You’re looking for a map. Or maybe a page number. Honestly, when people ask where to find the Ten Commandments, they’re usually looking for one of two things: a spot in the Bible where they can actually read the text, or the literal, physical location of those famous stone tablets.
One is easy. The other is a mystery that has driven archaeologists and explorers like Ron Wyatt or Bob Cornuke slightly mad for decades.
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If you just want to open a book and see the laws, you’re heading to the Old Testament. Most folks go straight to Exodus 20. It’s the classic version. This is where God speaks to the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai after they escaped Egypt. But here’s the kicker: it’s not the only place they appear. There’s a second version in Deuteronomy 5.
Why two? Well, Deuteronomy is basically Moses giving a massive recap speech forty years later. He’s older, the audience is a new generation, and he tweaks the wording a bit—especially the part about why you should keep the Sabbath. In Exodus, it’s about creation; in Deuteronomy, it’s about being a former slave. It’s fascinating how the "where" changes the "why."
The Biblical Locations: Exodus vs. Deuteronomy
If you flip open a standard King James or NIV Bible, you’ll find the first full list in Exodus 20:2-17. This is the cinematic moment. Thundering clouds. Smoke. A terrifying voice from the mountain.
Then there’s the "sequel" in Deuteronomy 5:6-21.
It’s worth noting that the numbering isn’t the same for everyone. This is where it gets kinda confusing. If you’re Jewish, the first commandment is actually the statement "I am the Lord your God." If you’re Catholic or Lutheran, you group the "no other gods" and "no idols" parts together but split the "coveting" part into two separate rules. Most Protestants do it differently. So, where to find the Ten Commandments depends heavily on whose Bible you’re holding and how they’ve chopped up the text over the last two thousand years.
The text itself is surprisingly short. You can read the whole thing in under two minutes. Yet, these few hundred words formed the bedrock of Western legal systems. It’s wild.
But where are the physical tablets right now?
This is the Indiana Jones question.
According to the Bible, the original tablets—the ones smashed by Moses in a fit of rage and then replaced by a second set—were kept in the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was a gold-plated acacia wood chest. It lived in the Tabernacle, then eventually in the Holy of Holies inside Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.
Then, in 587 BC, the Babylonians rolled in.
They destroyed the temple. They hauled the treasures away. But curiously, the Ark isn’t mentioned in the list of loot taken to Babylon. It just... vanished.
Some people believe it’s still in Jerusalem. There are theories about a hidden chamber deep under the Temple Mount, tucked away by priests before the city fell. Others point to Mount Nebo in Jordan, citing the book of 2 Maccabees, which claims the prophet Jeremiah hid the Ark in a cave there.
Then you have the Ethiopia theory.
If you travel to Aksum, Ethiopia, you’ll find the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. The monks there claim they have the Ark. They say it was brought there by Menelik I, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. No one is allowed to see it except for one guardian monk who never leaves the compound. It’s a compelling story, though scholars like Edward Ullendorff, who actually saw the "Ark" there decades ago, suggested it might be a later medieval replica.
The Mount Sinai Mystery
You can’t talk about where to find the Ten Commandments without talking about the mountain itself. Where did this actually happen?
The traditional site is Jabal Musa in the southern Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. There’s a beautiful Greek Orthodox monastery there called St. Catherine’s. It’s been a pilgrimage site for over 1,500 years. You can hike it. It’s grueling but the sunrise is spiritual even if you aren't religious.
However, some modern researchers suggest we’ve been looking in the wrong country.
A popular alternative theory places Mount Sinai at Jabal al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia. Proponents like the late Ron Wyatt pointed to charred peaks and rock formations that look like altars. Skeptics, including many mainstream archaeologists, argue there’s no evidence of a massive migration in that area. The debate is heated. It’s a mix of satellite imagery, ancient linguistics, and a lot of dirt-digging.
A quick summary of the "Where"
- Exodus 20: The primary source.
- Deuteronomy 5: The secondary, "remembrance" version.
- Exodus 34: Often called the "Ritual Ten Commandments" by scholars—it’s a different list entirely.
- The Ark of the Covenant: Last seen in Jerusalem (maybe).
- Aksum, Ethiopia: The most famous claim for the physical location today.
Why the location is still a huge deal
Why do we care so much? It’s because these aren't just old rules.
The "where" matters because it anchors the story in history. When you realize that the Ten Commandments appear in different places in the Bible, you start to see the human side of the story. You see Moses trying to lead a stubborn group of people through a desert. You see a society trying to figure out how to be "good" when they no longer have a master telling them what to do.
Think about the Code of Hammurabi. It’s older. It’s carved in stone. You can see it in the Louvre. But the Ten Commandments feel different to us because they shifted the focus from "what the King wants" to "what a moral life looks like."
Practical ways to explore this yourself
If you want to go deeper than just a Google search, there are a few things you can actually do. Don't just take my word for it.
Compare the texts. Open two tabs on your browser. Put Exodus 20 on one side and Deuteronomy 5 on the other. Look at the Sabbath commandment. In Exodus, it’s about the seven days of creation. In Deuteronomy, it’s a reminder that they were slaves in Egypt and deserve rest. That shift in "where" the text appears completely changes the meaning of the law.
Look at the Dead Sea Scrolls. You can actually see some of the oldest physical copies of the Ten Commandments online. The Israel Museum has digitized the All Souls Deuteronomy Scroll, which contains the commandments. It’s over 2,000 years old. Seeing the actual ink on parchment makes the history feel a lot more real.
Visit a local synagogue or museum. Many synagogues have the "Luchot" (the tablets) depicted above the Ark where the Torah is kept. While it’s art, it represents the continued presence of those laws in modern life.
Check out the archaeological maps. If the mystery of the physical location interests you, look up the "Way of the Patriarchs" and the various proposed routes of the Exodus. It’ll give you a sense of just how vast and rugged the terrain is.
The search for where to find the Ten Commandments isn't just about a GPS coordinate or a page number. It’s about tracing the origins of how we think about right and wrong. Whether they are sitting in a gold box in an Ethiopian basement or just living in the pages of a dusty book on your shelf, their location is ultimately wherever people are still trying to live by them.
Actionable Next Steps
To truly understand the context of these laws, start by reading the Book of Exodus, Chapter 19. It sets the scene for the arrival at the mountain and explains the "why" before you get to the "what." Next, look into the Papyrus Nash, which is one of the oldest fragments of the Decalogue ever found, dating back to the 2nd century BCE. Examining these physical artifacts provides a tangible link to the past that a standard printed Bible often lacks. Finally, if you're interested in the legal history, research how the "Second Table" (the last five commandments) influenced English Common Law and, subsequently, the American legal system.