Review of John Currid's Commentary on Deuteronomy

I have previously found the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy to be a bit tedious and certainly confusing. What is the purpose of all the decrees that fill out the middle half of the book? Why is this book necessary, after the (tedious) decrees of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers?

John Currid argues, in his commentary, that the book of Deuteronomy follows the ancient Near East pattern of a treaty between a king and his subjects. From this viewpoint, the book fleshes out the contractual details of both the king (YHWH) and His nation (Israel.) 

The middle material (chapters 12-26) then expands on the simple decrees of the Ten Commandments. As we work through the middle chapters, Currid suggests the connections with the various commandments. For example, the Fifth Commandment, on honoring one's parents, leads to decrees related to other leadership structures, whether to priests, prophets or kings. The Sixth Commandment, regarding murder, is consistent with a number of decrees related to manslaughter, accidental death or unsolved murder. A series of decrees on sexual behavior and abuse are naturally connected to the Seventh Commandment, regarding adultery. The Eighth Commandment, regarding theft, leads to a variety of decrees on other ways one might cheat a neighbor, without stealing material objects. Some decrees, regarding taking care of the property of a neighbor represent positive versions of the command to not covet. In a few places some of the decrees in the middle chapters seem be abruptly tangential and the connection to one of the Ten Commandments is not clear. (Currid admits this when it occurs.)

As bookends to the middle sixteen chapters, the first chapters of Deuteronomy form a prelude in which Moses summarizes the history of the Exodus from Egypt. The last chapters provide a conclusion in which Moses gives final guidelines, appoints Joshua as his successor, provides a hymn of praise, and then looks into the Promised Land from Mount Nebo, where he then dies.

Currid places the Biblical text within his commentary, so that one need not flip back and forth between a Bible and his remarks. I especially appreciate a commentary that provides the text for me, so that I can read it easily, without a second book (or my iPhone) on my knee.  The text provided is translated from the Hebrew by Currid himself and allows him (as in similar translations by Robert Alter) to suggest alternate readings to unclear phrases. 

I have one very small pet peeve -- and yes, no one will support me on this ... that's OK... -- but I hate being told what spiritual insight I should get out of a Bible passage. When I work through a Bible passage using a commentary, I want to read the passage, read the commentary and then think about the material on my own. But Currid follows each passage & commentary with an Application section, a section that describes the spiritual blessing he gets from that material. I admit that if there is any place one should be guided to an application, it is in the book of Deuteronomy (!) but, still, I don't like being told what to believe and so I generally skimmed or skipped those sections. Most readers will enjoy them; most readers will appreciate Currid's deep insight and knowledge of Old Testament Hebrew.

This is a seriously good book -- I recommend it to anyone with a (nerdy) desire to carefully read through the ancient Old Testament book of Deuteronomy! 

First published May 7, 2023; updated April 26, 2026

Deuteronomy 9, Idolatry, Grumbling, Wandering

Moses recounts his time on Mount Sinai.

Deuteronomy 9:1-3, Tall, strong? No problem!

Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” 

But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.

Those Anakites are tall and strong!  But the Israelites are told, "Don't worry about that!  You will conquer them quickly!" YHWH is described as a devouring fire who will overwhelm and destroy their enemies.

Currid suggests a certain Hebrew wordplay in the choice of the word kana (כָּנַע), translated "subdue them," as it begins with the same three consonants as the word "Canaan (כִּנַעַן)." The Israelites will kana the people of Canaan.

Deuteronomy 9:4-6, But don't get cocky

After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” 

No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

It is not the righteousness of the Israelites that makes them strong. It is YHWH – and the wickedness of their enemies.

Deuteronomy 9:7-10, Remember your rebellion and learn!

Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger of the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the Lord. 

At Horeb you aroused the Lord’s wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you. When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water. 

The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.

The Israelites' miraculous success in the desert of Sinai had so quickly turned aside into idolatry.  Moses then fasted for 40 days and nights, even without water, apparently because of the rebellion going on down below the mountain.

This speech is probably being given "here" on the plains of Moab, near Beth-Peor.

Deuteronomy 9:11-14, Two tablets written

At the end of the forty days and forty nights, the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant. 

Then the Lord told me, “Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt. They have turned away quickly from what I commanded them and have made an idol for themselves.”

And the Lord said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”

After the forty days and nights, the two stone tablets were written. Moses recounts YHWH's anger and willingness to start over.

Deuteronomy 9:15-17, Broken tablets

So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.
   

When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you.

So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.

Moses recounts his own anger at the idolatry. This chapter recounts the events of Exodus 32.

Deuteronomy 9:18-21, The golden calf revisited

Then once again I fell prostrate before the LORD for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the LORD's sight and so provoking him to anger.

I feared the anger and wrath of the LORD, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the LORD listened to me.

And the LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too.
 

Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.

Moses returned to the mountain to plead for mercy and forgiveness. The ground dust is thrown into a stream.  (In Exodus 32:20, it is said that Moses forced the people to drink the water.) Moses also intervenes for the high priest, his brother, Aaron. This intervention by Moses is recalled later in Psalm 106:23.

Deuteronomy 9:22-24, Taberah, Massah, Kibroth Hattaavah

You also made the LORD angry at Taberah, at Massah and at Kibroth Hattaavah.

And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, "Go up and take possession of the land I have given you." But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You did not trust him or obey him.

You have been rebellious against the LORD ever since I have known you.

And yet the stubbornness and sinfulness of the people of Moses continues, at every turn. We have hear a litany of examples. Numbers 11 describes a series of "grumblings" by the Israelites against YHWH.  Those grumblings occur at Taberah and Kibroth Hattaavah (verses 3 and 34.)  The event at Massah is described in Numbers 20. The turnaround at Kadesh Barnea is described in Numbers 13.

Deuteronomy 9:25-29, Overlook their stubbornness

I lay prostrate before the LORD those forty days and forty nights because the LORD had said he would destroy you.

I prayed to the LORD and said, "O Sovereign LORD, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin. Otherwise, the country from which you brought us will say, `Because the LORD was not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to put them to death in the desert.'

 

But they are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm."

Moses continues to plead to YHWH, admitting the stubbornness of his people, but pleading for mercy. As described in Exodus 33, Moses remind YHWH that His reputation is attached to the success of the people He called out of Egypt.

First published April 26, 2023; updated April 25, 2026

Deuteronomy 8, In the Good Land, Do Not Forget!

Moses expounds on the meaning of the first commandment of the Ten. 

Deuteronomy 8:1-4, Remember

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers.

Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.

The Israelites are to remember how YHWH carried them out of Egypt and through the wilderness.

The first verse of this chapter might be marked as a theme for the book of Deuteronomy. It will appear in a number of passages in the book.

Deuteronomy 8:5-10, A father disciplines his son

Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land--a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.

As a father disciplines his son, so YHWH has guided and disciplined the people of Israel.  Shortly they will see their reward, a good land with many resources.

The list of riches produced by the land are seven: wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey. It is possible the choice of seven riches is deliberate.

Deuteronomy 8:11-16, When you become full, you will forget

Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.

Remember the One Who led you from the dangerous desert into this lovely land!

Verse 13 rhythmically repeats the Hebrew verb rabah (רָבָה, "to multiply") three times. Thr verb means "to multiply" and is translated by the NIV as "grow large", "increase", "multiplied". If the people follow God then everything will increase: "herds and flocks", "silver and gold", "all you have"! 

In all of these riches Israel is the passive recipient. It will be easy for Israel to forget that it is YHWH who brought them through this desert furnace of snakes and scorpions.

Deuteronomy 8:17-20, "My power and my hands produced my wealth!"

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."

But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.

In Canaan it will be easy, once wealthy, to say, "I did this!" 

The stinger at the end of the paragraph is the standard reminder -- look at the other kingdoms and be warned!

Some Random Thoughts

I see no difference here between the ancient people in Canaan or my own culture in the USA -- it is easy to relax, feel full, and believe we did it all by our own strength and hard work!

First published April 25, 2023; updated April 24, 2026

Deuteronomy 7, Promises of Eden

Moses continues to teach on what it means to be fully consecrated to YHWH. Here he expounds on the second commandment, to not worship idols.

Deuteronomy 7:1-5, Confront idolatry

When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations--the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you--and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.

Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.

This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.

There are to be no idols (such as the Asherah poles) nor are there to be idol worshipers.

As discussed elsewhere, the Hebrew word charam (חָרַם), translated in verse 2 as "completely destroyed", is ambiguous. It can mean "totally consecrate" -- that is, destroy or assimilate. 

Deuteronomy 7:6-8, A chosen holy people

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

With these commands come, repeatedly, the statement that the people of Israel, themselves, are especially chosen and set apart for YHWH. They have a divine purpose, as part of his treasured possession.

Note a reference to this people being "few". This is one of many places that causes one to question the translations that give Israel a population of several million at this time.

Deuteronomy 7:9-11, Covenant of love

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. 

But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; 

he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.

Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.
 

As God is faithful and loving, the people of Israel are also to be faithful.

Deuteronomy 7:12-15, Eden

If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the LORD your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers.

He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land--your grain, new wine and oil--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you.

You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young.
 

The LORD will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.
 

One sees images of Eden here! The people will be fruitful and multiply. The grain, wine, oil, calves and lambs will be in abundance! No one will be childless (very important in that culture!) and there will be freedom from disease! If only the people will be serious about following YHWH!

Currid argues that these verses include direct opposition to Canaanite deities, that the Hebrew words translated "young", "offspring", "grain" and "new wine" were also the names of gods Seger, Ashteroth, Dagon and Tiroth:

• sheger (שֶׁגֶר) is the Hebrew word for "young";
• ashtaroth (עַשְׁתְּרָה) is the Hebrew word for "offspring";
• dagan (דָּגָן) means "grain"; and
• tiroth (תִּירוֹשׁ) is "new wine."

If the people of Israel will follow YHWH, they will receive these bountiful gifts without needing to turn to Canaanite deities.

Deuteronomy 7:16-20, "But they are stronger!"

You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

You may say to yourselves, "These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?"
 

But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.

You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.

Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished.

Victory, in arms or natural plagues, is promised. The Israelites are not to be dismayed by the apparent strength (or size) of their enemies.

Commentators argue that the Hebrew word here translated "hornet", tsirah (צִרעָה), is a rare word, only occurring in three places in the Old Testament, all of them in versions of this statement. Some versions of the Bible translate this term as "terror" or "plague". See here for a discussion.

Deuteronomy 7:21-24, Awesome God!

Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.
 

The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.
 

But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.

He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them.

Eventually, slowly, the Israelites will be victorious.

Deuteronomy 7:25-26, Do not covet their gods or possessions

The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the LORD your God.

Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

In their victories, the Israelites are not to long for the gods or possessions of the previous inhabitants.  The grass in the other yard is not that green!

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is barak,

בָרַךְ

appearing in this chapter twice in verse 13 and then again in verse 14. The literal meaning of the verb is "to kneel", but it has the implication of blessing someone, and so it appears three times here where God blesses the people of Israel with prosperity. 

Some Random Thoughts

If taken literally,  the "thousand generations" in verse 9 would suggest a period of 25,000 to 40,000 years.

First published April 24, 2023; updated April 23, 2026

Deuteronomy 6, Hear, O Israel!

Moses has been telling the story of the meeting with God in Sinai/Horeb. Now he expands on the Ten Commandments, beginning with the first commandment, to worship only YHWH.

Deuteronomy 6:1-3, Decrees for Canaan

These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.   

Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.

"Hear, O Israel", will be a steady refrain from Moses. These are important principles that the Israelites should follow, in order to experience the beautiful land prepared for them.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Shema!

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The "Shema" ("Hear, O Israel") will be a refrain for all Jews for all time. The commandments of Sinai are to be internalized, meditated upon.  Moses will elaborate on these throughout this book and so one might see this paragraph as a theme of the book.

An important part of the covenant is reviewing it with the next generation, so that each generation passes on these words.

The Israelites are not to make any "form" representing YHWH.  Instead the Law itself is to be physically visible to them -- they are read it, taste it, smell it, breathe it in.

Deuteronomy 6:10-12, What gifts you are about to receive!

When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you--

a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 

houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, 

wells you did not dig, 

and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant

--then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

The people are about to be given a rich land. The temptation, after a time, will be to take it all for granted. Note the rhythm of the four poetic lines, each emphasizing riches given generously to the Israelites.

Moses sees these gifts as the future of Israel. Many centuries later the Jewish leader Nehemiah will look back on these gifts as history in Nehemiah 9:25.

Deuteronomy 6:13-17, Do not look at other gods; do not test the one God

Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.  Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.

Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah.

Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.

Repeated again and again (and routinely disobeyed!) is the command to follow only the One God.

The event at Massah occurs in Exodus 17:1-7. Although YHWH is gracious and loving, the Israelites are not to "test him", that is, treat him as a servant whom they may command.

Deuteronomy 6:18-19, The Promise

Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said.

The commandments always come with this promise. The eventual goal is a healthy and successful community.

Deuteronomy 6:20-25, "What is the meaning of these things?"

In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?" tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders--great and terrible--upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers.
 

The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."

Part of remembering these commandments includes regularly reminding one's children of the reasons for these actions. "Once we were slaves..." is part of the answer. 

Some Hebrew vocabulary

The command "Shema" (שָׁמַע) in verse 4 uses the verb shama,

שְׁמַ֖ע

"to hear."

First published April 22, 2023; updated April 22, 2026

Deuteronomy 5, Review of Commandments from Sinai

Moses has summarized the forty years of wilderness wanderings and has reviewed instructions from that time. Now he reminds the people of their commitments, as briefly summarized in the Ten Commandments. This is then followed by a series of decrees implied by those commandments.

Deuteronomy 5:1-5a, The covenant at Horeb

Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.

"The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. (At that time I stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) 

Although most of his audience was not born when the commandments were given at Sinai/Horeb, the covenant was still intended for this generation, the ones who will enter the promised land.

Deuteronomy 5:5b-11, I am the only God

And he said: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

"You shall have no other gods before me.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

The first three of the "Ten Words" describe the Israelite commitment to YHWH as supreme God. YHWH is (essentially) an invisible God Who created all things and so He is not be replaced by images, whether attempted images of YHWH or images of other gods.  

Those who identify themselves with His Name are to honor that name in their words (and actions.)

Of special importance is YHWH's work in Egypt, calling the Israelites out of slavery and protecting them along the way.

This section is essentially the same as Exodus 20:2-7.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15, Keep the Sabbath holy

"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.

Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

This commandment repeats the importance of the special Sabbath Day, a day that sets the people of Israel from others. This commandment is very similar to the commandment given in Exodus 20:8-11, but also a bit different. The ordering of individuals is slightly different and the motivation for the commandment is different. In the original command given at Sinai, the motivation is because of YHWH's seven Days of Creation. Here the motivation is because YHWH brought them out of Egypt, "with a mighty hand and outstretched arm." In either place, the principle is that keeping the Sabbath "holy" is because the powerful Creator of the universe, their power Savior from Egypt, has chosen them as a special people.

Commentators point out that the phrase "mighty hand and outstretched arm" is an Egyptian phrase, used by the Pharaoh to describe themselves. The Israelites are to remember Who really has that power!

Deuteronomy 5:16, Honor your parents

"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

This fifth commandment is close to that given in Exodus 20:12; the phrasing differs slightly. This commandment is "the first commandment with a promise" (Ephesians 6:1-3.)

Deuteronomy 5:16-18, Murder, adultery, theft

"You shall not murder.

"You shall not commit adultery.

"You shall not steal.

These three commandments are identical with those in Exodus 20:13-15. Each commandment is simply two Hebrew words, one of which is "Not" (lō, לֹא.) Less we misinterpret these simple commands, they will be expanded later in this book of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 5:20, False testimony

"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

This is the same as Exodus 20:16.

Don't lie. This is especially serious when it is used to slander others. One might include gossip within the boundaries of this commandment. Later passages of Deuteronomy will elaborate.

Deuteronomy 5:21, Don't covet

"You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Unlike Exodus 20:17, the neighbor's wife is now the first on the list and the house is second.  Maybe the first part, regarding coveting a neighbor's wife, needed to be stressed after forty years in the wilderness?  

Also added in the list of things that one might covet, in preparation for settling down in Canaan, is the neighbor's land.

As many have pointed out, this final commandment is a statement more about one's thoughts than one's actions.  It is a summary commandment -- if one does not covet, then one is unlikely to murder, commit adultery or steal -- or do many other similar actions that spring out of the desires of one's heart.

Deuteronomy 5:22, Two stone tablets

These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

The commandments are concluded.  Then they are written on two tablets (probably duplicate copies) and given to Moses.

Deuteronomy 5:23-27, A plea to Moses

When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and your elders came to me. And you said, "The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived? Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey."

The people plea for Moses to intervene. YHWH (Who created galaxies and stars -- and volcanoes and thunderstorms) is very frightening!

Deuteronomy 5:28-31, Stay here with Me

The LORD heard you when you spoke to me and the LORD said to me, "I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good. Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

"Go, tell them to return to their tents. But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess."

YHWH is pleased with the response of the people.  But He invites Moses to stay with Him for a time, as there is more (much more) to discuss.

Deuteronomy 5:32-33, Walk straight, don't turn aside

So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

The people are reminded -- keep your promise!  Don't wander from the path set before you!  (Will they follow this command? If you've been with us since Genesis 1, you -- sadly -- know the answer!)

First published April 21, 2023; updated April 21, 2026

Deuteronomy 4, Lessons from the Wilderness Wanderings

Moses is describing the past actions of the Israelites after they left Egypt.  The Israelites have passed peacefully though the lands of the Edomites and Moabites and defeated the kings of Sihon and then settled two-and-a-half tribes east of the Jordan.

Deuteronomy 4:1-4, The decrees you are to follow

Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.

You saw with your own eyes what the LORD did at Baal Peor. The LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, but all of you who held fast to the LORD your God are still alive today.

Moses reminds the people that they are a nation of laws; they are the people of the covenant. In this regard, they are not to ignore the covenant instructions nor make up new ones.

The incident at Baal Peor occurs in Numbers 25 and is an example of the issues that will persist throughout the Israelite history in Canaan.

Deuteronomy 4:5-8, What other nation?

See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."

What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

A significant role of the Law was to be a witness to other nations. The decrees of the covenant were intended to lay out principles emphasizing worship of the One God, principles that focused on righteousness and justice and on laws that protected the poor and vulnerable. In that regard, the covenant law was different from the code of Hammurabi and unusual for the culture of the ancient Near East. So Moses asks, "What other nation can claim the righteousness invested in Israel through the covenant laws?"  

Deuteronomy 4:9, Only be careful

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
 

This admonition is thematic -- be careful, and teach these principles to your children so that they too may be careful! It is important that the principles of the Law be passed on to each generation. (We will see later that this transmission often broke down.)

Deuteronomy 4:10-14, Remember Sinai!

Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children." 

You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.

He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

 

Horeb is the same as Mount Sinai. Moses reviews the giving of the Law that is described in Exodus 19 and following chapters. As previously in Exodus 34:28, the core of the covenant is a collection of commandments that are here enumerated as the ten commandments.

Deuteronomy 4:15-19, Images forbidden

You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below.

  

And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars--all the heavenly array--do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

The temptation for all of us is to create a "form" or "shape" for God. Yet YHWH displayed no form at Sinai. The Israelites are not to make a "form" (an idol) for God. Nor are they to worship, in His stead, any part of His creation. (Worship of the sun, moon and stars was a significant part of the ancient Near East culture surrounding these tribes.)

Moses reminds the people of their horrible transgression, building a golden calf (see Exodus 32), while he was up on the mountain.

Deuteronomy 4:20, Saved from a furnace

But as for you, the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.

The long hot years of wandering in the desert are about to end. "Remember from where you came", says Moses. In a common metaphor for the early Iron Age, Egypt acted as a furnace for Israel, creating the powerful nation they are to become. 

Deuteronomy 4:21-22, Moses's punishment

The LORD was angry with me because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance.

I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.

Moses, like the rest of the Hebrews, is forbidden to enter the Promised Land. The event that leads to this proscription is described in Numbers 20: 6-13.

Deuteronomy 4:23-24, Be careful...

Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Once again, the Israelites are warned against idolatry.  The Creator of the universe and Creator of their divine Covenant does not allow His people to substitute weak pieces of metal or cloth as their objects of worship.

Deuteronomy 4:25-28, Only the Covenant protects

After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time--if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and provoking him to anger, I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

The Israelites will, again and again, ignore these commands, and return to the safety of images they can see and hold.

Deuteronomy 4:29-31, Seek YHWH

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him.

For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.
 

Ultimately, however, the Israelites are invited to seek YHWH, to repent and return. This statement is as important as all the warnings; this statement will be repeated numerous times by the future prophets.

Deuteronomy 4:32-34, Three questions

Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of?

Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?

Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

Seriously, is there any god like the One who created the universe? In a string of three questions, Moses challenges the people to think deeply on YHWH's works.

Deuteronomy 4:35-38, You are YHWH's chosen people, picked by Him long ago

You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.
 

The divine promise, from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is still in effect and still at work, says Moses.

Deuteronomy 4:39-40, Acknowledge YHWH!

Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.
 

The Hebrews are to "take to heart" these acts of YHWH.

Deuteronomy 4:41-43, Three sanctuary cities

Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if he had unintentionally killed his neighbor without malice aforethought. He could flee into one of these cities and save his life. The cities were these: Bezer in the desert plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

As described in other places, there are always sanctuary cities. The first three are set up on the east side of the Jordan. (The cities of refuge are described more fully in Numbers 35.)

Deuteronomy 4:44-49, Possession and victory

This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. This land extended from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon), and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.

This passage ends with a review of the history of the conquests of kingdoms in the Transjordan. Currid argues that this last passage most naturally fits as a beginning to the next text as it introduces the law material of chapter 5

(NIV footnotes: The Sea of the Arabah in verse 49 is the Dead Sea.)

First published April 20, 2023; updated April 20, 2026