Separating commandments 1 and 2 vs 9 and 10

[skyline01]

I have a question about why Luther chose to keep the Catholic / Augustinian selection of the commandments, rather than the Reformed selection. Why did Luther decide to "squish" Reformed commandments 1 and 2 together (i.e., "do not have other gods" + "do not have have idols or images") and "split up" Reformed commandments 9 and 10 (i.e., "do not covet your neighbor's house" + "do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor")? That is, is it better to merge 1 and 2 and keep 9 and 10 separate? Or, is it better to keep 1 and 2 separate and merge 9 and 10?

First, I must say that I'm in total agreement with Luther in that true reformation isn't one where we "throw everything over-board". In fact, the desire to maintain historical continuity is one of the things that led me to become an LCMS Lutheran. However, it seems like it's more important to keep commandments 1 and 2 separate and merge 9 and 10. That is, I don't see much of a theological difference in "do not covet your neighbor's house" vs. "do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor". After all, the latter is pretty much a generalization of the former. However, I do see more of a theological difference in "do not have other gods" vs. "do not have idols or images".

Was this even an issue for Luther?

 

[Arcangl86]

It wasn't an issue for Luther. Remember that the Reformed movement, while there was some overlap, started after the Evangelicals were already going. The Reformed numbering comes from the Institutes of the Christian Religion, which was published after the Catechisms, both Large and Small.

 

[RC1970]

It wasn't an issue for Luther. Remember that the Reformed movement, while there was some overlap, started after the Evangelicals were already going. The Reformed numbering comes from the Institutes of the Christian Religion, which was published after the Catechisms, both Large and Small.

Actually, it comes from the way the Jews delineate the commandments. The RCC delineated them differently and the Lutherans continued with Romes method.

Either way is okay as long as the content is represented.

 

[Tangible]

First off, the commandments aren't numbered in the two passages where they appear in scripture, at least not originally. The number ten seems like a later development imposed upon the text. Nowhere does God speak of the "ten commandments." As a matter of fact, depending on the passage you are looking at, it seems rather difficult and artificial to mash them all together or separate them out just to come up with a total of ten.

Secondly, you have to wonder why God would forbid making images, especially since he elsewhere commanded images to be made - the angels on the altar for example, unless it was to worship them as other gods.

Renumbering the commandments served to lend credence to the iconoclastic penchant of the Reformed, and of the Anabaptists too for that matter.

 

[Jonah L]

Does anyone know when in literature they were first called the Ten Commandments?