Hear, Obey, and Do Not Forget: The Incomparable God and His Word

Deu 4:1-8 The Israelites were to hearken to the laws and rights which Moses taught to do (that they were to do), that they might live and attain to the possession of the land which the Lord would give them. “Hearkening” involves laying to heart and observing. The words “ statutes and judgments ” (as in Lev 19:37) denote the whole of the law of the covenant in its two leading features.

חקּים, statutes , includes the moral commandments and statutory covenant laws, for which חק and חקּה are mostly used in the earlier books; that is to say, all that the people were bound to observe; משׁפּטים, rights , all that was due to them, whether in relation to God or to their fellow-men (cf. Deu 26:17). Sometimes המּצוה, the commandment , is connected with it, either placed first in the singular, as a general comprehensive notion (Deu 5:28; Deu 6:1; Deu 7:11), or in the plural (Deu 8:11; Deu 11:1; Deu 30:16); or העדת, the testimonies , the commandments as a manifestation of the will of God (Deu 4:45, Deu 6:17, Deu 6:20).

- Life itself depended upon the fulfilment or long life in the promised land (Exo 20:12), as Moses repeatedly impressed upon them (cf. Deu 4:40; Deu 5:30; Deu 6:2; Deu 8:1; Deu 11:21; Deu 16:20; Deu 25:15; Deu 30:6, Deu 30:15. , Deu 32:47). ירשׁתּם, for ירשׁתּם (as in Deu 4:22, Jos 1:16; cf. Ges. §44, 2, Anm . 2).

Deu 4:1-8 The Israelites were to hearken to the laws and rights which Moses taught to do (that they were to do), that they might live and attain to the possession of the land which the Lord would give them. “Hearkening” involves laying to heart and observing. The words “ statutes and judgments ” (as in Lev 19:37) denote the whole of the law of the covenant in its two leading features.

חקּים, statutes , includes the moral commandments and statutory covenant laws, for which חק and חקּה are mostly used in the earlier books; that is to say, all that the people were bound to observe; משׁפּטים, rights , all that was due to them, whether in relation to God or to their fellow-men (cf. Deu 26:17). Sometimes המּצוה, the commandment , is connected with it, either placed first in the singular, as a general comprehensive notion (Deu 5:28; Deu 6:1; Deu 7:11), or in the plural (Deu 8:11; Deu 11:1; Deu 30:16); or העדת, the testimonies , the commandments as a manifestation of the will of God (Deu 4:45, Deu 6:17, Deu 6:20).

- Life itself depended upon the fulfilment or long life in the promised land (Exo 20:12), as Moses repeatedly impressed upon them (cf. Deu 4:40; Deu 5:30; Deu 6:2; Deu 8:1; Deu 11:21; Deu 16:20; Deu 25:15; Deu 30:6, Deu 30:15. , Deu 32:47). ירשׁתּם, for ירשׁתּם (as in Deu 4:22, Jos 1:16; cf. Ges. §44, 2, Anm . 2).

Deu 4:1-8 The Israelites were to hearken to the laws and rights which Moses taught to do (that they were to do), that they might live and attain to the possession of the land which the Lord would give them. “Hearkening” involves laying to heart and observing. The words “ statutes and judgments ” (as in Lev 19:37) denote the whole of the law of the covenant in its two leading features.

חקּים, statutes , includes the moral commandments and statutory covenant laws, for which חק and חקּה are mostly used in the earlier books; that is to say, all that the people were bound to observe; משׁפּטים, rights , all that was due to them, whether in relation to God or to their fellow-men (cf. Deu 26:17). Sometimes המּצוה, the commandment , is connected with it, either placed first in the singular, as a general comprehensive notion (Deu 5:28; Deu 6:1; Deu 7:11), or in the plural (Deu 8:11; Deu 11:1; Deu 30:16); or העדת, the testimonies , the commandments as a manifestation of the will of God (Deu 4:45, Deu 6:17, Deu 6:20).

- Life itself depended upon the fulfilment or long life in the promised land (Exo 20:12), as Moses repeatedly impressed upon them (cf. Deu 4:40; Deu 5:30; Deu 6:2; Deu 8:1; Deu 11:21; Deu 16:20; Deu 25:15; Deu 30:6, Deu 30:15. , Deu 32:47). ירשׁתּם, for ירשׁתּם (as in Deu 4:22, Jos 1:16; cf. Ges. §44, 2, Anm . 2).

Deu 4:9 “ Only beware and take care of thyself . ” To “keep the soul,” i. e. , to take care of the soul as the seat of life, to defend one’s life from danger and injury (Pro 13:3; Pro 19:16). “ That thou do not forget את־הדּברים (the facts described in Ex 19-24), <), and that they do not depart from thy heart all the days of thy life ,” i. e. , are not forgotten as long as thou livest, “ and thou makest them known to thy children and thy children’s children .

” These acts of God formed the foundation of the true religion, the real basis of the covenant legislation, and the firm guarantee of the objective truth and divinity of all the laws and ordinances which Moses gave to the people. And it was this which constituted the essential distinction between the religion of the Old Testament and all heathen religions, whose founders, it is true, professed to derive their doctrines and statutes from divine inspiration, but without giving any practical guarantee that their origin was truly divine.

Deu 4:10-12 In the words, “ The day (היּום, adverbial accusative) “ that thou stoodest before Jehovah thy God at Horeb ,” etc. , Moses reminds the people of the leading features of those grand events: first of all of the fact that God directed him to gather the people together, that He might make known His words to them (Exo 19:9.) , that they were to learn to fear Him all their life long, and to teach their children also (יראה, inf.

, like שׂנאה, Deu 1:27); and secondly (Deu 4:11), that they came near to the mountain which burned in fire (cf. Exo 19:17.) The expression, burning in fire “ even to the heart of heaven ,” i. e. , quite into the sky, is a rhetorical description of the awful majesty of the pillar of fire, in which the glory of the Lord appeared upon Sinai, intended to impress deeply upon the minds of the people the remembrance of this manifestation of God.

And the expression, “ darkness, clouds, and thick darkness, ” which is equivalent to the smoking of the great mountain (Exo 19:18), is employed with the same object. And lastly (Deu 4:12, Deu 4:13), he reminds them that the Lord spoke out of the midst of the fire, and adds this important remark, to prepare the way for what is to follow, “ Ye heard the sound of the words, but ye did not see a shape, ” which not only agrees most fully with Ex 24, where it is stated that the sight of the glory of Jehovah upon the mountain appeared to the people as they stood at the foot of the mountain “like devouring fire” (Deu 4:17), and that even the elders who “saw God” upon the mountain at the conclusion of the covenant saw no form of God (Deu 4:11), but also with Exo 33:20, Exo 33:23, according to which no man can see the face (פּנים) of God.

Even the similitude ( Temunah ) of Jehovah, which Moses saw when the Lord spoke to him mouth to mouth (Num 12:8), was not the form of the essential being of God which was visible to his bodily eyes, but simply a manifestation of the glory of God answering to his own intuition and perceptive faculty, which is not to be regarded as a form of God which was an adequate representation of the divine nature. The true God has no such form which is visible to the human eye.

Deu 4:10-12 In the words, “ The day (היּום, adverbial accusative) “ that thou stoodest before Jehovah thy God at Horeb ,” etc. , Moses reminds the people of the leading features of those grand events: first of all of the fact that God directed him to gather the people together, that He might make known His words to them (Exo 19:9.) , that they were to learn to fear Him all their life long, and to teach their children also (יראה, inf.

, like שׂנאה, Deu 1:27); and secondly (Deu 4:11), that they came near to the mountain which burned in fire (cf. Exo 19:17.) The expression, burning in fire “ even to the heart of heaven ,” i. e. , quite into the sky, is a rhetorical description of the awful majesty of the pillar of fire, in which the glory of the Lord appeared upon Sinai, intended to impress deeply upon the minds of the people the remembrance of this manifestation of God.

And the expression, “ darkness, clouds, and thick darkness, ” which is equivalent to the smoking of the great mountain (Exo 19:18), is employed with the same object. And lastly (Deu 4:12, Deu 4:13), he reminds them that the Lord spoke out of the midst of the fire, and adds this important remark, to prepare the way for what is to follow, “ Ye heard the sound of the words, but ye did not see a shape, ” which not only agrees most fully with Ex 24, where it is stated that the sight of the glory of Jehovah upon the mountain appeared to the people as they stood at the foot of the mountain “like devouring fire” (Deu 4:17), and that even the elders who “saw God” upon the mountain at the conclusion of the covenant saw no form of God (Deu 4:11), but also with Exo 33:20, Exo 33:23, according to which no man can see the face (פּנים) of God.

Even the similitude ( Temunah ) of Jehovah, which Moses saw when the Lord spoke to him mouth to mouth (Num 12:8), was not the form of the essential being of God which was visible to his bodily eyes, but simply a manifestation of the glory of God answering to his own intuition and perceptive faculty, which is not to be regarded as a form of God which was an adequate representation of the divine nature. The true God has no such form which is visible to the human eye.

Deu 4:10-12 In the words, “ The day (היּום, adverbial accusative) “ that thou stoodest before Jehovah thy God at Horeb ,” etc. , Moses reminds the people of the leading features of those grand events: first of all of the fact that God directed him to gather the people together, that He might make known His words to them (Exo 19:9.) , that they were to learn to fear Him all their life long, and to teach their children also (יראה, inf.

, like שׂנאה, Deu 1:27); and secondly (Deu 4:11), that they came near to the mountain which burned in fire (cf. Exo 19:17.) The expression, burning in fire “ even to the heart of heaven ,” i. e. , quite into the sky, is a rhetorical description of the awful majesty of the pillar of fire, in which the glory of the Lord appeared upon Sinai, intended to impress deeply upon the minds of the people the remembrance of this manifestation of God.

And the expression, “ darkness, clouds, and thick darkness, ” which is equivalent to the smoking of the great mountain (Exo 19:18), is employed with the same object. And lastly (Deu 4:12, Deu 4:13), he reminds them that the Lord spoke out of the midst of the fire, and adds this important remark, to prepare the way for what is to follow, “ Ye heard the sound of the words, but ye did not see a shape, ” which not only agrees most fully with Ex 24, where it is stated that the sight of the glory of Jehovah upon the mountain appeared to the people as they stood at the foot of the mountain “like devouring fire” (Deu 4:17), and that even the elders who “saw God” upon the mountain at the conclusion of the covenant saw no form of God (Deu 4:11), but also with Exo 33:20, Exo 33:23, according to which no man can see the face (פּנים) of God.

Even the similitude ( Temunah ) of Jehovah, which Moses saw when the Lord spoke to him mouth to mouth (Num 12:8), was not the form of the essential being of God which was visible to his bodily eyes, but simply a manifestation of the glory of God answering to his own intuition and perceptive faculty, which is not to be regarded as a form of God which was an adequate representation of the divine nature. The true God has no such form which is visible to the human eye.

Deu 4:13 The Israelites, therefore, could not see a form of God, but could only hear the voice of His words, when the Lord proclaimed His covenant to them, and gave utterance to the ten words, which He afterwards gave to Moses written upon two tables of stone (Exo 20:1-14 [17], and Exo 31:18, compared with Exo 24:12). On the “tables of stone,” see at Exo 34:1.

Deu 4:14 When the Lord Himself had made known to the people in the ten words the covenant which He commanded them to do, He directed Moses to teach them laws and rights which they were to observe in Canaan, viz., the rights and statutes of the Sinaitic legislation, from Ex 21 onwards.

Deu 4:15-16 As the Israelites had seen no shape of God at Horeb, they were to beware for their souls’ sake (for their lives) of acting corruptly, and making to themselves any kind of image of Jehovah their God, namely, as the context shows, to worship God in it. (On pesel , see at Exo 20:4.) The words which follow, viz., “ a form of any kind of sculpture ,” and “ a representation of male or female ” (for tabnith , see at Exo 25:9), are in apposition to “graven image,” and serve to explain and emphasize the prohibition.

Deu 4:15-16 As the Israelites had seen no shape of God at Horeb, they were to beware for their souls’ sake (for their lives) of acting corruptly, and making to themselves any kind of image of Jehovah their God, namely, as the context shows, to worship God in it. (On pesel , see at Exo 20:4.) The words which follow, viz., “ a form of any kind of sculpture ,” and “ a representation of male or female ” (for tabnith , see at Exo 25:9), are in apposition to “graven image,” and serve to explain and emphasize the prohibition.

Deu 4:17-18 They were also not to make an image of any kind of beast; a caution against imitating the animal worship of Egypt.

Deu 4:17-18 They were also not to make an image of any kind of beast; a caution against imitating the animal worship of Egypt.

Deu 4:19 They were not to allow themselves to be torn away (נדּח) to worship the stars of heaven, namely, by the seductive influence exerted upon the senses by the sight of the heavenly bodies as they shone in their glorious splendour. The reason for this prohibition is given in the relative clause, “ which Jehovah thy God hath allotted to all nations under the whole heaven .

” The thought is not, “God has given the heathen the sun, moon, and stars for service, i. e. , to serve them with their light,” as Onkelos, the Rabbins, Jerome, and others, suppose, but He has allotted them to them for worship, i. e. , permitted them to choose them as the objects of their worship, which is the view adopted by Justin Martyr, Clemens Alex. , and others.

According to the scriptural view, even the idolatry of the heathen existed by divine permission and arrangement. God gave up the heathen to idolatry and shameful lusts, because, although they knew Him from His works, they did not praise Him as God (Rom 1:21, Rom 1:24, Rom 1:26).

Deu 4:20 The Israelites were not to imitate the heathen in this respect, because Jehovah, who brought them out of the iron furnace of Egypt, had taken them (לקח) to Himself, i. e. , had drawn them out or separated them from the rest of the nations, to be a people of inheritance. They were therefore not to seek God and pray to Him in any kind of creature, but to worship Him without image and form, in a manner corresponding to His own nature, which had been manifested in no form, and therefore could not be imitated.

בּרזל כּוּר, an iron furnace, or furnace for smelting iron, is a significant figure descriptive of the terrible sufferings endured by Israel in Egypt. נחלה עם (a people of inheritance) is synonymous with סגלּה עם (a special people, Deu 7:6 : see at Exo 19:5, “a peculiar treasure”). “ This day: ” as in Deu 2:30.

Deu 4:21-24 The bringing of Israel out of Egypt reminds Moses of the end, viz. , Canaan, and leads him to mention again how the Lord had refused him permission to enter into this good land; and to this he adds the renewed warning not to forget the covenant or make any image of God, since Jehovah, as a jealous God, would never tolerate this. The swearing attributed to God in Deu 4:21 is neither mentioned in Num 20 nor at the announcement of Moses’ death in Num 27:12.

; but it is not to be called in question on that account, as Knobel supposes. It is perfectly obvious from Deu 3:23. that all the details are not given in the historical account of the event referred to. כּל תּמוּנת פּסל, “ image of a form of all that Jehovah has commanded ,” sc. , not to be made (Deu 4:16-18). “ A consuming fire ” (Deu 4:24): this epithet is applied to God with special reference to the manifestation of His glory in burning fire (Exo 24:17).

On the symbolical meaning of this mode of revelation, see at Exo 3:2. “ A jealous God: ” see at Exo 20:5. To give emphasis to this warning, Moses holds up the future dispersion of the nation among the heathen as the punishment of apostasy from the Lord.

Deu 4:21-24 The bringing of Israel out of Egypt reminds Moses of the end, viz. , Canaan, and leads him to mention again how the Lord had refused him permission to enter into this good land; and to this he adds the renewed warning not to forget the covenant or make any image of God, since Jehovah, as a jealous God, would never tolerate this. The swearing attributed to God in Deu 4:21 is neither mentioned in Num 20 nor at the announcement of Moses’ death in Num 27:12.

; but it is not to be called in question on that account, as Knobel supposes. It is perfectly obvious from Deu 3:23. that all the details are not given in the historical account of the event referred to. כּל תּמוּנת פּסל, “ image of a form of all that Jehovah has commanded ,” sc. , not to be made (Deu 4:16-18). “ A consuming fire ” (Deu 4:24): this epithet is applied to God with special reference to the manifestation of His glory in burning fire (Exo 24:17).

On the symbolical meaning of this mode of revelation, see at Exo 3:2. “ A jealous God: ” see at Exo 20:5. To give emphasis to this warning, Moses holds up the future dispersion of the nation among the heathen as the punishment of apostasy from the Lord.

Deu 4:21-24 The bringing of Israel out of Egypt reminds Moses of the end, viz. , Canaan, and leads him to mention again how the Lord had refused him permission to enter into this good land; and to this he adds the renewed warning not to forget the covenant or make any image of God, since Jehovah, as a jealous God, would never tolerate this. The swearing attributed to God in Deu 4:21 is neither mentioned in Num 20 nor at the announcement of Moses’ death in Num 27:12.

; but it is not to be called in question on that account, as Knobel supposes. It is perfectly obvious from Deu 3:23. that all the details are not given in the historical account of the event referred to. כּל תּמוּנת פּסל, “ image of a form of all that Jehovah has commanded ,” sc. , not to be made (Deu 4:16-18). “ A consuming fire ” (Deu 4:24): this epithet is applied to God with special reference to the manifestation of His glory in burning fire (Exo 24:17).

On the symbolical meaning of this mode of revelation, see at Exo 3:2. “ A jealous God: ” see at Exo 20:5. To give emphasis to this warning, Moses holds up the future dispersion of the nation among the heathen as the punishment of apostasy from the Lord.

Deu 4:21-24 The bringing of Israel out of Egypt reminds Moses of the end, viz. , Canaan, and leads him to mention again how the Lord had refused him permission to enter into this good land; and to this he adds the renewed warning not to forget the covenant or make any image of God, since Jehovah, as a jealous God, would never tolerate this. The swearing attributed to God in Deu 4:21 is neither mentioned in Num 20 nor at the announcement of Moses’ death in Num 27:12.

; but it is not to be called in question on that account, as Knobel supposes. It is perfectly obvious from Deu 3:23. that all the details are not given in the historical account of the event referred to. כּל תּמוּנת פּסל, “ image of a form of all that Jehovah has commanded ,” sc. , not to be made (Deu 4:16-18). “ A consuming fire ” (Deu 4:24): this epithet is applied to God with special reference to the manifestation of His glory in burning fire (Exo 24:17).

On the symbolical meaning of this mode of revelation, see at Exo 3:2. “ A jealous God: ” see at Exo 20:5. To give emphasis to this warning, Moses holds up the future dispersion of the nation among the heathen as the punishment of apostasy from the Lord.

Deu 4:25-26 If the Israelites should beget children and children’s children, and grow old in the land, and then should make images of God, and do that which was displeasing to God to provoke Him; in that case Moses called upon heaven and earth as witnesses against them, that they should be quickly destroyed out of the land. “ Growing old in the land ” involved forgetfulness of the former manifestations of grace on the part of the Lord, but not necessarily becoming voluptuous through the enjoyment of the riches of the land, although this might also lead to forgetfulness of God and the manifestations of His grace (cf.

Deu 6:10. , Deu 32:15). The apodosis commences with Deu 4:26. העיד, with בּ and the accusative, to take or summon as a witness against a person. Heaven and earth do not stand here for the rational beings dwelling in them, but are personified, represented as living, and capable of sensation and speech, and mentioned as witnesses who would raise up against Israel, not to proclaim its guilt, but to bear witness that God, the Lord of heaven and earth, had warned the people, and, as it is described in the parallel passage in Deu 30:19, had set before them the choice of life and death, and therefore was just in punishing them for their unfaithfulness (cf.

Psa 50:6; Psa 51:6). “Prolong days,” as in Exo 20:12.

Deu 4:25-26 If the Israelites should beget children and children’s children, and grow old in the land, and then should make images of God, and do that which was displeasing to God to provoke Him; in that case Moses called upon heaven and earth as witnesses against them, that they should be quickly destroyed out of the land. “ Growing old in the land ” involved forgetfulness of the former manifestations of grace on the part of the Lord, but not necessarily becoming voluptuous through the enjoyment of the riches of the land, although this might also lead to forgetfulness of God and the manifestations of His grace (cf.

Deu 6:10. , Deu 32:15). The apodosis commences with Deu 4:26. העיד, with בּ and the accusative, to take or summon as a witness against a person. Heaven and earth do not stand here for the rational beings dwelling in them, but are personified, represented as living, and capable of sensation and speech, and mentioned as witnesses who would raise up against Israel, not to proclaim its guilt, but to bear witness that God, the Lord of heaven and earth, had warned the people, and, as it is described in the parallel passage in Deu 30:19, had set before them the choice of life and death, and therefore was just in punishing them for their unfaithfulness (cf.

Psa 50:6; Psa 51:6). “Prolong days,” as in Exo 20:12.

Deu 4:27 Jehovah would scatter them among the nations, where they would perish through want and suffering, and only a few (מספּר מתי, Gen 34:30) would be left. “Whither” refers to the nations whose land is thought of (cf. Deu 12:29; Deu 30:3). For the thing intended, see Lev 26:33, Lev 26:36, Lev 26:38-39, and Deu 28:64., from which it is evident that the author had not “the fate of the nation in the time of the Assyrians in his mind” ( Knobel ), but rather all the dispersions which would come upon the rebellious nation in future times, even down to the dispersion under the Romans, which continues still; so that Moses contemplated the punishment in its fullest extent.

Deu 4:28 There among the heathen they would be obliged to serve gods that were the work of men’s hands, gods of wood and stone, that could neither hear, nor eat, nor smell, i. e. , possessed no senses, showed no sign of life. What Moses threatens here, follows from the eternal laws of the divine government. The more refined idolatry of image-worship leads to coarser and coarser forms, in which the whole nature of idol-worship is manifested in all its pitiableness.

“When once the God of revelation is forsaken, the God of reason and imagination must also soon be given up and make way for still lower powers, that perfectly accord with the I exalted upon the throne, and in the time of pretended 'illumination' to atheism and materialism also” ( Schultz ).

Deu 4:29 From thence Israel would come to itself again in the time of deepest misery, like the prodigal son in the gospel (Luk 15:17), would seek the Lord its God, and would also find Him if it sought with all its heart and soul (cf. Deu 6:5; Deu 10:12).

Deu 4:37-38 All this He did from love to the fathers of Israel (the patriarchs): “ and indeed because He loved thy fathers, He chose his seed (the seed of Abraham, the first of the patriarchs) after him, and brought thee (Israel) out of Egypt by His face with great power, to drive out... and to bring thee, to give thee their land... so that thou mightest know and take to heart...

and keep His laws ,” etc. With regard to the construction of these verses, the clause כּי ותחת (and because) in Deu 4:37 is not to be regarded as dependent upon what precedes, as Schultz supposes; nor are Deu 4:37 and Deu 4:38 to be taken as the protasis, and Deu 4:39, Deu 4:40 as the apodosis (as Knobel maintains). Both forms of construction are forced and unnatural.

The verses form an independent thought; and the most important point, which was to bind Israel to faithfulness towards Jehovah, is given as the sum and substance of the whole address, and placed as a protasis at the head of the period. The only thing that admits of dispute, is whether the apodosis commences with ויּבחר (“ He chose ,” Deu 4:37), or only with ויּוצאך (“ brought thee out ”).

Either is possible; and it makes no difference, so far as the main thought is concerned, whether we regard the choice of Israel, or simply the deliverance from Egypt, in which that choice was carried into practical effect, as the consequence of the love of Jehovah to the patriarchs. - The copula ו before תהת is specially emphatic, “ and truly ,” and indicates that the sum and substance of the whole discourse is about to follow, or the one thought in which the whole appeal culminates.

It was the love of God to the fathers, not the righteousness of Israel (Deu 9:5), which lay at the foundation of the election of their posterity to be the nation of Jehovah’s possession, and also of all the miracles of grace which were performed in connection with their deliverance out of Egypt. Moses returns to this thought again at Deu 10:15, for the purpose of impressing it upon the minds of the people as the one motive which laid them under the strongest obligation to circumcise the foreskin of their heart, and walk in the fear and love of the Lord their God (Deu 10:12.)

- The singular suffixes in זרעו (his seed) and אחריו after him) refer to Abraham, whom Moses had especially in his mind when speaking of “thy fathers,” because he was pre-eminently the lover of God (Isa 41:8; 2Ch 20:7), and also the beloved or friend of God (Jam 2:23; cf. Gen 18:17.) “ By His face ” points back to Exo 33:14. The face of Jehovah was Jehovah in His personal presence, in His won person, who brought Israel out of Egypt, to root out great and mighty nations before it, and give it their land for an inheritance.

“ As this day ” (clearly shows), viz. , by the destruction of Sihon and Og, which gave to the Israelites a practical pledge that the Canaanites in like manner would be rooted out before them. The expression “as this day” does not imply, therefore, that the Canaanites were already rooted out from their land.

Deu 4:37-38 All this He did from love to the fathers of Israel (the patriarchs): “ and indeed because He loved thy fathers, He chose his seed (the seed of Abraham, the first of the patriarchs) after him, and brought thee (Israel) out of Egypt by His face with great power, to drive out... and to bring thee, to give thee their land... so that thou mightest know and take to heart...

and keep His laws ,” etc. With regard to the construction of these verses, the clause כּי ותחת (and because) in Deu 4:37 is not to be regarded as dependent upon what precedes, as Schultz supposes; nor are Deu 4:37 and Deu 4:38 to be taken as the protasis, and Deu 4:39, Deu 4:40 as the apodosis (as Knobel maintains). Both forms of construction are forced and unnatural.

The verses form an independent thought; and the most important point, which was to bind Israel to faithfulness towards Jehovah, is given as the sum and substance of the whole address, and placed as a protasis at the head of the period. The only thing that admits of dispute, is whether the apodosis commences with ויּבחר (“ He chose ,” Deu 4:37), or only with ויּוצאך (“ brought thee out ”).

Either is possible; and it makes no difference, so far as the main thought is concerned, whether we regard the choice of Israel, or simply the deliverance from Egypt, in which that choice was carried into practical effect, as the consequence of the love of Jehovah to the patriarchs. - The copula ו before תהת is specially emphatic, “ and truly ,” and indicates that the sum and substance of the whole discourse is about to follow, or the one thought in which the whole appeal culminates.

It was the love of God to the fathers, not the righteousness of Israel (Deu 9:5), which lay at the foundation of the election of their posterity to be the nation of Jehovah’s possession, and also of all the miracles of grace which were performed in connection with their deliverance out of Egypt. Moses returns to this thought again at Deu 10:15, for the purpose of impressing it upon the minds of the people as the one motive which laid them under the strongest obligation to circumcise the foreskin of their heart, and walk in the fear and love of the Lord their God (Deu 10:12.)

- The singular suffixes in זרעו (his seed) and אחריו after him) refer to Abraham, whom Moses had especially in his mind when speaking of “thy fathers,” because he was pre-eminently the lover of God (Isa 41:8; 2Ch 20:7), and also the beloved or friend of God (Jam 2:23; cf. Gen 18:17.) “ By His face ” points back to Exo 33:14. The face of Jehovah was Jehovah in His personal presence, in His won person, who brought Israel out of Egypt, to root out great and mighty nations before it, and give it their land for an inheritance.

“ As this day ” (clearly shows), viz. , by the destruction of Sihon and Og, which gave to the Israelites a practical pledge that the Canaanites in like manner would be rooted out before them. The expression “as this day” does not imply, therefore, that the Canaanites were already rooted out from their land.

Deu 4:39-40 By this the Israelites were to know and lay it to heart, that Jehovah alone was God in heaven and on earth, and were to keep His commandments, in order that (אשׁר) it might be well with them and their descendants, and they might have long life in Canaan. כּל־היּמים, “all time,” for all the future (cf. Exo 20:12).

Deu 4:39-40 By this the Israelites were to know and lay it to heart, that Jehovah alone was God in heaven and on earth, and were to keep His commandments, in order that (אשׁר) it might be well with them and their descendants, and they might have long life in Canaan. כּל־היּמים, “all time,” for all the future (cf. Exo 20:12).

Deu 4:41-43 Selection of Three Cities of Refuge for Unintentional Manslayers on the East of the Jordan. - The account of this appointment of the cities of refuge in the conquered land on the east of the Jordan is inserted between the first and second addresses of Moses, in all probability for no other reason than because Moses set apart the cities at that time according to the command of God in Num 35:6, Num 35:14, not only to give the land on that side its full consecration, and thoroughly confirm the possession of the two Amoritish kingdoms on the other side of the Jordan, but also to give the people in this punctual observance of the duty devolving upon it an example for their imitation in the conscientious observance of the commandments of the Lord, which he was now about to lay before the nation.

The assertion that this section neither stood after Num, nor really belongs there, has a little foundation as the statement that its contents are at variance with the precepts in Deut 19. “Toward the sunrising” is introduced as a more precise definition; היּרדּן עבר, like מזרחה in Num 32:19 and Num 34:15. On the contents of Deu 4:42, comp. Num 35:15. The three towns that were set apart were Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan .

“ Bezer in the steppe , (namely) in the land of the level ” (The Amoritish table-land: Deu 3:10). The situation of this Levitical town and city of refuge, which is only mentioned again in Jos 20:8; Jos 21:36, and 1Ch 6:63, has not yet been discovered. Bezer was probably the same as Bosor (1 Macc. 5:36), and is possibly to be seen in the Berza mentioned by Robinson ( Pal.

App. p. 170). Ramoth in Gilead, i. e. , Ramoth-Mizpeh (comp. Jos 20:8 with Jos 13:26), was situated, according to the Onom . , fifteen Roman miles, or six hours, to the west of Philadelphia ( Rabbath-Ammon ); probably, therefore, on the site of the modern Salt , which is six hours’ journey from Ammân (cf. v. Raumer , Pal. pp. 265, 266). - Golan , in Bashan , according to Eusebius ( s.

v. Gaulon or Golan ), was still a very large village in Batanaea even in his day, from which the district generally received the name of Gaulonitis or Joan ; but it has not yet been discovered again.

Deu 4:41-43 Selection of Three Cities of Refuge for Unintentional Manslayers on the East of the Jordan. - The account of this appointment of the cities of refuge in the conquered land on the east of the Jordan is inserted between the first and second addresses of Moses, in all probability for no other reason than because Moses set apart the cities at that time according to the command of God in Num 35:6, Num 35:14, not only to give the land on that side its full consecration, and thoroughly confirm the possession of the two Amoritish kingdoms on the other side of the Jordan, but also to give the people in this punctual observance of the duty devolving upon it an example for their imitation in the conscientious observance of the commandments of the Lord, which he was now about to lay before the nation.

The assertion that this section neither stood after Num, nor really belongs there, has a little foundation as the statement that its contents are at variance with the precepts in Deut 19. “Toward the sunrising” is introduced as a more precise definition; היּרדּן עבר, like מזרחה in Num 32:19 and Num 34:15. On the contents of Deu 4:42, comp. Num 35:15. The three towns that were set apart were Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan .

“ Bezer in the steppe , (namely) in the land of the level ” (The Amoritish table-land: Deu 3:10). The situation of this Levitical town and city of refuge, which is only mentioned again in Jos 20:8; Jos 21:36, and 1Ch 6:63, has not yet been discovered. Bezer was probably the same as Bosor (1 Macc. 5:36), and is possibly to be seen in the Berza mentioned by Robinson ( Pal.

App. p. 170). Ramoth in Gilead, i. e. , Ramoth-Mizpeh (comp. Jos 20:8 with Jos 13:26), was situated, according to the Onom . , fifteen Roman miles, or six hours, to the west of Philadelphia ( Rabbath-Ammon ); probably, therefore, on the site of the modern Salt , which is six hours’ journey from Ammân (cf. v. Raumer , Pal. pp. 265, 266). - Golan , in Bashan , according to Eusebius ( s.

v. Gaulon or Golan ), was still a very large village in Batanaea even in his day, from which the district generally received the name of Gaulonitis or Joan ; but it has not yet been discovered again.

Deu 4:41-43 Selection of Three Cities of Refuge for Unintentional Manslayers on the East of the Jordan. - The account of this appointment of the cities of refuge in the conquered land on the east of the Jordan is inserted between the first and second addresses of Moses, in all probability for no other reason than because Moses set apart the cities at that time according to the command of God in Num 35:6, Num 35:14, not only to give the land on that side its full consecration, and thoroughly confirm the possession of the two Amoritish kingdoms on the other side of the Jordan, but also to give the people in this punctual observance of the duty devolving upon it an example for their imitation in the conscientious observance of the commandments of the Lord, which he was now about to lay before the nation.

The assertion that this section neither stood after Num, nor really belongs there, has a little foundation as the statement that its contents are at variance with the precepts in Deut 19. “Toward the sunrising” is introduced as a more precise definition; היּרדּן עבר, like מזרחה in Num 32:19 and Num 34:15. On the contents of Deu 4:42, comp. Num 35:15. The three towns that were set apart were Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan .

“ Bezer in the steppe , (namely) in the land of the level ” (The Amoritish table-land: Deu 3:10). The situation of this Levitical town and city of refuge, which is only mentioned again in Jos 20:8; Jos 21:36, and 1Ch 6:63, has not yet been discovered. Bezer was probably the same as Bosor (1 Macc. 5:36), and is possibly to be seen in the Berza mentioned by Robinson ( Pal.

App. p. 170). Ramoth in Gilead, i. e. , Ramoth-Mizpeh (comp. Jos 20:8 with Jos 13:26), was situated, according to the Onom . , fifteen Roman miles, or six hours, to the west of Philadelphia ( Rabbath-Ammon ); probably, therefore, on the site of the modern Salt , which is six hours’ journey from Ammân (cf. v. Raumer , Pal. pp. 265, 266). - Golan , in Bashan , according to Eusebius ( s.

v. Gaulon or Golan ), was still a very large village in Batanaea even in his day, from which the district generally received the name of Gaulonitis or Joan ; but it has not yet been discovered again.

This address, which is described in the heading as the law which Moses set before the Israelites, commences with a repetition of the decalogue, and a notice of the powerful impression which was made, through the proclamation of it by God Himself, upon the people who were assembled round Him at Horeb (Deut 5). In the first and more general part, it shows that the true essence of the law, and of that righteousness which the Israelites were to strive after, consisted in loving Jehovah their God with all their heart (Deut 6); that the people were bound, by virtue of their election as the Lord’s people of possession, to exterminate the Canaanites with their idolatrous worship, in order to rejoice in the blessing of God (Deut 7) ; but more especially that, having regard on the one hand to the divine chastisement and humiliation which they had experienced in the desert (Deut 8), and on the other hand to the frequency with which they had rebelled against their God (Deut 9:1-10:11), they were to beware of self-exaltation and self-righteousness, that in the land of Canaan, of which they were about to take possession, they might not forget their God when enjoying the rich productions of the land, but might retain the blessings of their God for ever by a faithful observance of the covenant (Deut 10:12-11:32).

Then after this there follows an exposition of the different commandments of the law (Deut 12—26). Deu 4:44-49 Announcement of the Discourse upon the Law. - First of all, in Deu 4:44, we have the general notice in the form of a heading: “ This is the Thorah which Moses set before the children of Israel; ” and then, in Deu 4:45, Deu 4:46, a fuller description of the Thorah according to its leading features, “ testimonies, statutes, and rights ” (see at Deu 4:1), together with a notice of the place and time at which Moses delivered this address.

“ On their coming out of Egypt ,” i. e. , not “after they had come out,” but during the march, before they had reached the goal of their journeyings, viz. , (Deu 4:46) when they were still on the other side of the Jordan. “ In the valley ,” as in Deu 3:29. “ In the land of Sihon ,” and therefore already upon ground which the Lord had given them for a possession.

The importance of this possession as the first-fruit and pledge of the fulfilment of the further promises of God, led Moses to mention again, though briefly, the defeat of the two kings of the Amorites, together with the conquest of their land, just as he had done before in Deu 2:32-36 and 3:1-17. On Deu 4:48, cf. Deu 3:9, Deu 3:12-17. Sion , for Hermon (see at Deu 3:9).

This address, which is described in the heading as the law which Moses set before the Israelites, commences with a repetition of the decalogue, and a notice of the powerful impression which was made, through the proclamation of it by God Himself, upon the people who were assembled round Him at Horeb (Deut 5). In the first and more general part, it shows that the true essence of the law, and of that righteousness which the Israelites were to strive after, consisted in loving Jehovah their God with all their heart (Deut 6); that the people were bound, by virtue of their election as the Lord’s people of possession, to exterminate the Canaanites with their idolatrous worship, in order to rejoice in the blessing of God (Deut 7) ; but more especially that, having regard on the one hand to the divine chastisement and humiliation which they had experienced in the desert (Deut 8), and on the other hand to the frequency with which they had rebelled against their God (Deut 9:1-10:11), they were to beware of self-exaltation and self-righteousness, that in the land of Canaan, of which they were about to take possession, they might not forget their God when enjoying the rich productions of the land, but might retain the blessings of their God for ever by a faithful observance of the covenant (Deut 10:12-11:32).

Then after this there follows an exposition of the different commandments of the law (Deut 12—26). Deu 4:44-49 Announcement of the Discourse upon the Law. - First of all, in Deu 4:44, we have the general notice in the form of a heading: “ This is the Thorah which Moses set before the children of Israel; ” and then, in Deu 4:45, Deu 4:46, a fuller description of the Thorah according to its leading features, “ testimonies, statutes, and rights ” (see at Deu 4:1), together with a notice of the place and time at which Moses delivered this address.

“ On their coming out of Egypt ,” i. e. , not “after they had come out,” but during the march, before they had reached the goal of their journeyings, viz. , (Deu 4:46) when they were still on the other side of the Jordan. “ In the valley ,” as in Deu 3:29. “ In the land of Sihon ,” and therefore already upon ground which the Lord had given them for a possession.

The importance of this possession as the first-fruit and pledge of the fulfilment of the further promises of God, led Moses to mention again, though briefly, the defeat of the two kings of the Amorites, together with the conquest of their land, just as he had done before in Deu 2:32-36 and 3:1-17. On Deu 4:48, cf. Deu 3:9, Deu 3:12-17. Sion , for Hermon (see at Deu 3:9).

This address, which is described in the heading as the law which Moses set before the Israelites, commences with a repetition of the decalogue, and a notice of the powerful impression which was made, through the proclamation of it by God Himself, upon the people who were assembled round Him at Horeb (Deut 5). In the first and more general part, it shows that the true essence of the law, and of that righteousness which the Israelites were to strive after, consisted in loving Jehovah their God with all their heart (Deut 6); that the people were bound, by virtue of their election as the Lord’s people of possession, to exterminate the Canaanites with their idolatrous worship, in order to rejoice in the blessing of God (Deut 7) ; but more especially that, having regard on the one hand to the divine chastisement and humiliation which they had experienced in the desert (Deut 8), and on the other hand to the frequency with which they had rebelled against their God (Deut 9:1-10:11), they were to beware of self-exaltation and self-righteousness, that in the land of Canaan, of which they were about to take possession, they might not forget their God when enjoying the rich productions of the land, but might retain the blessings of their God for ever by a faithful observance of the covenant (Deut 10:12-11:32).

Then after this there follows an exposition of the different commandments of the law (Deut 12—26). Deu 4:44-49 Announcement of the Discourse upon the Law. - First of all, in Deu 4:44, we have the general notice in the form of a heading: “ This is the Thorah which Moses set before the children of Israel; ” and then, in Deu 4:45, Deu 4:46, a fuller description of the Thorah according to its leading features, “ testimonies, statutes, and rights ” (see at Deu 4:1), together with a notice of the place and time at which Moses delivered this address.

“ On their coming out of Egypt ,” i. e. , not “after they had come out,” but during the march, before they had reached the goal of their journeyings, viz. , (Deu 4:46) when they were still on the other side of the Jordan. “ In the valley ,” as in Deu 3:29. “ In the land of Sihon ,” and therefore already upon ground which the Lord had given them for a possession.

The importance of this possession as the first-fruit and pledge of the fulfilment of the further promises of God, led Moses to mention again, though briefly, the defeat of the two kings of the Amorites, together with the conquest of their land, just as he had done before in Deu 2:32-36 and 3:1-17. On Deu 4:48, cf. Deu 3:9, Deu 3:12-17. Sion , for Hermon (see at Deu 3:9).

This address, which is described in the heading as the law which Moses set before the Israelites, commences with a repetition of the decalogue, and a notice of the powerful impression which was made, through the proclamation of it by God Himself, upon the people who were assembled round Him at Horeb (Deut 5). In the first and more general part, it shows that the true essence of the law, and of that righteousness which the Israelites were to strive after, consisted in loving Jehovah their God with all their heart (Deut 6); that the people were bound, by virtue of their election as the Lord’s people of possession, to exterminate the Canaanites with their idolatrous worship, in order to rejoice in the blessing of God (Deut 7) ; but more especially that, having regard on the one hand to the divine chastisement and humiliation which they had experienced in the desert (Deut 8), and on the other hand to the frequency with which they had rebelled against their God (Deut 9:1-10:11), they were to beware of self-exaltation and self-righteousness, that in the land of Canaan, of which they were about to take possession, they might not forget their God when enjoying the rich productions of the land, but might retain the blessings of their God for ever by a faithful observance of the covenant (Deut 10:12-11:32).

Then after this there follows an exposition of the different commandments of the law (Deut 12—26). Deu 4:44-49 Announcement of the Discourse upon the Law. - First of all, in Deu 4:44, we have the general notice in the form of a heading: “ This is the Thorah which Moses set before the children of Israel; ” and then, in Deu 4:45, Deu 4:46, a fuller description of the Thorah according to its leading features, “ testimonies, statutes, and rights ” (see at Deu 4:1), together with a notice of the place and time at which Moses delivered this address.

“ On their coming out of Egypt ,” i. e. , not “after they had come out,” but during the march, before they had reached the goal of their journeyings, viz. , (Deu 4:46) when they were still on the other side of the Jordan. “ In the valley ,” as in Deu 3:29. “ In the land of Sihon ,” and therefore already upon ground which the Lord had given them for a possession.

The importance of this possession as the first-fruit and pledge of the fulfilment of the further promises of God, led Moses to mention again, though briefly, the defeat of the two kings of the Amorites, together with the conquest of their land, just as he had done before in Deu 2:32-36 and 3:1-17. On Deu 4:48, cf. Deu 3:9, Deu 3:12-17. Sion , for Hermon (see at Deu 3:9).

This address, which is described in the heading as the law which Moses set before the Israelites, commences with a repetition of the decalogue, and a notice of the powerful impression which was made, through the proclamation of it by God Himself, upon the people who were assembled round Him at Horeb (Deut 5). In the first and more general part, it shows that the true essence of the law, and of that righteousness which the Israelites were to strive after, consisted in loving Jehovah their God with all their heart (Deut 6); that the people were bound, by virtue of their election as the Lord’s people of possession, to exterminate the Canaanites with their idolatrous worship, in order to rejoice in the blessing of God (Deut 7) ; but more especially that, having regard on the one hand to the divine chastisement and humiliation which they had experienced in the desert (Deut 8), and on the other hand to the frequency with which they had rebelled against their God (Deut 9:1-10:11), they were to beware of self-exaltation and self-righteousness, that in the land of Canaan, of which they were about to take possession, they might not forget their God when enjoying the rich productions of the land, but might retain the blessings of their God for ever by a faithful observance of the covenant (Deut 10:12-11:32).

Then after this there follows an exposition of the different commandments of the law (Deut 12—26). Deu 4:44-49 Announcement of the Discourse upon the Law. - First of all, in Deu 4:44, we have the general notice in the form of a heading: “ This is the Thorah which Moses set before the children of Israel; ” and then, in Deu 4:45, Deu 4:46, a fuller description of the Thorah according to its leading features, “ testimonies, statutes, and rights ” (see at Deu 4:1), together with a notice of the place and time at which Moses delivered this address.

“ On their coming out of Egypt ,” i. e. , not “after they had come out,” but during the march, before they had reached the goal of their journeyings, viz. , (Deu 4:46) when they were still on the other side of the Jordan. “ In the valley ,” as in Deu 3:29. “ In the land of Sihon ,” and therefore already upon ground which the Lord had given them for a possession.

The importance of this possession as the first-fruit and pledge of the fulfilment of the further promises of God, led Moses to mention again, though briefly, the defeat of the two kings of the Amorites, together with the conquest of their land, just as he had done before in Deu 2:32-36 and 3:1-17. On Deu 4:48, cf. Deu 3:9, Deu 3:12-17. Sion , for Hermon (see at Deu 3:9).

This address, which is described in the heading as the law which Moses set before the Israelites, commences with a repetition of the decalogue, and a notice of the powerful impression which was made, through the proclamation of it by God Himself, upon the people who were assembled round Him at Horeb (Deut 5). In the first and more general part, it shows that the true essence of the law, and of that righteousness which the Israelites were to strive after, consisted in loving Jehovah their God with all their heart (Deut 6); that the people were bound, by virtue of their election as the Lord’s people of possession, to exterminate the Canaanites with their idolatrous worship, in order to rejoice in the blessing of God (Deut 7) ; but more especially that, having regard on the one hand to the divine chastisement and humiliation which they had experienced in the desert (Deut 8), and on the other hand to the frequency with which they had rebelled against their God (Deut 9:1-10:11), they were to beware of self-exaltation and self-righteousness, that in the land of Canaan, of which they were about to take possession, they might not forget their God when enjoying the rich productions of the land, but might retain the blessings of their God for ever by a faithful observance of the covenant (Deut 10:12-11:32).

Then after this there follows an exposition of the different commandments of the law (Deut 12—26). Deu 4:44-49 Announcement of the Discourse upon the Law. - First of all, in Deu 4:44, we have the general notice in the form of a heading: “ This is the Thorah which Moses set before the children of Israel; ” and then, in Deu 4:45, Deu 4:46, a fuller description of the Thorah according to its leading features, “ testimonies, statutes, and rights ” (see at Deu 4:1), together with a notice of the place and time at which Moses delivered this address.

“ On their coming out of Egypt ,” i. e. , not “after they had come out,” but during the march, before they had reached the goal of their journeyings, viz. , (Deu 4:46) when they were still on the other side of the Jordan. “ In the valley ,” as in Deu 3:29. “ In the land of Sihon ,” and therefore already upon ground which the Lord had given them for a possession.

The importance of this possession as the first-fruit and pledge of the fulfilment of the further promises of God, led Moses to mention again, though briefly, the defeat of the two kings of the Amorites, together with the conquest of their land, just as he had done before in Deu 2:32-36 and 3:1-17. On Deu 4:48, cf. Deu 3:9, Deu 3:12-17. Sion , for Hermon (see at Deu 3:9).

The exposition of the law commences with a repetition of the ten words of the covenant, which were spoken to all Israel directly by the Lord Himself. Deu 5:1-5 form the introduction, and point out the importance and great significance of the exposition which follows. Hence, instead of the simple sentence “ And Moses said ,” we have the more formal statement “ And Moses called all Israel, and said to them .

” The great significance of the laws and rights about to be set before them, consisted in the fact that they contained the covenant of Jehovah with Israel.

Deu 5:2-3 “ Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb; not with our fathers, but with ourselves, who are all of us here alive this day . ” The “fathers” are neither those who died in the wilderness, as Augustine supposed, nor the forefathers in Egypt, as Calvin imagined; but the patriarchs, as in Deu 4:37. Moses refers to the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai, which was essentially distinct from the covenant at Sinai, which was essentially distinct from the covenant made with Abraham (Gen 15:18), though the latter laid the foundation for the Sinaitic covenant.

But Moses passed over this, as it was not his intention to trace the historical development of the covenant relation, but simply to impress upon the hearts of the existing generation the significance of its entrance into covenant with the Lord. The generation, it is true, with which God made the covenant at Horeb, had all died out by that time, with the exception of Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, and only lived in the children, who, though in part born in Egypt, were all under twenty years of age at the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai, and therefore were not among the persons with whom the Lord concluded the covenant.

But the covenant was made not with the particular individuals who were then alive, but rather with the nation as an organic whole. Hence Moses could with perfect justice identify those who constituted the nation at that time, with those who had entered into covenant with the Lord at Sinai. The separate pronoun ( we ) is added to the pronominal suffix for the sake of emphasis, just as in Gen 4:26, etc.

; and אלּה again is so connected with אנחנוּ, as to include the relative in itself.

Deu 5:2-3 “ Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb; not with our fathers, but with ourselves, who are all of us here alive this day . ” The “fathers” are neither those who died in the wilderness, as Augustine supposed, nor the forefathers in Egypt, as Calvin imagined; but the patriarchs, as in Deu 4:37. Moses refers to the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai, which was essentially distinct from the covenant at Sinai, which was essentially distinct from the covenant made with Abraham (Gen 15:18), though the latter laid the foundation for the Sinaitic covenant.

But Moses passed over this, as it was not his intention to trace the historical development of the covenant relation, but simply to impress upon the hearts of the existing generation the significance of its entrance into covenant with the Lord. The generation, it is true, with which God made the covenant at Horeb, had all died out by that time, with the exception of Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, and only lived in the children, who, though in part born in Egypt, were all under twenty years of age at the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai, and therefore were not among the persons with whom the Lord concluded the covenant.

But the covenant was made not with the particular individuals who were then alive, but rather with the nation as an organic whole. Hence Moses could with perfect justice identify those who constituted the nation at that time, with those who had entered into covenant with the Lord at Sinai. The separate pronoun ( we ) is added to the pronominal suffix for the sake of emphasis, just as in Gen 4:26, etc.

; and אלּה again is so connected with אנחנוּ, as to include the relative in itself.

Deu 5:4-5 “ Jehovah talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire ,” i. e. , He came as near to you as one person to another. בּפנים פּנים is not perfectly synonymous with פּנים אל פּנים, which is used in Exo 33:11 with reference to God’s speaking to Moses (cf. Deu 34:10, and Gen 32:31), and expresses the very confidential relation in which the Lord spoke to Moses as one friend to another; whereas the former simply denotes the directness with which Jehovah spoke to the people.

- Before repeating the ten words which the Lord addressed directly to the people, Moses introduces the following remark in Deu 5:5 - “ I stood between Jehovah and you at that time, to announce to you the word of Jehovah; because ye were afraid of the fire, and went not up into the mount ” - for the purpose of showing the mediatorial position which he occupied between the Lord and the people, not so much at the proclamation of the ten words of the covenant, as in connection with the conclusion of the covenant generally, which alone in fact rendered the conclusion of the covenant possible at all, on account of the alarm of the people at the awful manifestation of the majesty of the Lord. The word of Jehovah, which Moses as mediator had to announce to the people, had reference not to the instructions which preceded the promulgation of the decalogue (Exo 19:11.)

, but, as is evident from Deu 5:22-31, primarily to the further communications which the Lord was about to address to the nation in connection with the conclusion of the covenant, besides the ten words (viz. , Exo 20:18; 22:1-23:33), to which in fact the whole of the Sinaitic legislation really belongs, as being the further development of the covenant laws. The alarm of the people at the fire is more fully described in Deu 5:25.

The word “ saying ” at the end of Deu 5:5 is dependent upon the word “ talked ” in Deu 5:4; Deu 5:5 simply containing a parenthetical remark.