exodus 20-23. The exceptions are about redeeming firstborns and not leaving the Passover meal overnight, which hails back to the day of the Passover and exodus out of Egypt.

So in essence this list contain samples of earlier covenant laws that God has established with the Israelites. It is kind of like a recap, like God is saying “Previously on God’s establishing a covenant with the Israelites…” and lists some highlights. It is a summary, not a separate set of Ten Commandments.