Israel gathers at Sinai on the third day of the third month after leaving Egypt (Exod. 19:16). From the cloud, Yahweh speaks what the Bible calls the “Ten Words” (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13).
He has spoken ten words before. “And Elohim spoke” occurs ten times in the creation account. And the Lord has spoken on the third day before. On the third day of creation week, in the seventh of ten creation words, God calls the land (‘eretz) to bring forth (yatza’) grass yielding seed and trees yielding fruit (Gen. 1:11). From Sinai, Yahweh reminds Israel that he brought them (yatza’) from the land (‘eretz) of Egypt. Israel is the first fruits of the harvest of nations, the first to rise from the land on the third day. Israel is a new creation, spoken into being by ten divine words.
There’s a grammatical oddity. God speaks to all Israel, but the verbs are masculine in gender and singular in number. The King James Version, with its choice of pronouns, gets it right: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”; “Thou shalt not kill”; “Thou shalt not steal.”
The grammar might be intended to emphasize that each individual Israelite must keep these laws; perhaps the laws address Israelite men. But there’s a deeper rationale. Israel is the son of Yahweh (Exod. 4:23). That kin relation is the legal basis for Yahweh’s demand to Pharaoh: “Israel is my son. You have no right to seize my son. Let my son go.” When Pharaoh refuses, Yahweh assumes the role of a kinsman redeemer and forces the issue. In an act of eye-for-eye justice, he takes Pharaoh’s son.