Commandment

The distinction bet. 'com- mand,' the order of a secular authority, and ' commandment,' a divine charge, is modern. In older Eng. we hnd, e.g., Rogers (1642) saying, 'As Papists have done with the second Command'; and in AV ' coiniiiandment' is freely used for the orders of a king or other secular power.

Thus, Est 2" ' Esther did the commandment of Mordecai ' ; Mt 15' 'teaching for doctrines the commandments of men' (^cTdX/iara, liV 'precepts'); Ac 25^ 'at Festus' commandment Paul was brought forth ' (KV 'at the command of Festus'). 7'u give com- 'iianil/ncnt is an archaic phrase often used for the eimple vb. ' to command,' and even ' to give in commandment' Ex 34'- (n;>-). The vb. to command U itself used in many obsol. constructions. Besides the mod.

use to command one to do a thing, or a thing to be done, we lind 'c. to do' without the person, Ac 5" ' Gamaliel ... c*^ to put the men tortli.' Sometimes the pers. only is mentioned, as Gn 18'" 'he will c. his children and liis household after him'; sometimes the thing only, as Ps 133' ' there the Lord c"' the blessing ' ; or the pers. and thing without the inlin. as 1 S 21- ' the king liath c"^ mo a business.' Tlie subst. 'command' occurs once in AV, .

Job 39-'^ ' Doth the eagle mount up at thyc. ' and only one earlier occurrence is found in Eng. literature, .Shaks. Two Gent. IV. iii. 5 — * Une that attends your Ladyship's conunand.' For the Ten Commandments see Decalogue. J. Hastings.