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prē´sept: A commandment, an authoritative rule for action; in the Scriptures generally a divine injunction in which man's obligation is set forth (Latin praeceptum, from praecipere, “to instructâ€).
Four words are so rendered in the King James Version: (1) מצוה, micwaÌ„h, very frequently (168 times) translated “commandment,†but 4 times “precept†(in the Revised Version (British and American) only ; ); (2) from the same root is צו, caÌ„w, or וי, caw (, ); (3) פּקּוּדי×, pikÌ£kÌ£uÌ„dhı̄m, only in the Psalms (21 times in Ps 119, e.g. , , ; also the Revised Version (British and American) ; ; ); (4) in the New Testament, ἐντοληÌ, entoleÌ„Ì, generally in the King James Version translated “commandment†(68 times), but twice “precept†(; ; in both cases the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes “commandmentâ€). See COMMANDMENT.