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Deuteronomy 5

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Moses Recounts the Horeb Covenant 1–5

1
And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and observe to do them. ​
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Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. ​
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Jehovah made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. ​
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Jehovah spake with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire
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(I stood between Jehovah and you at that time, to show you the word of Jehovah: for ye were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the mount), saying, ​

The Ten Commandments Recited 6–22

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I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ​
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Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
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Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
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thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I, Jehovah, thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me; ​
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and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
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Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain: for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ​
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Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee.
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Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;
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but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou. ​
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And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm: therefore Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. ​
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Honor thy father and thy mother, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee; that thy days may be long, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. ​
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Thou shalt not kill. ​
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Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
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Neither shalt thou steal.
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Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor.
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Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor’s wife; neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor’s house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is thy neighbor’s. ​
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These words Jehovah spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them upon two tables of stone, and gave them unto me.

Israel Requests Moses to Mediate 23–28

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And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; ​
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and ye said, Behold, Jehovah our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth speak with man, and he liveth.
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Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more, then we shall die.
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For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
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Go thou near, and hear all that Jehovah our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that Jehovah our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.
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And Jehovah heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and Jehovah said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.

God Commends Israel's Intent 29–33

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Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! ​
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Go say to them, Return ye to your tents.
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But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.
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Ye shall observe to do therefore as Jehovah your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. ​
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Ye shall walk in all the way which Jehovah your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 5

Verse 1

statutes and judgments — Chuqqim are enactments, what is appointed, and mishpatim are rulings; Moses sets them before Israel as in 4:1, 'hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments'. The three verbs mark the order: 'learn them, and keep, and do them'. 'Hear, O Israel' opens the Shema at 6:4.

Verse 2

a covenant with us in Horeb — 'Made' is karath, literally to cut, the verb of covenant-making; at Horeb Moses sprinkled the blood on the people, 'Behold the blood of the covenant' (Ex 24:8). Deut 29:1 names a second covenant made in Moab, 'beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb'.

Verse 3

not… with our fathers, but with us — The 'fathers' of Deuteronomy are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to whom the oath was sworn (29:13). At Horeb the LORD bound the nation itself, 'even us, who are all of us here alive this day'. The Moab covenant reaches further, to 'him that is not here with us this day' (29:15).

Verse 5

I stood between the LORD and you — The people's request for a mediator is told in vv.23–27 (cf. Ex 20:19). Paul says the law 'was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator' (Gal 3:19). Heb 12:18–21 recalls the same mount, 'that burned with fire'; the fear was 'by reason of the fire'.

Verse 6

the house of bondage — Literally 'house of servants', from the root of 'servant' in v.15 and 'manservant' in v.14. The words match Ex 20:2, and the commandments open with what the LORD has already done, 'I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt', before any command is given.

Verse 9

a jealous God — Qanna', the word of Deut 4:24, 'a consuming fire, even a jealous God'. The visiting reaches 'them that hate me', and v.10 sets beside it 'mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments'. Each person answers for his own sin (Deut 24:16; Ezek 18:20).

Verse 11

in vain — Shav', emptiness or falsehood, the word rendered 'false' in 'false witness' (v.20). 'Take' is nasa, to lift or carry. Lev 19:12 gives the case, 'ye shall not swear by my name falsely', while Deut 6:13 commands the right use, 'shalt swear by his name'.

Verse 14

thy stranger that is within thy gates — Deuteronomy names more of the household than Ex 20:10, adding 'thine ox, nor thine ass', and gives the purpose, 'that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou'. Ex 23:12 states the same purpose: 'that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.'

Verse 15

thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt — Here the Sabbath rests on the exodus; Ex 20:11 gives the other ground, 'in six days the LORD made heaven and earth… and rested the seventh day'. 'A mighty hand and… a stretched out arm' is the pair of 4:34 and 7:19. 'Remember' (zakar) returns with the same reason in 15:15, 16:12 and 24:18, 22.

Verse 16

Honour thy father and thy mother — Kabad is to make weighty, to give weight to. Deuteronomy adds 'as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee' and 'that it may go well with thee' to the wording of Ex 20:12. Paul cites it as 'the first commandment with promise' (Eph 6:2–3).

Verse 17

Thou shalt not kill — Ratsach covers the murderer, who 'shall surely be put to death' (Num 35:16), and the slayer who 'should kill his neighbour unawares' and may flee to a city of refuge (Deut 4:42; Num 35:11). Christ takes the command back to the heart: 'whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause' (Matt 5:21–22).

Verse 21

desire… covet — Here two verbs: chamad, to delight in, for the neighbour's wife, and avah, to crave, for his house and goods. Ex 20:17 uses chamad for both and names the house first. Deuteronomy adds 'his field'. Paul quotes the command, 'Thou shalt not covet', as the one that showed him sin (Rom 7:7).

Verse 23

out of the midst of the darkness — Choshek. The voice came from darkness and fire together, as Heb 12:18 recalls: 'the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest'. The heads of the tribes and the elders now come near to Moses, and in vv.24–27 they ask that he go and hear for them.

Verse 29

O that there were such an heart in them — Literally 'who will give' such a heart, a wish. It is echoed in Isa 48:18, 'O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments!' The LORD supplies the heart himself: 'the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart' (Deut 30:6), and 'A new heart also will I give you' (Ezek 36:26).

Verse 32

the right hand or to the left — The same charge is given to the king (Deut 17:20), to Joshua, 'turn not from it to the right hand or to the left' (Josh 1:7), and to the son in Prov 4:27. 'Observe' is shamar, to guard, the 'keep' of v.1.