I am the Lord thy God

"I am the LORD thy God" (KJV, also "I am Yahweh your God" NJB, WEB, Hebrew: אָֽנֹכִ֖י֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑֔יךָ, romanized: ’Ānōḵî YHWH ’ĕlōheḵā, ‹See Tfd›Greek: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, translit. egṓ eimi ho Kúrios ho Theós sou) is the opening phrase of the Ten Commandments, which are widely understood as moral imperatives by ancient legal historians and Jewish and Christian biblical scholars.^[1]^[2]

Chapter 20 of the Book of Exodus begins:

And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
— Exodus 20:1-2 (KJV)

The conventional "the Lord" written in small caps in English translations renders יהוה‎ in the Hebrew text (transliterated "YHWH"), the proper name of the God of Israel, reconstructed as Yahweh.^[3] The translation "God" renders אֱלֹהִים (transliterated "Elohim"), the normal biblical Hebrew word for "god, deity".^{[citation needed]}

The introduction to the Ten Commandments establishes the identity of God by both his personal name and his historical act of delivering Israel from Egypt. The language and pattern reflects that of ancient royal treaties in which a great king identified himself and his previous gracious acts toward a subject king or people.^[4]

Establishing his identity through the use of the proper name, Yahweh, and his mighty acts in history distinguishes Yahweh from the gods of Egypt which were judged in the killing of Egypt's firstborn (Exodus 12) and from the gods of Canaan, the gods of the gentile nations, and the gods that are worshipped as idols, starry hosts, or things found in nature, and the gods known by other proper names.^[5] So distinguished, Yahweh demands exclusive allegiance from the Israelites.^[6] “I am the Lord your God” occurs a number of other times in the Bible also.

^ How Judges Think, Richard A. Posner, Harvard University Press, 2008, p. 322; ‘’Ten Commandments,’’ New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition, Tyndale House, 1982 pp. 1174-1175; The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, 1988, p. 117; Renewal theology: systematic theology from a charismatic perspective, J. Rodman Williams, 1996 p.240; Making moral decisions: a Christian approach to personal and social ethics, Paul T. Jersild, 1991, p. 24
^ Exodus 20:1-21, Deuteronomy 5:1-23, ‘’Ten Commandments,’’ New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition, Tyndale House, 1982 pp. 1174-1175
^ The Jewish Study Bible, Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 111-112
^ The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, 1995, p. 146
^ In Search of God: The Meaning and the Message of the Everlasting Names, TD Mettinger, Fortress Press, 2005, See also: Isaiah 42:8, Deuteronomy 12, Psalms 96:5
^ The Anchor Bible, Deuteronomy 1-11, Moshe Weinfeld, commentary on Ch. 5-6, pp. 236-356

[1] How Judges Think, Richard A. Posner, Harvard University Press, 2008, p. 322; ‘’Ten Commandments,’’ New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition, Tyndale House, 1982 pp. 1174-1175; The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, 1988, p. 117; Renewal theology: systematic theology from a charismatic perspective, J. Rodman Williams, 1996 p.240; Making moral decisions: a Christian approach to personal and social ethics, Paul T. Jersild, 1991, p. 24

[2] Exodus 20:1-21, Deuteronomy 5:1-23, ‘’Ten Commandments,’’ New Bible Dictionary, Second Edition, Tyndale House, 1982 pp. 1174-1175

[3] The Jewish Study Bible, Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 111-112

[The_NIV_Study_Bible_1995,_p._146-4] The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, 1995, p. 146

[5] In Search of God: The Meaning and the Message of the Everlasting Names, TD Mettinger, Fortress Press, 2005, See also: Isaiah 42:8, Deuteronomy 12, Psalms 96:5

[6] The Anchor Bible, Deuteronomy 1-11, Moshe Weinfeld, commentary on Ch. 5-6, pp. 236-356

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