The Ten Commandments in recent research

In the last thirty years, significant progress has been made in the understanding of the Ten Commandments, first as regards the meaning of the Decalogue as a whole, particularly the place which it occupied in the life of ancient Israel, and secondly as regards the precise meaning of the individual commandments, which is continually being brought out more clearly. To give an account of this to those who, although not specialists, are concerned with the matter, seemed to be both a necessary and a worthwhile task. The second revised and enlarged edition of Professor's Stamm's book first appeared as an independent work in 1962. It is this latter edition which has been translated here. The "Additions" which appear at the end of some sections supplement Professor Stamm's accounts of work done by other scholars. The book is in two parts. The Introduction deals with general topics, such as the question of the transmission of the Decalogue, the problem of its original form and of its origin. Chapter II contains the exegesis of the prologue and of the individual commandments. The book concludes with a retrospective summary. [From the Preface]