[First posted in 2013 as part of the whole series on the last book of the Torah, Deuteronomy. This portion of the Torah attests to the universality of the application of YHWH’s Instructions for living in community. The Torah is not just for Israel but for the nations; not just for the generation that stood on Sinai to encounter this new God they had agreed to rule over them as their new “King” but for the generations that issued from that first generation composing the “mixed multitude” who left Egypt. Not just for the Jew, but for the Gentile, for all humanity.
Here’s the original introduction:
The reiteration of the 10 Declarations of the LAWGIVER on Sinai, this time to the 2nd generation born free in the wilderness is sometimes called “The Second Law” . . . hence the Greek title Deuteronomy. Really, folks, we should call a spade a spade, when we’re going to borrow the scriptures of another people to paste it on another set of scriptures that claim to be the sequel. No, no, no, this is not the 2nd law . . . this is the SAME law, but repeated to a 2nd generation, since their parents have all died in the wilderness except for Yahoshuwah (Joshua) and Caleb. To add insult to retitling this book, NT theology as conceived by Paul dares to declare this as passe and obsolete, since the so-called ‘New Israel/Christianity’ is “under grace, not law.” What an insult to the God of Israel, the God declared in the Hebrew Scriptures, the God who gave His Torah to Israel and all humanity.
The ArtScroll commentary says this:
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The Talmud refers to Deuteronomy as Mishneh Torah, commonly translated, “Repetition (or Review) of the Torah,” or “Explanation of the Torah.” The entire book was said by Moses to the nation during the last five weeks of his life; in effect, it was the prophet’s last will and testament to his beloved people, in which he warned them of potential pitfalls and inspired them to rise to their calling. Since Deuteronomy does not review all the commandments and narratives of the preceding forty years, the question arises on what basis the commandments and narratives contained in this Book were chosen.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that the Book of Deuteronomy was Israel’s introduction to the new life they would have to forge in the Land of Israel. They would plow, plant, and harvest. They would establish courts and a government. they would forge social relationships and the means to provide for and protect the needy and helpless. They would need strong faith and self-discipline to avoid the snares and temptations of pagan neighbors and false prophets. This Book, with its laws and Moses’ appeals to the conscience of the people, was intended to stress those values and laws, and to exhort Israel to be strong in its faith. Deuteronomy is not merely a “review” of the previous four books of the Torah. True, Moses spent the final weeks of his life reviewing and teaching all the laws and the entire history of Israel, but the text of the Book of Deuteronomy records only those that were relevant for Israel’s new life in its Land.
Deuteronomy is unique in another way. As explained by the Vilna Gaon:
The first four Books were heard directly from the mouth of the Holy One. Blessed is He, through the throat of Moses. Not so Deuteronomy. Israel heard the words of this Book the same way they heard the words of the prophets who came after Moses. God would speak to the prophet on one day, and on a later day he would go and make the vision known to Israel. Accordingly, at the time the prophet spoke to the people, the word of God had already been removed from him (i.e, they did not hear God’s word directly; they heard the prophet’s comprehension of it). So, too, the Book of Deuteronomy was heard from the mouth of Moses.
Moses teaches and guides. He chastises and admonishes. He reminds the people of their shortcomings and inspires them with their potential. Never has there been such a teacher or such a prophet. But though Moses bid farewell in this Book, he is not gone. His teachings are here and his presence remains embodied in all his students, for the thousands of years since he lived.
The running commentary is from our MUST READ/MUST OWN Pentateuch and Haftorahs, ed. Dr. J.H.Hertz.The translation of our choice in all our posts is from EF/Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses.— Admin1.]
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MOSES’ SECOND DISCOURSE
FOUNDATIONS OF THE COVENANT: ( IV,44-XI)
From IV,44 to the end of XI, the Second Discourse, deals with the religious foundations of the Covenant, the spirit in which it is to be kept, and the motives to that right obedience. It defines the relationship between God and Israel, and emphasizes the basic spiritual demands that such relationship imposes upon Israel. Moses solemnly repeats to the new generation that faces him the Ten Commandments Given at Sinai; proclaims the Unity of God, together with the Israelite’s duty to love Him with all his heart, soul and might; and urges that same love towards God must be implanted in the hearts of the children. That covenant shall be their distinction among the nations. Moses surveys the forty years of Providential mercies in the Wilderness, and also the succession of murmurings and rebellions. Not for their own righteousness will they conquer, but because of the oath sworn to their Fathers. Let Israel ever keep in mind the lessons of the Wilderness lest it forget God and perish like the nations whom it is about to dispossess. No truce of any sort is to be made with the peoples of Canaan and their foul and inhuman cults. If Israel faithfully keeps God’s commandments, the Land of Promise will enjoy the rain of heaven and be dowered with prosperity. Israel is, in conclusion, solemnly reminded of the alternatives–the Blessing and the Curse—now offered for its acceptance.
IV,44-49. TITLE, TIME, AND PLACE OF THE DISCOURSE
44 This is the Instruction that Moshe set before the Children of Israel,
this is the law. ‘Which he is about to set before them in chapters XII-XXVI’ (Rashi). This v. is recited by the congregation when the Sefer Torah is held up after the Reading. In most rites, the words ‘according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses’ are added.
45 these are the precepts and the laws and the regulations that Moshe declared to the Children of Israel when they went out from Egypt,these are the testimonies. Better, they are the testimonies. This v. is parenthetical and points out that this Law which Moses is now to set before them is merely a new presentation of the testimonies, statutes, and judgments which He spake unto them when they came out of Egypt (Rashi,Biur).
testimonies. Heb. edoth; lit. ‘attestations’; solemn declarations of God’s will on matters of moral and religious duty.
46 in (the country) across the Jordan, in the valley opposite Bet Pe’or, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who sat-as-ruler in Heshbon, whom Moshe and the Children of Israel struck, when they went out from Egypt; 47 they took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan- the two kings of the Amorites who (were) in (the country) across the Jordan, (toward) the rising of the sun,
48 from Aro’er that is on the bank of the Wadi Arnon, as far as Mount Si’on/Peak-that is Hermon,
Mount Sion. Heb.; not to be confused with Mount Zion.
49 and all the Plain across the Jordan, toward sunrise, as far as the Sea of the Plain, beneath the slopes of the Pisga (Range).
Deuteronomy/Davarim 5
ON THE REVELATION AT HOREB. (V-VI,3)
The first foundation of the new covenant was the Decalogue—at once the alphabet and summary of the religious life, and the very foundation for all human conduct. The Ten Words formed the basis for the new precepts now to be promulgated (Hoffmann). Moses pronounces the Commandments one by one, as delivered by the Divine Voice amid fire and darkness. He also recalls the impression made on the people by what they had heard–-their pledge to do whatever the LORD commanded them, and His approval of their words.
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learn them and observe to do. Knowledge is an essential pre-requisite to performance.
2 YHVH our God cut with us a covenant at Horev.
3 Not with our fathers did YHVH cut this covenant, but with us, yes, us, those here today, all of us (that are) alive!
not . . . with our fathers. ‘The Covenant was entered into only with the coming generation, as the fathers would die in the wilderness’ (Abarbanel). Others understand the words to mean, ‘not with our fathers alone’; the Covenant survived the men with whom it was made, with binding force upon all future generations.
4 Face to face did YHVH speak with you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire
spoke with you. i.e. revealed Himself to you. Many of those who were listening to Moses had been present as children at Horeb when the Ten Words were spoken.
face to face. i.e. a direct revelation, and not a matter of hearsay merely.
5 -I myself was standing between YHVH and you at that time, to report to you the word of YHVH; for you were afraid of the fire, and would not go up on the mountain- saying:
I stood between. As the Israelites did not go near the Mount, they heard the Voice but could not follow the words. Moses was the meturgeman, the ‘interpreter’ who conveyed the Divine message to them (Talmud).
word of the LORD. The collective name for ‘The Ten Words.’
ye were afraid. See Exod. XX,15-18.
saying. The Ten Words now following are almost, but not absolutely, a verbatim repetition of the Decalogue as given in Exod. XX. Being part of an exhortation addressed to a new generation, the Lawgiver does not hesitate to expand, or even alter, the wording of the Commandments, for the sake of emphasis. In brief, the version in Deuteronomy is more rhetorical, more homiletical, than that in Exod. XX.
6. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
The Israelites are to recognize that unlike the deities worshipped by the benighted heathens around them—local nature-gods bound to the soil and its products—the God of Israel is the universal ruler of History, the God who redeemed them from Egyptian slavery.
6 I am YHVH your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of serfs.
I am the LORD thy God. Or, ‘I, the LORD, am thy God.’ The word ‘LORD’ is the current translation of the Divine Name of four letters (YHWH) as the eternal Power that guides the destinies of men and nations;
Bereshiyth II:4: LORD GOD. Heb. Adonay Elohim. The two most important Names of the Deity are here used. ‘LORD’ is the usual English translation of Adonay. Adonay is the prescribed traditional reading of the Divine Name expressed in the four Hebrew letters YHWH — which is never pronounced as written. This Divine Name is spoken of as the Tetragrammaton, which is a Greek word meaning ‘the Name of four letters’. The High Priest of old pronounced it as written on the Day of Atonement during the ‘Temple Service; whereupon all the people fell on their faces and exclaimed ‘Blessed be His Name whose glorious Kingdom is for ever and ever.’ The Heb. root of that Divine Name is Elohim. Whereas Adonay is used whenever the Divine is spoken of in close relationship with men or nations, Elohim denotes God as the Creator and Moral Governor of the Universe. the Rabbis find a clear distinction in the use of these two terms: Adonay (LORD) describes the Deity stressing His lovingkindness, His acts of mercy and condescension and revelation to mankind; while Elohim (God) emphasizes His justice and rulership. The Midrash says, ‘Thus spake the Holy One, blessed be He: If I create the world by Mercy alone, sin will abound; if by Justice alone, how can the world endure/ I will create it by both.’ In the first chapter of Genesis, which treats of the Universe as a whole, Elohim (‘God’) is used; but in the second chapter, which begins the story of man, that Divine Name is no longer used alone, but together with Adonay (‘LORD God’). there was soon need for the exercise of the Divine mercy. . . .
. . . the employment of Elohim or Adonay varies according to the nature of the context: in connection with the creation of the Universe at large (Genesis I), the Divine Name employed is Elohim. In God’s merciful relations with human beings, however (Gen. II,4-25), He is spoken of as Adonay, Lord. There is nothing strange or out of the way in such usage. In English, we choose words like Deity, Supreme Being, Almighty, God, Lord, according as the subject and occasion demand. One and the same writer may at various times use anyone of these English terms for the Divine Being. The nature of the context decides what Divine Name is employed. In the same way, different Divine Names in the Hebrew text . . . has been selected in accordance with the idea to be expressed . . . the exact appropriateness of each Name to the subject matter in which it occurs.
thy God. The suffix thy refers to ‘Israel’ collectively, and at the same time to each Israelite individually; as in v.16. The Midrash says; ‘Even as thousands may look at a great portrait and each one feel that it looks at him, so every Israelite at Horeb felt that the Divine Voice was addressing him.’
7-10. SECOND COMMANDMENT
7 You are not to have other gods beside my presence.
before Me. Or, ‘beside Me.’ In addition to Him; see the opening v. of Shema. the monotheism must be absolute. Others translate, ‘to my face” i.e. to provoke Him. The provocation is the greater, because these gods are unreal.
8 You are not to make yourself a carved-image of any form that is in the heavens above, that is on the earth beneath, that is in the waters beneath the earth.
any manner of likeness. Extends the term ‘graven image’ to ‘any manner of likeness’. v. 7 prohibits the worship of other gods; v. 8 prohibits the worship of the true God under the form of any image. Hoffman thinks that the variation on the Heb. text from the form in Exodus was made in view of the sin of the Golden Calf that followed the giving of the Decalogue. The present version makes it clearer that every ‘manner of likeness’, and therefore of idolatry.
in heaven above. The heavenly bodies worshipped by many nations.
in the earth beneath. Such as the sacred bulls of the Egyptians.
9 You are not to prostrate yourselves to them, you are not to serve them, for I, YHVH your God, am a jealous God, calling-to-account the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and to the fourth (generation) of those that hate me,
nor serve them. lit. ‘thou shalt not be induced to serve them,’ the grammatical form being Hophal (Koenig). Only such sculpture or plastic reproduction as would become objects of idolatrous worship is prohibited here. Hence the presence of the cherubim in the Tabernacle, and the twelve bronze bullocks under the basin in the Temple. Against art within its own sphere, monotheism wages no war;
Additional insight in Exodus/Shemoth/ XXXVI notes: We are accustomed to limit Divine inspiration to thoughts expressed in words. This is not the Scriptural view. The worker in metals, the cutter of precious stones, and the carver of wood can likewise produce work that is inspired. . . . The true artist possesses the power to inspire others. A light that cannot kindle other lights is but a feeble flame. But ‘to teach’ has also a wider meaning. The core of art is its teaching and ennobling influence not only on other artists, but on humanity.
10 but showing loyalty to thousands of those that love me, of those that keep my commandments.
11. THIRD COMMANDMENT
Avoid oaths.
11 You are not to take up the name of YHVH your God for emptiness, for YHVH will not clear him that takes up his name for emptiness!
in vain. Heb. which may mean either ‘for vanity,’ or ‘for falsehood.’ The Jerusalem Targum prefaces its translation of this prohibition with the words; ‘O my People, my People, House of Israel, swear not by the Name of the LORD thy God for vanity; and swear not by My Name and lie.’ Every oath, even if a true oath, should be avoided, is the teaching of the Rabbis. It is not generally known that many in Israel have in every age followed the principle of ‘Swear not at all’, except when a Court of Law exacts an oath in order to ensure the ends of justice. To this day, pious men in Eastern Jewries suffer considerable pecuniary loss rather than enforce their plea by an oath. And it is the practice of a Beth Din to discourage oaths, in the rare instances where one of the litigants insists on the oath being administered.
12 Keep the day of Sabbath, by hallowing it, as YHVH your God has commanded you.
observe. In Exodus, ‘remember’. Tradition explains that the latter refers to the positive precepts in connection with the Sabbath, to its sanctification by wine, prayer and Sabbath joy; whereas ‘observe’ the Sabbath means refraining from any desecration through labour by self or dependents. Hence the addition here concerning the resting of servants and reminder of the bondage in Egypt (Biur). Tradition also says ‘that both words observe and remember were communicated by God simultaneously’; i.e. the fourth commandment in Deuteronomy, though different in form, does not imply anything that has not been revealed by God on Mount Sinai. Moses uses the stronger word here, because in his exhortation he has a practical object in view; vis. the observance of God’s commands by the people.
as the LORD thy God commanded thee. These words are not in Exodus, being a rhetorical amplification. The reference is to Mrah, Exod. XV, 23-27.
13 For six days you are to serve and to do all your work;
14 but the seventh day (is) Sabbath for YHVH your God- you are not to do any work: (not) you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your animals, nor your sojourner that is in your gates- in order that your servant and your maid may rest as one-like-yourself.
nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle. In place of this detailed enumeration, appropriate to an oration, Exod. has simply, ‘nor thy cattle.’ Care and kindness to cattle are of such profound importance for the humanizing of man that this duty as its place in the Decalogue. The Rabbis classed cruelty to animals among the most serious of offences.
that thy man-servant. . . thou. This is not in Exod.i but is an explanatory addition.
as well as thou. The slave is to have the same right to his Sabbath-rest as the master. Sabbath-rest thus proclaims the equality of master and man.
15 You are to bear-in-mind that serf were you in the land of Egypt, but YHVH your God took you out from there with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm; therefore YHVH your God commands you to observe the day of Sabbath.
thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt. This is the most important divergence between the two versions. According to Exod. the Sabbath was ordained in commemoration of the six days of creation, ‘wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.’ Man was on that day to set aside the material cares that absorb his attention on the six days of toil. Judaism ‘proclaims a truce once in seven days to all personal anxieties and degrading thoughts about the means of subsistence and success in life, and bids us to meet together to indulge in larger thoughts. In countries where life is a hard struggle, what more precious, more priceless public benefit can be imagined than this breathing time, this recurring armistice between man and the hostile powers that beset his life, this solemn Sabbatic festival?’ (J.R. Seeley). There was, however, another lesson for mankind to learn from the Sabbath institution. The Israelites in Egypt slaved day after day without a rest. By ceasing from toil one day in seven, they would distinguish their work from slavery. And in their new life in the Promised Land they were to avoid imposing upon others what had been so bitter to them.
16. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
commanded thee. The phrase ‘as the LORD thy God commanded thee,’ is new in Deuteronomy, as is also ‘and that it may go well with thee’. The latter stresses the truth that a sound national life can only result from a sound family life within the State.
16 Honor your father and your mother, as YHVH your God has commanded you, in order that your days may be prolonged, and in order that it may go-well with you on the soil that YHVH your God is giving you.
17. SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH COMMANDMENTS
17 You are not to murder!
murder . . . neighbour. These commandments are here connected by the conjunction ‘and’; to indicate that these crimes are to some extent linked together, and that he who breaks one of them is not unlikely to break one of the others as well (Friendlander).
And you are not to adulter! And you are not to steal! And you are not to testify against your neighbor as a lying witness!
NINTH COMMANDMENT
false witness. A different Heb. word is here used for ‘false’ witness—the same as occurs in v. 11 for ‘vain’.
18 And you are not to desire the wife of your neighbor; you are not to crave the house of your neighbor, his field, or his servant, or his maid, his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor!
TENTH COMMANDMENT
21. Neither will you covet your neighbor’s wife; neither will you desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
covet . . . neighbour’s. The prohibition of coveting a man’s wife is here made separate from ‘desiring’ (a different word, not occurring in Exod.) his possessions—a fundamental distinction of far-reaching moral consequence. There is also new mention of ‘his field’, an appropriate addition for a people about to enter upon the inheritance of their Land.
19-30. The manner in which the Decalogue was delivered.
19 These words YHVH spoke to your entire assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the fog, (with) a great voice, adding no more; and he wrote them on the two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
20 And it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness and (saw) the mountain burning with fire, you came-near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders, 21 and you said: Here, YHVH our God has let us see all his Glory and his greatness, and his voice we have heard from the midst of the fire. This day we have seen that God can speak to humans and they can remain-alive!
22 But now, why should we die? For it will consume us, this great fire; if we continue to hear the voice of YHVH our God anymore, we will die!
no more. The direct Divine Revelation to the whole people was limited to the Ten Words. The people found it unbearable to listen to the Divine Voice, and the remainder of the Revelation was communicated to them through Moses.
23 For who is there (among) all flesh that has (ever) heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and remained-alive?
24 You go-near and hear all that YHVH our God says; and you speak to us all that YHVH
our God speaks to you, we will hearken and we will do (it).
His glory. Manifested in the fire and smoke; Gen. XV,17.
25 And YHVH hearkened to the voice of your words when you spoke to me, YHVH said to me: I have heard the voice of this people’s words that they have spoken to you; it is well, all that they have spoken!
this great fire will consume us. not the Revelation of god, but the physical accompaniments of that Revelation to fill them with fear.
26 Who would give that this heart of theirs would (always) belong to them, to hold me in awe and keep all my commandments, all the days, in order that it might go-well with them and with their children, for the ages!
27 Go, say to them: Return you to your tents!
28 As for you, remain-standing here beside me, that I may speak to you all the commandment, the laws and the regulations that you are to teach them, that they may observe (them) in the land that I am giving them to possess.
Oh that they had such a heart. ‘God too can express a wish of this sort, as freedom of the will has been given to man’ (Biur). Alas, that exalted spirit of the Israelites was soon to be followed by a violent reaction—the apostasy of the Golden Calf.
29 You are to take-care to observe as YHVH your God has commanded you; you are not to turn-aside to the right or to the left.
ye shall not turn aside. This and the following v. are the moral exhortation after the historical narrative.
30 In all the way that YHVH your God has commanded you, you are to walk, in order that you may remain-alive, and it may be-well with you, and you may prolong (your) days in the land that you are possessing.
that ye may live. The promise is here national, not individual.