How were the Ten Commandments divided between the two tablets of stone upon which they were written?

Answer

The Bible does not say how many commandments were on each tablet. Some cultures maintain a tradition that there were four on one and six on the other.

The first four commandments are commands on how and why we are to love God. They are longer than the next six commandments on how to we are to love our fellow man.

God may have written the first four commandments on how to love Him on one tablet, and the other six on the second tablet, but examples often depicted on wooden plaques in churches tend to have only one side of each tablet in use, which is not true to the biblical record.

Exodus 32:15-16 "And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written; And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables."

Which version?

see related question;

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which Ten Commandments do the Christians follow the one in Exodus 20 or Exodus 34 or Deuteronomy 5

see also related link; "Which Ten Commandments?"

First answer by Itchie.c2. Last edit by Tempus Fugitive. Contributor trust: 41 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 15 [recommend question]