King James Bible Dictionary

COMMANDMENT, noun

1. A command; a mandate; an order or injunction given by authority; charge; precept.

Why do ye transgress the commandment of God. Matthew 15:3.

This is the first and great commandment Matthew 22:38.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. John 13:34.

2. By way of eminence, a precept of the decalogue, or moral law, written on tables of stone, at Mount Sinai; one of the ten commandments. Exodus 34:32.

3. Authority; coercive power.

General references
Exodus 13:8-10; Exodus 20:3-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21; Deuteronomy 4:5; Deuteronomy 4:9-10; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Deuteronomy 11:18-21; Deuteronomy 32:46-47; Joshua 8:30-35; 2 Chronicles 17:7-9; Nehemiah 8:2-8; Psalms 78:1-7; Proverbs 3:3-4; Proverbs 6:20-21; Proverbs 7:1-4; Isaiah 57:8; Jeremiah 11:4; Zech 7:9-10; Zech 8:16-17

Precepts of Jesus. Explicitly stated, or implied in didactic discourse

General references
Matthew 5:16; Matthew 5:22-24; Matthew 5:27-48; Luke 6:27-36; Matthew 6:1-4; Matthew 6:6-8; Matthew 6:16-25; Matthew 6:31-34; Luke 12:12-31; Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:37-42; Matthew 7:6-14; Luke 13:24; Matthew 7:15-29; Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Matthew 18:8-10; Matthew 18:15-17; Matthew 18:21-22; Matthew 19:16-19; Mark 10:17-22; Matthew 20:25-28; Matthew 22:34-40; Luke 10:28-37; Matthew 24:42-51; Matthew 25:34-46; Mark 6:7-11; Matthew 10:5-42; Mark 9:35; Mark 9:38-39; Mark 9:42-50; Mark 10:9; Mark 10:11-12; Mark 11:22; Mark 12:17; Matthew 22:21; Mark 13:33-37; John 7:24; John 13:34-35; John 14:11; John 14:15; John 14:23-24; John 15:2; John 15:4-5; John 15:7-12; John 15:14; John 15:17; John 15:20-22
Decalogue; Table

Precepts of St. Paul. Explicitly stated or implied in didactic epistles
Romans 12:1-3; Romans 12:6-21; Romans 13:8-14; Romans 14:19-21; Romans 15:1-2; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 1 Corinthians 8:7-13; 1 Corinthians 10:7-10; 1 Corinthians 10:24; 1 Corinthians 10:28-32; 1 Corinthians 14:20; 1 Corinthians 16:13-14; 2 Corinthians 13:7; Galatians 5:1; Galatians 5:16; Galatians 6:1-2; Ephesians 4:1-3; Ephesians 4:26-32; Ephesians 5:1-6; Ephesians 5:11; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-11; Ephesians 6:13-18; Philippians 1:27-28; Philippians 2:2-8; Philippians 2:12-16; Philippians 4:4-6; Philippians 4:8-9; Colossians 2:6; Colossians 2:16; Colossians 2:20-23; Colossians 3:1-2; Colossians 3:5; Colossians 3:8-9; Colossians 3:12-17; Colossians 3:23; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:5-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12; 1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; 1 Timothy 1:4; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Timothy 2:8-12; 1 Timothy 3:2-13; 1 Timothy 4:1-7; 1 Timothy 4:12-16; 1 Timothy 5:1-14; 1 Timothy 5:16-21; 1 Timothy 6:11-14; 1 Timothy 6:17-20; 2 Timothy 1:13-14; 2 Timothy 2:19; 2 Timothy 2:22-25; 2 Timothy 3:2-5; Titus 1:5-14; Titus 2:2-5; Titus 2:9-12; Titus 3:1-2; Titus 3:8; Hebrews 6:1; Hebrews 6:11-12; Hebrews 10:22-25; Hebrews 12:1-5; Hebrews 12:12-16; Hebrews 13:1-3; Hebrews 13:5; Hebrews 13:7; Hebrews 13:9; Hebrews 13:15-17

Other apostles. Precepts of, explicitly stated or implied in didactic epistles

General references
James 1:16; James 1:19; James 1:21-22; James 2:1-4; James 2:8-12; James 3:1; James 4:7-11; James 4:13-15; James 5:7-12; James 5:16; 1 Peter 1:13-17; 1 Peter 2:11-25; 1 Peter 3:8-12; 1 Peter 3:15-17; 1 Peter 4:1-15; 1 Peter 5:1-3; 1 Peter 5:5-9; 2 Peter 1:5-7; 2 Peter 1:10; 2 Peter 3:14; 2 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:15; 1 John 2:28; 1 John 3:10-23; 1 John 4:1; 1 John 4:7-8; 1 John 4:11-12; 1 John 4:15-16; 1 John 4:21; 1 John 5:21; 2 John 1:5-6; 3 John 1:11; Jude 1:3-4; Jude 1:20-23; Revelation 3:11; Revelation 3:18-19; Revelation 22:17
Adultery; Children; Citizens; Homicide; Instruction; Minister, A Sacred Teacher; Obedience, Enjoined; Servant; Theft; Wife; Women

Of men
Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:2-20; Mark 7:2-23; Romans 14:1-6; Romans 14:10-23; 1 Timothy 4:1-3

(Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 10:4, marg. "ten words") i.e., the Decalogue (q.v.), is a summary of the immutable moral law. These commandments were first given in their written form to the people of Israel when they were encamped at Sinai, about fifty days after they came out of Egypt (Exodus 19:10-25). They were written by the finger of God on two tables of stone. The first tables were broken by Moses when he brought them down from the mount (32:19), being thrown by him on the ground. At the command of God he took up into the mount two other tables, and God wrote on them "the words that were on the first tables" (34:1). These tables were afterwards placed in the ark of the covenant (Deuteronomy 10:5; 1 Kings 8:9). Their subsequent history is unknown. They are as a whole called "the covenant" (Deuteronomy 4:13), and "the tables of the covenant" (9:9, 11; Hebrews 9:4), and "the testimony."

They are obviously "ten" in number, but their division is not fixed, hence different methods of numbering them have been adopted. The Jews make the "Preface" one of the commandments, and then combine the first and second. The Roman Catholics and Lutherans combine the first and second and divide the tenth into two. The Jews and Josephus divide them equally. The Lutherans and Roman Catholics refer three commandments to the first table and seven to the second. The Greek and Reformed Churches refer four to the first and six to the second table. The Samaritans add to the second that Gerizim is the mount of worship. (See LAW.)