What were the differences between the Ten Commandments and the laws of other peoples like the Greeks and Romans?

Answer 1

Ten commandments are ten orders or laws given by god send by Moses. And the Hebrew code giving by Jewish laws.

Answer 2:

The Greek and Roman (and other) law-codes were assembled by human beings, while the Torah which includes the Ten Commandments (Exodus ch.20) was given by God (Exodus 24:12). The various law codes were subject to occasional revision, reversal, and eventual abandonment, while the Torah's commands were not. Many law codes limit themselves to legal matters, whereas the Torah intersperses its laws with moral exhortations and subjects of belief, behavior and attitudes.

One of the reasons that the Greeks and Romans hated the Jews was the stark difference of the Jewish practices (and not just the beliefs), as compared to those of the Greeks and Romans. The Jews, by and large, adhered to the practices of the Torah, which calls for kindness, charity, scholarliness, the value of human life, and the abhorrence of promiscuity.

Just a very few examples:

1) Aristotle, who was among the greatest of the Greeks, and Seneca, the famous Roman, both write that killing one's unwanted young babies is perfectly acceptable.

2) In Europe, the Druids practiced human sacrifice throughout Roman Gaul and the British isles.

3) In the Roman cities, the Bacchanalian feasts became so wild that a royal decree was promulgated that they be held outside city limits.

4) Prostitution was a fixed part of temple worship.

5) Children had no rights. In Carthage, babies were sacrificed in fire. Roman law (Patrias Potestas) permitted a man to kill his male descendants of any age and for any reason.

6) Under Israelite law, "an eye for an eye" has always meant the monetary value placed upon it by the court (Talmud, Bava Kama 83b). Roman law, however, included literal retaliation (Twelve Tables of Roman Law, 7:9).

7) Romans were killed for the crime of slander (Twelve Tables, 7:8).

8) A Roman could be killed for assembling a noisy crowd at night and disturbing the town (Twelve Tables, 9:6).

Answer 2

The Greek and Roman (and other) law-codes were assembled by human beings, while the Torah which includes the Ten Commandments (Exodus ch.20) was, according to tradition, given by God (Exodus 24:12). The various law codes were subject to occasional revision, reversal, and eventual abandonment, while the Torah's commands were not. Many law codes limit themselves to legal matters, whereas the Torah intersperses its laws with moral exhortations and subjects of belief, behavior and attitudes.One of the reasons that the Greeks and Romans hated the Jews was the stark difference of the Jewish practices (and not just the beliefs), as compared to those of the Greeks and Romans. The Jews, by and large, adhered to the practices of the Torah, which calls for kindness, charity, scholarliness, the value of human life, and the abhorrence of promiscuity.
Just a very few examples:
1) Aristotle, who was among the greatest of the Greeks, and Seneca, the famous Roman, both write that killing one's unwanted young babies is perfectly acceptable.
2) In Europe, the Druids practiced human sacrifice throughout Roman Gaul and the British isles. Virgins were sacrificed by casting them into wells.
3) In the Roman cities, the Bacchanalian feasts became so wild that a royal decree was promulgated that they be held outside city limits.
4) Prostitution was a fixed part of temple worship.
5) Children had no rights. In Carthage, babies were sacrificed in fire. Roman law (Patrias Potestas) permitted a man to kill his male descendants of any age and for any reason. Professor and former President of the American Historical Association, William L. Langer (in The History of Childhood), writes: "Children, being physically unable to resist aggression, were the victims of forces over which they had no control, and they were abused in almost unimaginable ways."
6) Under Israelite law, "an eye for an eye" has always meant the monetary value placed upon it by the court (Talmud, Bava Kama 83b). Roman law, however, included literal retaliation (Twelve Tables of Roman Law, 7:9).
7) Romans were killed for the crime of slander (Twelve Tables, 7:8).
8) A Roman could be killed for assembling a noisy crowd at night and disturbing the town (Twelve Tables, 9:6).

See also:

The influence of the Ten Commandments

Are non-Jews expected to keep any parts of the Torah?

Answer 3

The Greek and Roman (and other) law-codes were assembled by human beings, while the Torah which includes the Ten Commandments (Exodus ch.20) was, according to tradition, given by God (Exodus 24:12). The various law codes were subject to occasional revision, reversal, and eventual abandonment, while the Torah's commands were not. Many law codes limit themselves to legal matters, whereas the Torah intersperses its laws with moral exhortations and subjects of belief, behavior and attitudes.One of the reasons that the Greeks and Romans hated the Jews was the stark difference of the Jewish practices (and not just the beliefs), as compared to those of the Greeks and Romans. The Jews, by and large, adhered to the practices of the Torah, which calls for kindness, charity, scholarliness, the value of human life, and the abhorrence of promiscuity.
Just a very few examples:
1) Aristotle, who was among the greatest of the Greeks, and Seneca, the famous Roman, both write that killing one's unwanted young babies is perfectly acceptable.
2) In Europe, the Druids practiced human sacrifice throughout Roman Gaul and the British isles. Virgins were sacrificed by casting them into wells.
3) In the Roman cities, the Bacchanalian feasts became so wild that a royal decree was promulgated that they be held outside city limits.
4) Prostitution was a fixed part of temple worship.
5) Children had no rights. In Carthage, babies were sacrificed in fire. Roman law (Patrias Potestas) permitted a man to kill his male descendants of any age and for any reason. Professor and former President of the American Historical Association, William L. Langer (in The History of Childhood), writes: "Children, being physically unable to resist aggression, were the victims of forces over which they had no control, and they were abused in almost unimaginable ways."
6) Under Israelite law, "an eye for an eye" has always meant the monetary value placed upon it by the court (Talmud, Bava Kama 83b). Roman law, however, included literal retaliation (Twelve Tables of Roman Law, 7:9).
7) Romans were killed for the crime of slander (Twelve Tables, 7:8).
8) A Roman could be killed for assembling a noisy crowd at night and disturbing the town (Twelve Tables, 9:6).

See also the Related Links.

Link: The Ten Commandments

Link: The influence of the Ten Commandments

Link: Are non-Jews expected to keep any parts of the Torah?

Answer 4

The first three of the Ten Commandments relate to worship of the Hebrew God and would have been irrelevant to the Greeks and Romans. The fourth Commandment required the Jews to keep their Sabbath holy, once again irrelevant to the Greeks and Romans.

The last five commandments define some important moral ideals, although only stated in general terms: do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness against your neighbour, do not covet that which belongs to your neighbour, including his wife or female slaves. The Greeks and Romans had similar codes.

The Old Testament includes a great many other commandments, one of which is that a son must be killed if he strikes his father. Christians tend to overlook commandments such as these because they are seen as superseded by Jesus.

It may well be that the Hebrew code, including but not limited to the Ten Commandments, was morally superior to those of the Greeks and Romans. One way in which the Greek and Roman code was arguably superior to that of the Jews was in the prohibition of polygamy. Although uncommon, polygamy did exist among the Jews and was still practised some centuries after the time of Christ.