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Deuteronomy 6

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Purpose of the Commandments 1–3

1
Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it; ​
2
that thou mightest fear Jehovah thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. ​
3
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath promised unto thee, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

The Shema 4–9

4
Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah: ​
5
and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. ​
6
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;
7
and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ​
8
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. ​
9
And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.

Warnings Against Forgetfulness 10–19

10
And it shall be, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee, great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not, ​
11
and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and cisterns hewn out, which thou hewedst not, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou plantedst not, and thou shalt eat and be full;
12
then beware lest thou forget Jehovah, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ​
13
Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by his name.
14
Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples that are round about you;
15
for Jehovah thy God in the midst of thee is a jealous God; lest the anger of Jehovah thy God be kindled against thee, and he destroy thee from off the face of the earth. ​
16
Ye shall not tempt Jehovah your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. ​
17
Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of Jehovah your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
18
And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of Jehovah; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers,
19
to thrust out all thine enemies from before thee, as Jehovah hath spoken.

Teaching the Next Generation 20–25

20
When thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah our God hath commanded you? ​
21
then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt: and Jehovah brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; ​
22
and Jehovah showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house, before our eyes;
23
and he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
24
And Jehovah commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Jehovah our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day. ​
25
And it shall be righteousness unto us, if we observe to do all this commandment before Jehovah our God, as he hath commanded us. ​

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

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 6

Verse 1

the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments — Three words for the law: mitsvah, what is commanded; choq, what is decreed; mishpat, a ruling or judgment. They are given 'to teach' (lamad) and to be done 'in the land whither ye go to possess it' (yarash, to take possession). Moses spoke 'on this side Jordan, in the land of Moab' (Deut 1:5).

Verse 2

thou, and thy son, and thy son's son — The fear of the LORD is to run through three generations, 'all the days of thy life'. 'Prolonged' is arak, the verb of the fifth commandment, 'that thy days may be long' (Ex 20:12). The whole is summed up in Eccl 12:13: 'Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.'

Verse 4

The LORD our God is one LORD — 'Hear' (shama) gives the passage its name, the Shema. Echad, 'one', is the word of Gen 2:24, 'one flesh'. Christ calls this 'the first of all the commandments' (Mark 12:29); the promise is that 'in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one' (Zech 14:9), and Paul writes 'there is one God, and one mediator' (1 Tim 2:5).

Verse 5

with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might — Lebab is the heart, nephesh the whole person, and meod, 'might', is the adverb that gives 'very good' in Gen 1:31. Christ quotes it as 'the first commandment' in the form 'heart… soul… mind… strength' (Mark 12:30). Deut 30:6 promises the LORD will 'circumcise thine heart… to love the LORD'.

Verse 7

teach them diligently — Shanan is to sharpen or whet, as of a sword, 'If I whet my glittering sword' (Deut 32:41), so the words are driven in by repetition. The four settings, house, road, lying down and rising up, cover the whole day, and Deut 11:19 repeats them. Paul charges fathers to bring children up 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord' (Eph 6:4).

Verse 8

a sign upon thine hand… frontlets between thine eyes — Oth, 'sign', and totaphoth, 'frontlets', a word found only here, in Ex 13:16 and in Deut 11:18. Ex 13:9 has the same pair, 'a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD'S law may be in thy mouth'. Proverbs takes the figure inward: 'Bind them continually upon thine heart' (Prov 6:21).

Verse 10

cities, which thou buildedst not — The gift stands on the oath to the fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (cf. Gen 13:15). Verse 11 adds 'houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not', and Joshua recalls it: 'a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not' (Josh 24:13). All of this leads on to the warning of v.12.

Verse 12

beware lest thou forget the LORD — 'Beware' is shamar, to guard, the verb usually rendered 'keep' (v.2). Shakach, 'forget', is set against what he did: 'brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage' (Ex 20:2). The danger is stated in Deut 8:12–14, 'when thou hast eaten and art full… thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget'; Hos 13:6 says the same.

Verse 15

a jealous God among you — Qanna, 'jealous', is used only of the LORD (Ex 20:5; 34:14; Deut 4:24; 5:9; and here); 'among you' is qereb, in the midst, so the jealous God is the one who dwells among them. Moses has said earlier that he is 'a consuming fire, even a jealous God' (Deut 4:24). The anger kindled (charah) answers going 'after other gods' (v.14).

Verse 16

as ye tempted him in Massah — Nasah, 'to test', is the verb behind the place-name Massah; there Israel asked, 'Is the LORD among us, or not?' (Ex 17:7). Christ answers the devil with this verse (Matt 4:7; Luke 4:12). The same verb is 'to prove' when God tests them (Ex 20:20; Deut 8:2). Ps 95:8–9 recalls the day of Massah.

Verse 20

when thy son asketh thee in time to come — 'In time to come' is machar, literally 'tomorrow'. The child's question recurs: 'What mean ye by this service?' (Ex 12:26), 'What is this?' (Ex 13:14), 'What mean ye by these stones?' (Josh 4:6; cf. 4:21). Here he asks about 'the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments', and the answer in vv.21–25 is a history.

Verse 21

We were Pharaoh's bondmen — The answer begins with the speaker's own history: 'we', counting himself among those brought out. Ebed, 'bondman', is the word of 'the house of bondage' (v.12; Ex 20:2). Paul uses the same order: 'ye were the servants of sin… being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness' (Rom 6:17–18).

Verse 24

for our good always — The statutes are given 'for our good' (tov), and the pairing is in Deut 10:12–13: 'to fear the LORD thy God… which I command thee this day for thy good'. 'Preserve us alive' is chayah, to keep alive, as in Lev 18:5, 'Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them'.

Verse 25

it shall be our righteousness — Tsedaqah, the word of Gen 15:6, 'he counted it to him for righteousness', and of Deut 24:13, where returning a pledge 'shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD'. Here it lies in 'observing to do'. Paul quotes this standard when he writes that 'Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law' (Rom 10:5).