Includes bibliographical references (p. 321-331) and indexes.

Introduction / William P. Brown -- Ch. 1. Divine command and beyond : the ethics of the commandments / Patrick D. Miller -- Ch. 2. The decalogue in the New Testament / Reginald H. Fuller -- Ch. 3. Law in the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas / Michael Dauphinais and Matthew Levering -- Ch. 4. The moral precepts of the old law / Thomas Aquinas -- Ch. 5. Martin Luther and the Rabbinic mind / George Lindbeck -- Ch. 6. How Christians should regard Moses / Martin Luther -- Ch. 7. Reformed explication of the ten commandments / John P. Burgess -- Ch. 8. On the law and the commandments / John Calvin -- Ch. 9. The two testaments in the Anabaptist tradition / Stuart Murray -- Ch. 10. Three radical reformers on the decalogue / Andreas Karlstadt, Hans Denck and Peter Riedemann -- Ch. 11. The obedience of trust : recovering the law as gift / Marty Stevens -- Ch. 12. Biblical law and the origins of democracy / Jean Louis Ska -- Ch. 13. Should the ten commandments be posted in the public realm? Why the Bible and the constitution say, "no" / Nancy J. Duff -- Ch. 14. The first commandment -- The first command as a theological and ethica principle / Paul E. Capetz -- Ch. 15. The second commandment -- "The work of human hands" (Psalm 115:4) : idolatry in the Old Testament / John Barton -- Ch. 16. The third commandment -- The fundamental code illustrated : the third commandment / Herbert B. Huffmon -- Ch. 17. The fourth commandment -- A palace in time / Abraham J. Heschel -- Restless until we rest in God : the fourth commandments as test case in Christian "plain sense" interpretation / Kathryn Greene-McCreight -- Ch. 18. The fifth commandment -- No contempt for the family / Walter J. Harrelson -- Ch. 19. The sixth commandment -- "Thou shalt not kill" - the first commandment of the just war tradition / Gary M. Simpson -- Ch. 20. The seventh commandment -- Adultery, prophetic tradition, and the decalogue / Hendrik Bosman -- Ch. 21. The eighth commandment -- The eighth commandment : a way to king's "beloved community"? / Cheryl B. Anderson -- Ch. 22. The ninth commandment -- Truth-telling as subversive obedience / Walter Brueggemann -- Ch. 23. The tenth commandment -- "Coveting your neighbor's house" in social context / Marvin L. Chaney -- App. Numbering the commandments.

"Offering a host of classic and new essays surveying the scholarly ethical and biblical debate surrounding the Ten Commandments, William Brown organizes this volume into three parts: the history of interpretation, contemporary reflections on the Decalogue as a whole, and contemporary reflections on individual commandments. A useful addition to ethics and Old Testament/Hebrew Bible courses alike. Brown's Ten Commandments will be a standard reference for all Decalogue research, as it facilitates a helpful balance between moral, theological, and biblical study."--BOOK JACKET.