These people thought that the commandments in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 show a later set of Ten Commandments , and that the ten listed in Exodus 34 were the original Ten Commandments , now known as the Ritual Decalogue ( as opposed to the better-known `` Ethical Decalogue '' ) . Some proponents of the Documentary hypothesis have argued that the Biblical text in Exodus 34:28 identifies a different list as the Ten Commandments , that of Exodus 34:11 â `` 27 . Since this passage does not prohibit murder , adultery , theft , etc. , but instead deals with the proper worship of Yahweh , some scholars call it the `` Ritual Decalogue '' , and disambiguate the Ten Commandments of traditional understanding as the `` Ethical Decalogue '' .