Deuteronomy 9 - Introduction

9 10:11. Warnings against Self-Righteousness, enforced by a Retrospect of the People's Behaviour

Israel about to cross Jordan and face nations mightier than itself must know that Jehovah goeth before, quickly to destroy them (vv. Deuteronomy 9:1-3). Israel must not thereafter say that He hath done this for Israel's righteousness, for He shall do it because of the wickedness of those nations and to establish His promise to the fathers (Deuteronomy 9:4-5). Israel itself is not a righteous but a stiffnecked people, provoking and rebellious from Egypt till now (Deuteronomy 9:6-7). This is illustrated by a narrative of their conduct at Ḥoreb, where, while Moses was on the Mount, receiving the two stone tables of the covenant, Israel made a molten calf, God threatened to destroy them, Moses brake the tables and fasted 40 days and nights before God, fearful of His wrath; but at his intercession God relented both with regard to the people and to Aaron, and Moses destroyed the calf (Deuteronomy 9:8-21). At other places also Israel provoked God, and have been always rebellious (Deuteronomy 9:22-24). But Moses" intercession at Ḥoreb prevailed (Deuteronomy 9:25-29), and on two new tables of stone God wrote again the Ten Words and Moses put them in the Ark of wood which he had been bidden to make (vv. Deuteronomy 10:1-5). There follow a fragment of a subsequent itinerary of the people with the death of Aaron (Deuteronomy 9:6-7); a record of the separation of the tribe of Levi to bear the Ark (Deuteronomy 9:8-9); and a renewed statement of Moses" intercession on the Mount with the command he then received to continue to lead the people towards the land (Deuteronomy 9:10-11). So long as the discourse is hortatory it remains in the Sg. form of address (Deuteronomy 9:1-7 a); but changes to the Pl. when the speaker begins the historical review, and the Pl. continues to the end of the section except for a couple of instances of the Sg. (Deuteronomy 9:7 to Deuteronomy 10:11); when with the resumption of exhortation, Deuteronomy 10:12 ff., the Sg. is also resumed. For such a historical review a reporting author might naturally use another source; and in this case the supposition is supported by the sudden and clear change from Sg. to Pl. which is not explicable otherwise, e.g. on psychological grounds; but finally confirmed by what commentators do not appear to have noticed, the fact that in the historical section the divine name Jehovah is nowhere (save in Deuteronomy 9:16; Deuteronomy 9:23) followed by your Godas almost invariably in the hortatory sections. On the historical section see below on Deuteronomy 9:7 b. Both it and the hortatory portions bear marks of expansion by editorial hands.