Decalogue
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Introduction
The Decalogue is usually called “The Ten Commandments" in English, but a closer translation of the Hebrew term `Aseret ha-Dibberot might be “The Ten Utterances". The Torah contains two slightly different Decalogues in Exodus (20:2-13) and Deuteronomy (5:6-17).

Two Parallel Systems of Cantillation

The Tiberian masoretic codices show two parallel systems of cantillation (in both Exodus and Deuteronomy), which later came to be known as the “Low Cantillation" and the “High Cantillation". The former is thought to be local (i.e. Tiberian) in origin and the latter Babylonian. The difference between them lies in the way that the verses are divided: Low cantillation divides the Decalogue into 12 verses of typical length, which means that some of the longer “commandments” contain more than one verse, while the shortest “commandments” are combined into a single verse. High Cantillation divides the 10 Commandments into 10 verses, i.e. each “commandment” is exactly one verse. This leads to some extremely long verses and some very short verses. Since cantillation always depends upon the division of the text into individual verses, the two different ways that the verses of the Decalogue are divided result in two different systems of cantillation.

Many printed editions of the Hebrew Bible contain supplements which separate the two different systems of cantillation and show them side-by-side. Some others show the Low Cantillation alone in the main text and provide the High Cantillation as a supplement. But the Tiberian masoretic codices do neither of these things. They rather combine the two different systems by marking both the Low and High cantillations for relevant words in the text, often vocalizing the very same word in two different ways. If a given letter has two vowels and/or cantillation marks at the same level (below the letter or above it), then the first (in the right-to-left direction) indicates the Low Cantillation and the second indicates the High Cantillation.

The Charts on this Page

This page provides online charts that present the two different systems side-by-side as digital Unicode text. The titles in these charts appear in English (for the original all-Hebrew version of this page see here). The biblical text shown in these charts has been carefully edited based upon Tiberian manuscripts (most importantly the Leningrad Codex) and it follows the careful analysis of Mordechai Breuer, The Aleppo Codex and the Accepted Text of the Bible (Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1976), pp. 56-67 (Hebrew).

These same charts appear as appendices to the following pages at Hebrew Wikisource:
Parashat Yitro; Exodus 20
Parashat Va-'Etḥannan; Deuteronomy 5

The combination of two different systems within the very same text carried potential for confusion, and this led to an important variant during the age of printing. As a result of such confusion, most printed versions of the Hebrew Bible mistakenly show 13 verses for the Lower cantillation and just 9 verses (!) for the Upper cantillation. Because this variant is so widespread in printed bibles, it too is indicated within the charts below, which further compare the text of the earlier Tiberian manuscripts to that of the later printed editions. Breuer discusses this historical development in detail.

Further Study

Suggestion for further study: An excellent starting point is Joshua R. Jacobson, “The Cantillation of the Decalogue”, which presents much of Breuer's analysis in English with illustrations.

The Decalogue in Exodus

Low and High Cantillations (Tiberian Masorah)

Low and High Cantillations (Printed Editions)

Low Cantillation (Tiberian Masorah versus Printed Editions)

High Cantillation (Tiberian Masorah versus Printed Editions)

The Decalogue in Deuteronomy

Low and High Cantillations (Tiberian Masorah)

Low and High Cantillations (Printed Editions)

Low Cantillation (Tiberian Masorah versus Printed Editions)

High Cantillation (Tiberian Masorah versus Printed Editions)

The Decalogue (Exodus compared to Deuteronomy)

Low Cantillation (Tiberian Masorah)

High Cantillation (Tiberian Masorah)

Low Cantillation (Printed Editions)

High Cantillation (Printed Editions)

The Decalogue in Exodus and Deuteronomy (Study Edition with Vowels)

English Translation

The following translation is a lightly modified version of the one that appears in Philip Birnbaum, The Daily Prayer Book, pages 152-154; that translation is of the Decalogue as it appears in Exodus. The translation of Deuteronomy is an adaptation of the same text.

Notes

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