These verses form a preamble and historical background to the Decalogue that follows. The Israelites were to obey God on the double basis of who He is and what He had done for them.
Most scholars have divided the Ten Commandments (cf. Deut. 5:6-18) into two groups in two different ways. The older Jewish method, called Philonic after the Jewish scholar Philo, was to divide them in two groups of five commandments each. The Jews believed that this is how God divided them on the two tablets of stone. The newer Christian method, called Augustinian after the church father Augustine, divided them into the first three and the last seven commandments. The basis for this division is subject matter. The first three commands deal with man's relationship with God and the last seven with his relationship with other people (cf. Matt. 22:36-40). Some scholars believe that each tablet contained all ten commandments in keeping with the ancient Near Eastern custom of making duplicate copies of covenant documents.329
