Hortatory Part of the First Discourse The historical review closing with Deuteronomy 3:29, the rest of the discourse consists of exhortations to practise the Laws about to be announced and appeals to the nation's experience. Four obvious divisions: (1) Deuteronomy 4:1-8, Commands to keep the Laws,... [ Continue Reading ]
_And now_ Emphatic call to the practical purpose of the discourse; the same in Deuteronomy 10:12, the beginning of the last stage of the second introduction to the Code. _O Israel, hearken_ Sg. imper. confirmed by Sam. and LXX in a context using the Pl. form of address; an instance of the natural t... [ Continue Reading ]
Enforcement of the Impending Legislation The main purpose of the discourse, the enforcement of the Laws about to be given, for on the practice of these depends Israel's survival in the Land (Deuteronomy 4:1 f.) let them remember Ba-al-Pe-or! (Deuteronomy 4:3 f.) as well as their wisdom and fame as... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye shall not add unto the word … neither … diminish from it_ So Deuteronomy 12:32 [Hebrews 13:1], cp. Jeremiah 26:2; Revelation 22:18 f. That the Law was tampered with in Josiah's day is implied in Jeremiah 8:8, _the false pen of the scribes has wrought falsehood_. Our verse and Deuteronomy 12:32 h... [ Continue Reading ]
_Your eyes have seen_ Cp. Deuteronomy 3:21. _because of Baal-peor_ Heb. _in Ba-al-Pe-or_(in Beth-Ba-al-Pe-or), a place-name as in Hosea 9:10; cp. Deuteronomy 3:29. The sin and its punishment are related by JE, Numbers 25:1-5; then follows, 6 16, a similar story about Israel and Midianite seductions,... [ Continue Reading ]
_ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God_ See on Deuteronomy 10:20.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, I have taught you_ The perf. of the verb in contrast with the fut. in Deuteronomy 4:1 raises questions. Does Moses now refer to laws which he has already promulgated from Ḥoreb onward (so Driver)? Hardly, for the rest of the verse implies the same _statutes and judgements_as Deuteronomy 4:1... [ Continue Reading ]
_Keep therefore and do them_ So eight times in D (as also eight in P); the similar _keep_(or _observe) to do_occurs some 20 times both with Sg. and Pl. This practical emphasis is characteristic of the Book. Men are often content to remember the commandments. _for this is your wisdom and your unders... [ Continue Reading ]
_For what great nation … hath a god so nigh_ Both noun, _élohím_, and adj., _ḳerobim_, are plural. _Elohîm_may signify _a god_, or _gods_, as Deuteronomy 6:14 and elsewhere; or the general idea of Deity, this chiefly but not always in the mouth of, or addressed to, the heathen, e.g. Deuteronomy 5:24... [ Continue Reading ]
_And what great nation … hath statutes … so righteous_ This challenge is as just as the preceding. Other great codes and systems of ethics there undoubtedly were in Israel's world (e.g. the Code of Ḫammurabi and various systems in Egypt). But the deuteronomic Torah is rightly exalted above them beca... [ Continue Reading ]
_Only_ Not restriction to one point, but emphasis on the principle of the whole of the Law. For the use of this restrictive adverb so frequent in D see on Deuteronomy 10:15. _take heed to thyself_ Found in JE, Genesis 31:24, etc., but frequent in D 9 times thus, and 5 more generally. _keep thy sou... [ Continue Reading ]
Against Idolatry The truth that is beneath the whole Law: God is revealed not in images, but by words and deeds of redemption. Warned to lay their experience to heart (Deuteronomy 4:9), Israel are reminded of the revelation at Ḥoreb, solely by words and the covenant (Deuteronomy 4:10-14); let them... [ Continue Reading ]
_the day_ Governed by _lest thou forget_in Deuteronomy 4:9; or an acc. of time. _thou stoodest before … thy God_ So Sam., the nation being still regarded as an individual; LXX _ye stood_. _Assemble me the people_ See below on Deuteronomy 4:22. _may learn to fear_ The frequent commands _to fear_, o... [ Continue Reading ]
_ye came near and stood under the mountain_ E, Exodus 19:17, _took station in the nether part of the mount_. _burned with fire_ J, Exodus 19:18, _Mount Sinai was all on smoke … as the smoke of a furnace, and … quaked greatly_, E, Exodus 20:18, thunder, lightning, and mount smoking. _unto the heart... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Lord spake … out of the midst of the fire_ So Deuteronomy 4:15; Deuteronomy 4:33; Deuteronomy 4:36; Deuteronomy 5:4; Deuteronomy 5:22; Deuteronomy 5:24; Deuteronomy 9:10; Deuteronomy 10:4. J,... [ Continue Reading ]
_his covenant, which he commanded you_ Heb. _berîth_(prob. from a root = _to bind_) meant any compact, contract or bargain: between friends, 1 Samuel 18:3; man and wife, Proverbs 2:17; master and servant, Job 41:4; king and people, 2 Samuel 5:3; former foes, whether individuals, _id._Deuteronomy 3:1... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Lord commanded me at that time_, etc.] Heb. emphasises _me_; these additional laws given through Moses appear, from the following phrase, to be the laws he is now about to publish, cp. Deuteronomy 4:5; yet the words _at that time_point to the inclusion with them of the laws at Ḥoreb, E, Exo... [ Continue Reading ]
_ye saw no manner of form_ Resumes and repeats the reminder in Deuteronomy 4:12 in a way that would have been unnecessary but for the digression in 13 f.; and proves that the latter is original. _Form_, Heb. _temûnah_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_lest ye corrupt yourselves_ ACT PERNICIOUSLY. _a graven image_ Heb. _pesel_: any idol carved in stone or wood. _figure_ Heb. _semel_, only here; Ezekiel 8:3; Eze 8:5; 2 Chronicles 33:7; 2 Chronicles 33:15, the Phoen. apparently for a statue, ἀνδριάς (_CIS_i. i. 41, line i.; 88, lines 2, 5; 91, 1)... [ Continue Reading ]
_the likeness_ Again _tabnîth_. _winged fowl_ Heb. _bird of wing_: cp. P, Genesis 7:14; Genesis 1:21.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the water under the earth_ The Hebrews conceived the sea not only as lower than and round the earth, but as passing beneath it (the earth being established or fixed over it) and so forming the source of all fountains, many of which in Syria are salt, and of all streams. Cp. Psalms 24:2; Psalms 36:6... [ Continue Reading ]
_lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven_ Change to Sg., confirmed by Sam. and LXX. _and when thou seest the sun_, etc.] Deuteronomy 17:3: _sun, moon or any of the host of heaven_. Unlike the warnings against idolatry this one is not found in JE or P. _The host of heaven_was the dominant influence... [ Continue Reading ]
_But_, etc.] Heb. _But you_, emphatic, _hath Jehovah taken_. Israel, so taken and redeemed, must worship Him alone. _out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt_ Cp. the deuteronomic 1 Kings 8:51 and Jeremiah 11:4. The increase of references to iron-smelting from the 8th cent, onwards is noteworthy; _Jer... [ Continue Reading ]
_Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes_ See on Deuteronomy 1:37; Deuteronomy 3:26. The fact is again introduced here as a relevant motive to the following exhortation; this answers the proposal to treat it, on account of its repetition, as an intrusion. _that good land_ Heb. _the_;... [ Continue Reading ]
_Take heed unto yourselves_ See on Deuteronomy 4:9_; Deuteronomy 4:15_; _covenant_, see on Deuteronomy 4:13; and for the rest Deuteronomy 4:16.... [ Continue Reading ]
_a devouring fire_ Cp. Deuteronomy 9:3; a frequent description of God in Isaiah: Isaiah 29:6; Isaiah 30:27; Isaiah 30:30. _a jealous God_ Deuteronomy 5:9; Deuteronomy 6:15. J, Exodus 34:14, Jehovah whose name is Jealous is a jealous God. These two expressions always occur in Sg. passages; and the Sg... [ Continue Reading ]
Threat of Exile with Promise of Grace on Repentance If, with the slackness of increasing years, Israel give way to idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:25) Moses testifies that they shall perish from the land (Deuteronomy 4:26), and be scattered among the peoples (Deuteronomy 4:27) where indeed they must worshi... [ Continue Reading ]
_When thou shalt beget … and ye shall have been_ Read, _ye shall beget_. The sentence illustrates the difficulties raised by the variant forms of address. So quick a change from Sg. to Pl., confirmed by LXX (though Sam. has Pl. for both verbs), is logically possible (_thou_= the mother nation; _ye_=... [ Continue Reading ]
_I call heaven and earth to witness against you_ So Deuteronomy 30:19; Deuteronomy 31:28. Berth. points out that the older style is _earth and heaven_. In controversy between God and Israel nature is introduced as the executioner of His judgements, or as suffering these with man; or as illustrating... [ Continue Reading ]
_few in number_ Heb. idiom _men of a number_, easily counted, instead of being innumerable, as the stars in heaven for multitude.... [ Continue Reading ]
_ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands_, etc.] The acme of their punishment. They have chosen to serve idols; idols must they serve in a land where the worship of Jehovah is impossible. This scorn of senseless idols, also in Deuteronomy 27:15; Deuteronomy 28:36; Deuteronomy 28:64; Deuteronomy... [ Continue Reading ]
_But if from thence ye shall seek … thou shalt find_ The Pl. _ye_is due either to the attraction of the plurals of the previous verses or to a dittography. How easily the former worked is seen from the LXX which carries the Pl. as far as _search after him_. Read with Sam. THOU _shalt seek_. Thus the... [ Continue Reading ]
_all these things_ Implied in 26 f. _in the latter days The end_or _issue of the days_; frequently in the prophets of what is beyond the period with which they are engaged. _and hearken unto his voice_ Found also in JE, this phrase much oftener occurs in D; no less than 17 times.... [ Continue Reading ]
_a merciful God_ Cp. JE, Exodus 34:6. _he will not fail thee_ Rather, WILL NOT LET THEE DROP (Driver); will hold thee fast. Cp. Deuteronomy 31:6; Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:5. _nor forget the covenant_ See on Deuteronomy 4:13.... [ Continue Reading ]
_For_ The connection, as we have seen, is not with the immediately preceding Deuteronomy 4:29-31, but with either Deuteronomy 4:28 or Deuteronomy 4:24. _ask now_, etc.] The challenge is bold and characteristic of D. From the first of time, from one end of heaven to the other, nothing has ever happe... [ Continue Reading ]
The Uniqueness of the God of Israel This further appeal to the sole deity of Israel's God is founded upon the nation's experience of the unparalleled revelations He has made to them, the unparalleled deeds which He has performed for their deliverance (Deuteronomy 4:32-39); and it closes on the note... [ Continue Reading ]
_voice of God_ Rather, THE VOICE OF A GOD, and with Sam. and LXX add LIVING. Cp. Deuteronomy 5:26. _and live_ Deuteronomy 5:23 ff. The well-known belief of ancient man that it meant death to come into close converse with the Deity.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Or hath God assayed_ Rather, HATH A GOD. The verb _nissah_is rendered in Deuteronomy 28:56 _adventured_. It is also used for the _tempting_or _testing_of Israel by God, Deuteronomy 8:2; Deuteronomy 8:16; Deuteronomy 13:3 (4) (also in E), or of God by Israel, Deuteronomy 6:16 (also in JE). _to go_... [ Continue Reading ]
_Unto thee it was shewed_ Heb. _Thou, thyself, wast made to see it_. Again an emphasis on the experimental character of Israel's religion. Jehovah does something! The formative effect of the tradition of the Exodus on that religion cannot be overestimated.... [ Continue Reading ]
See on Deuteronomy 4:15. _that he might instruct thee_ DISCIPLINE THEE, -that the people might be brought to a temper of becoming reverence" (Driver).... [ Continue Reading ]
_And because he loved thy fathers_ So Hosea 11:1 f. In Pent. only here and Deuteronomy 10:15; but cp. Deuteronomy 7:8; Deuteronomy 7:13; Deuteronomy 23:5. The free grace and election of God is to the prophets and D the original motive of the wonderful and unparalleled history. AND CHOSE _their seed... [ Continue Reading ]
_to drive out nations from before thee_ Heb. TO DISPOSSESS … _from before thee_; Deuteronomy 9:4-5; Deuteronomy 11:23; Deuteronomy 18:12 (and the probably editorial Exodus 34:24); cp. Deuteronomy 7:17; Deuteronomy 9:3; Deuteronomy 9:5. For another form of same vb also with obj. of person see on... [ Continue Reading ]
_Know therefore_ The apodosis in the long sentence Deuteronomy 4:37-39 begins here and not as the R.V. gives it with _chose_in Deuteronomy 4:37. See on Deuteronomy 7:9. _lay it to thine heart_ Heb. _bring back to thy heart_, i.e. mind or memory. See on. Deuteronomy 4:29, and Deuteronomy 4:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
_thou shalt keep his statutes and his commandments_ Return to the keynote in Deuteronomy 4:1. _prolong thy days_ See on Deuteronomy 4:26.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then Moses separated_ Rather, SET APART. In Deuteronomy 10:8 the verb is used of God's solemn separation of Levi to bear the ark, etc., and in Deuteronomy 29:21 (20) of the idolater to evil. The form of the verb here has the force of _began_, or _proceeded_, to set apart. _three cities_ On the num... [ Continue Reading ]
Historical Note _Then_, i.e. at the time of the preceding discourse in Moab, Moses set apart three cities E. of Jordan as asylums for men, who unwittingly and without previous hatred had slain their fellows: Beṣer, on the Plateau, Ramoth in Gilead, and Golan in Bashan. The style of this fragment is... [ Continue Reading ]
_unawares, and hated him not in time past_ The same terminology as in Deuteronomy 19:1 ff. For this E has _lies not in wait but God delivers him into his hand_(in contrast with _wilfully_), Exodus 21:12-14; but P gives another term, _in error_or _inadvertence_, Numbers 35:11; Numbers 35:15; Joshua 2... [ Continue Reading ]
_Bezer_ BEṢER; described, as here, in Joshua 20:8; and in Joshua 21:36 along with Yahaṣ, Ḳedemoth, and Mepha-ath. The name also occurs on the Moabite stone, line 27. No modern equivalent has been recovered. The meaning of the name is the general one of _wall_or _fence_. _Ramoth in Gilead_ Joshua 20:... [ Continue Reading ]
_And this is the law_ So too Sam.; LXX, Vg. and Pesh. omit _and_. A slight symptom of the fact that this title once stood at the very beginning of an edition of D, the conjunction having been added when other matter was prefixed to it. On _law, Tôrah_, see Deuteronomy 1:5; Deuteronomy 31:1, etc. _s... [ Continue Reading ]
Introduction (or Introductions) to the following Discourses and Laws (5 26) The appearance of a fresh heading at this point between the two distinct sets of discourses Deuteronomy 1:6 to Deuteronomy 4:40 and Deuteronomy 5-11, which are further separated by the historical fragment, Deuteronomy 4:41-... [ Continue Reading ]
_the testimonies_ An unsatisfactory translation of Heb. _-çdoth_. As the kindred verb signifies to solemnly affirm, attest, protest and warn, _-edôth_may mean either (1) _decrees_or _edicts_, or (2) solemn exhortations. Its association with _statutes and judgements_, here and again in Deuteronomy 6:... [ Continue Reading ]
_beyond Jordan_ See Deuteronomy 1:1. _the valley over against Beth-peor_ Deuteronomy 3:29. _whom Moses and the children of Israel smote_, etc.] This part of Deuteronomy 4:46 and Deuteronomy 4:47 are, of course, superfluous after chs. 2 and 3. But their superfluity does not necessarily prove that th... [ Continue Reading ]
_toward the sunrising_ See Deuteronomy 4:41.... [ Continue Reading ]
49. _from Aroer_, etc.] These two _vv_. are a summary, with one addition, of what has been narrated in Deuteronomy 2:36; Deuteronomy 3:8; Deuteronomy 3:17, _q.v._ mount Sion Still another name for Ḥermon (see Deuteronomy 3:9), confirmed by LXX. The Pesh. _Sirion_is probably derived from Deuteronom... [ Continue Reading ]