CCC 2056

The word "Decalogue" means literally "ten words."¹¹ Rom Ex 34:28; Deut 4:13; 10:4. God revealed these "ten words" to his people on the holy mountain. They were written "with the finger of God,"¹² Ex 31:18; Deut 5:22. unlike the other commandments written by Moses.¹³ Cf. Deut 31:9. 24. They are pre-eminently the words of God. They are handed on to us in the books of Exodus ¹⁴ Cf. Ex 20:1-17. and Deuteronomy.¹⁵ Cf. Deut 5:6-22. Beginning with the Old Testament, the sacred books refer to the "ten words,"¹⁶ Cf. for example Hos 4:2; Jer 7:9; Ezek 18:5-9. but it is in the New Covenant in Jesus Christ that their full meaning will be revealed.