Ten Commandments
Enable an AI agent to recognise a representation of the Ten Commandments, assess its textual and interpretive fidelity, and determine which comparisons, explanations or adaptations are justified.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 28 questions
Decalogue identity Establishes what makes the candidate a representation of the Ten Commandments and which material it includes.
Recognition and lineage
Connects the candidate to a recognisable Decalogue source or teaching lineage.
Basis for identification
Record the evidence supporting identification as the Ten Commandments, separating explicit attribution from inferred resemblance.
- What wording, attribution or source relationship identifies this candidate as the Ten Commandments? definition
- Which biblical passage or named teaching source supports that identification? provenance
Passage boundaries
Distinguishes commandment material from framing narrative and explanatory material.
Included textual components
Record which declarations, directives and explanatory clauses the representation includes and how its source classifies them.
- Where does the represented Decalogue begin and end in its cited source? boundary
- How does the declared tradition treat the opening declaration and the explanatory clauses attached to directives? definition
Textual witnesses Preserves the relationship between a representation, its biblical account and its translation or edition.
Biblical account
Identifies the passage underlying the representation and any combination of passages.
Account-specific wording
Record whether wording comes from Exodus, Deuteronomy or a composite, including differences in the Sabbath rationale and other explanatory material.
- Does this representation follow Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5 or an explicitly documented combination? provenance
- Which differences between the accounts must remain visible for the intended comparison or explanation? boundary
Translation and wording
Makes edition-dependent wording and consequential translation choices assessable.
Lexical choice traceability
Record the translation source and interpretively consequential wording, including formulations rendered as 'kill' or 'murder'.
- Which language, translation and edition supply the quoted wording? provenance
- What source supports the scope assigned to a consequential translated term? definition
Enumeration and alignment Represents the tenfold organisation without treating any numbering scheme as universal.
Grouping conventions
Records how a declared scheme groups and separates the textual material.
Ten-unit partition
Record the boundaries of all ten units, including treatment of the opening declaration, images and coveting.
- Which sourced enumeration scheme determines the ten units in this representation? provenance
- How does that scheme group or separate the opening declaration, prohibitions concerning images and coveting material? boundary
Cross-scheme mapping
Aligns units by their textual content and accounts for splits or combinations.
Content-based correspondence
Record correspondences between schemes without implying that differently grouped units are interchangeable in every respect.
- Which textual span in the target scheme corresponds to each unit in the source scheme? definition
- When presenting a commandment number across traditions, what scheme label or wording must accompany it? action
Normative meaning Captures attributed interpretations of what the commandments require or prohibit and to whom they apply.
Directive scope
Records the conduct, intentions and relationships an interpretation places within a commandment.
Obligation and prohibition reading
Record attributed readings of directives such as Sabbath observance, honouring parents, false witness and coveting without silently expanding their scope.
- What conduct or intention does the cited interpretation place under this commandment? definition
- Which parts of that reading are explicit in the wording, and which depend on commentary or later teaching? boundary
Addressees and authority
Separates the passage's represented address from later claims about religious authority and applicability.
Attributed applicability
Record who is said to be bound by the commandments, under what interpretation and on whose authority.
- Who is addressed in the passage, and whom does the cited community or interpreter regard as bound today? boundary
- What authoritative source within that community supports the applicability claim? provenance
Representation and use Assesses how reliably a quotation, summary or adaptation serves its declared purpose.
Coverage and fidelity
Checks represented content against the declared textual basis and enumeration scheme.
Representation integrity
Record omissions, additions, reordered material and paraphrases in relation to the representation's stated type.
- How many of the ten units are represented under the declared scheme, and which are missing or only partly represented? measurement
- Which wording changes or omissions affect meaning or make the representation's attribution misleading? boundary
Permitted transformations
Guides quotation, explanation, comparison and adaptation while preserving attribution and interpretive limits.
Use-appropriate disclosure
Record the labels and source information required when transforming a Decalogue representation for a particular audience.
- For the intended use, should the output be labelled a quotation, translation, summary, interpretation or adaptation? action
- Which source, enumeration scheme and substantive changes must be disclosed so the output remains assessable? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of Ten Commandments this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of Ten Commandments this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of Ten Commandments this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of Ten Commandments this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of Ten Commandments this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of Ten Commandments this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of Ten Commandments this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of Ten Commandments this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.KNW
What it is Filled
The Ten Commandments are a set of ten divine-law prescriptions, transmitted in two closely related biblical versions (Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21), that function as a compact covenantal code in Judaism, Christianity, and, by later reception, as a moral-legal emblem in Western public culture.
In scope
- Identification of a text or representation as the Ten Commandments or Decalogue
- Relationships to the accounts in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5
- Commandment wording, sequence, grouping and numbering within a declared tradition
- Interpretations of obligations, prohibitions, addressees and applicability
- Completeness, attribution and fidelity of quotations, summaries and adaptations
Out of scope
- The Bible, Torah or individual biblical books as complete works
- The full systems of Jewish law, Christian ethics or denominational doctrine
- Moses and other persons as biographical entities
- The historicity of Sinai events and the provenance of physical tablets or monuments
- Religious institutions, legal disputes and political campaigns involving public displays
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise a representation of the Ten Commandments, assess its textual and interpretive fidelity, and determine which comparisons, explanations or adaptations are justified.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Its identification depends on an attributable relationship to the Decalogue tradition, rather than merely being a list of ten moral rules.
- A representation can be aligned with Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5 or an explicitly identified derivative formulation; thematic resemblance alone is insufficient.
- A commandment number is meaningful only within an enumeration scheme, because traditions group and divide the material differently.
- The model distinguishes the commandments from surrounding narrative, introductory declarations and explanatory clauses without assuming all traditions draw those boundaries identically.
- A short catechetical formulation can represent the Ten Commandments while requiring a different fidelity assessment from a claimed verbatim biblical quotation.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present one tradition's numbering or reading as the only correct one.
- Use the text to condemn or shame a named person.
- Mock the commandments or those who hold them sacred.
- Misquote or invent commandments.
Only with a human decision
- Displaying the text in a public institution where its status is legally contested.
May
- Quote and explain the commandments, stating which tradition's numbering and translation is used.
- Describe how Jewish, Christian and other traditions read and order them.
Moral aspects Filled
- The text is sacred to Jews and Christians and shapes law and ethics for many people.
- Public display of religious texts can make people of other or no faith feel excluded.
Who is affected
- Jewish and Christian believers
- People of other faiths or none
- Public institutions
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody: the text is held in common by the religious communities that receive it.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1637842 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.ten-commandments
- Wikidata: Q34623 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q34623)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Representation type: Biblical passage, translation, quotation, catechetical summary, paraphrase, adaptation or unidentified representation
- Textual basis: Identified relationship to Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5, both passages or a named derivative source
- Language and edition: Named language, translation, edition and passage locator; unknown when unverified
- Enumeration scheme: Named and sourced tradition or explicit custom grouping; unresolved if attribution is unavailable
- Commandment coverage: Number of represented units out of ten under the declared enumeration scheme
- Interpretive attribution: Community, commentator or document responsible for an interpretation
- Claimed applicability: Source-attributed addressees, circumstances and present-day applicability; disputed or unspecified where appropriate
- Fidelity assessment: Unchecked, supported for declared purpose, incomplete, misattributed or disputed
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Visual identification is not applicable to the principles themselves because tablets, inscriptions and other depictions are representations rather than the abstract content.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Identify a candidate representation and link it to its declared textual or teaching source.
- Align commandments across enumeration schemes using their content rather than their numbers.
- Compare the Exodus and Deuteronomy formulations while preserving their distinct wording and rationales.
- Explain an obligation or prohibition with explicit attribution to an interpretive tradition.
- Check a quotation or summary for omissions, additions and misleading attribution.
- Produce a labelled adaptation or teaching summary that preserves its source relationships and discloses substantive changes.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Presenting one tradition's wording or numbering as universal can misrepresent other Jewish or Christian interpretations.
- Treating religious prescriptions as automatically binding civil law can produce incorrect institutional or policy decisions.
- Using the commandments to justify coercion or exclusion can harm people who hold different beliefs.
Standards and interfaces not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
No universal technical standard, law or official classification governs the Ten Commandments as a set of religious principles.
Context of use required Filled
- The Ten Commandments are encountered in Jewish and Christian scripture, religious education, worship and ethical discussion.
- They also appear in art, monuments and public debate as representations of religious law and moral authority.
- Interpretation and numbering vary between religious traditions, so comparisons require an identified textual and communal context.
Sources Filled
- Exodus 20:1-17 (the Decalogue) - Primary biblical wording of the Sinai commandments and their narrative frame as divine speech.
- Deuteronomy 5:6-21 (the Deuteronomic Decalogue) - The second canonical recension, with Sabbath and coveting formulations that differ from Exodus.
- The New Oxford Annotated Bible, New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha - Standard scholarly notes on two recensions, the Ritual Decalogue in Exodus 34, and the phrase 'ten words' (ʿăśeret hadděbārîm).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part Three, Section Two (The Ten Commandments), nn. 2052-2557 - Catholic numbering, liturgical and catechetical use, and the combination of the first two prohibitions.
- Anchor Bible Dictionary, s.v. 'Ten Commandments' - Critical discussion of dating, covenant-treaty form, numbering traditions, and distinction from the Ritual Decalogue.
- Wikidata item Q34623: Ten Commandments - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Ten Commandments - general description of the item
Open questions
- Which authoritative sources should establish the supported Jewish and Christian enumeration schemes, including variation within those broad categories?
- How should the model handle scholarly uses of 'Decalogue' for other biblical collections, including discussions of Exodus 34, without conflating distinct referents?
- Which textual editions and translations should anchor initial comparisons, and what consequential variants require explicit treatment?
- How much interpretive detail about present-day applicability belongs here before responsibility passes to models of particular religious traditions?
- What minimum content and attribution are sufficient to recognise a heavily abbreviated or secularised adaptation as a representation of the Ten Commandments?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q34623/spec.json