And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
All Commentaries on Deuteronomy 4:13 Go To Deuteronomy 4
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Stone. Josephus (Antiquities iii. 4, 6,) says, that each table contained five precepts, two and a half being inscribed on one side. The Jews now suppose that four appeared on one table, and six on the other. But each table probably contained an entire copy of the law. (Calmet)
It hence appears, that there are just ten precepts. (Worthington)
But the manner of dividing them is rather uncertain. St. Augustine and Catholics in general, place the three commandments, which regard God, by themselves. See Exodus xx. 1. Their greater importance and length would require as much space as the other seven, which ascertain the mutual duties of people to each other. (Haydock)
