Deuteronomy

Exhortations of Moses

And now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws that I teach that you may put into practice. And you will live, enter, and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your fathers, gives you.

Do not add anything to what I command you nor take anything away from it. But keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, as I command you.

You have seen with your own eyes what the Lord has done with Baal-peor and with those who served him. The Lord has destroyed them.

But you who have been faithful to the Lord, your God, are all alive today.

See, as the Lord, my God, ordered me, I am teaching you the norms and the laws that you may put them into practice in the land you are going to enter and have as your own.

If you observe and practice them, other peoples will regard you as wise and intelligent. Knowing these laws, they will say, “There are no people as wise and intelligent as this great nation.”

For in truth, is there a nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?

But be careful and vigilant. Do not forget these things your eyes have seen, nor let them depart from your heart as long as you live. On the contrary, teach them to your children and your children’s children.

And is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are as just as this law which I give you today?

You were in the presence of the Lord at Mount Horeb when he spoke to me, “Gather the people before me that they may hear my words. Thus, they will fear me as long as they live in that land and will teach these words to their children.”

Then you came nearer and stood at the foot of the mountain. It burned in flames, reaching heaven amid the dense fog and dark clouds.

And the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words but did not see any figure; you only heard a voice.

And the Lord told you that you might know his Covenant by which he commanded you to keep his ten commandments, which he had written on two stone tablets.

And as for me, he commanded me to teach you the norms and laws that you might put them into practice in the land which is going to be yours.

Think well about what you are to do. You did not see any form on that day when the Lord spoke to you at Mount Horeb from the midst of the fire.

Therefore, do not become corrupted: do not make an idol or a god carved in the form of a man or of a woman,

or in the form of any animal that lives on the earth, or of any bird that flies in the sky,

or of any reptile that crawls on the earth, or of any fish that lives in the water under the earth.

When you look at the heavens and see the sun, moon, stars, and heavenly bodies, do not prostrate yourselves to adore and serve them as gods.

The Lord, your God, has left those for the rest of the peoples, but he has chosen you and has brought you from the fiery crucible that is Egypt to be his people as you are now.

Through your fault, the Lord became angry with me and swore that I would not cross the Jordan nor enter into the beautiful land he gives you as an inheritance.

I will die in this land and not be able to cross the Jordan. You, in turn, will cross over and possess that beautiful land.

So, be careful not to forget the Covenant which the Lord has made with you and do not make any idols, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you.

Know that the Lord, your God, is a devouring fire; the Lord is a jealous God.

When you have children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, do not be corrupted by having idols and doing that which offends the Lord. If you anger him, you will perish from the land that will be yours after crossing the Jordan.

Heaven and earth are witnesses to my warning: you will all be destroyed.

The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will remain among the nations where the Lord will bring you.

There you will be obliged to serve their gods, gods made by human hands, gods of wood and stone, which do not see or hear, or eat or feel.

There you will look for the Lord, your God, and you will encounter him if you search for him with all your heart and soul in your anguish.

When this happens in the last days, you will return to the Lord and listen to his voice.

Because the Lord, your God, is a merciful God who will not reject you, destroy you all, or forget the Covenant he swore to your fathers.

Ask about the times past. Inquire from the day when God created man on earth. Ask from one end of the world to the other: Has there ever been anything as extraordinary as this?

Has anything like this been heard of before? Has there ever been a people who remained alive after hearing the voice of the living God from the midst of the fire as you did?

Never has there been a God who went out to look for a people and take them out from the other nations by the strength of trials and signs, wonders and war, with a firm hand and an outstretched arm. Never has any deed been as tremendous as those done for you by the Lord in Egypt, which you saw with your own eyes.

You saw that you might know that the Lord is God and that there is no other besides him.

He let you hear his voice from heaven that you might fear him; on earth he let you see his blazing fire and from the midst of the fire you heard his word.

Because of the love he had for your fathers, he chose their descendants after them, and he made you leave Egypt with his great power.

He expelled people more numerous and stronger than you and made you occupy their land: today, he gave this to you as an inheritance.

Therefore, try to be convinced that the Lord is the only God of heaven and earth and that there is no other.

Observe the laws and the commandments that I command you today, and everything will be well with you and your children after you. So you will live long in the land which the Lord, your God, gives you forever.”

Moses designated three cities on the other side of the Jordan, on the east,

where one who involuntarily kills his neighbor may find refuge, one who has never been his enemy before. He should flee into one of those cities and so save himself.

These are the cities: Bezer on the desert plateau for the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead for the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan for the tribe of Manasseh.

SECOND SPEECH OF MOSES – DECALOGUE AND EXHORTATION

This second speech should probably be placed alongside the first conclusion of the book (26:16–28:15), during the reign of King Hezekiah, who ruled the southern kingdom (Judah) from 727 to 698 B.C. The Northern Kingdom was just destroyed by the Assyrians, who deported the people to other parts of the empire and brought settlers from different regions into the Samarian territory to mix cultures and prevent any uprising. Some Israelites from the North sought refuge in the South, many in

Jerusalem, bringing with them traditions and some writings, including possibly what is known as the “central core” of our current Deuteronomy (chapters 12–26).

The historical events experienced by the Northern Kingdom, along with the recent history of the Southern Kingdom, which endured seven years of rule under Ahaz, prompted a reassessment and thorough re-examination of the people’s history. This effort was undertaken by the movement known today as the “Deuteronomist” (D), made up of many who had fled the North and sought refuge in Jerusalem.

A few years after the fall of the Northern Kingdom, the Assyrian Empire started to weaken quickly, creating a favorable political situation for Hezekiah, king of Judah. It seemed easier to retake the northern territories and reunite the kingdom under Jerusalem’s rule, as it was in the past. Because in Israel, politics and religion are closely linked, the king’s political goals must be supported by religious reasons that make his actions seem divine, as if they are desired or even commanded by God. This makes his actions more acceptable, as they are seen as law and God’s Law, and the people support them without question.

The environment, therefore, requires some religious reforms, which we could call “reforms,” aimed at accomplishing this. This led to what is known as the “reform of Hezekiah,” carried out by a group of scribes and wise men of the court who were well-versed in Israel’s history, its internal and external politics, and, most importantly, deeply committed to their faith in the Lord, while also being unconditional supporters of the king. This resulted in the body of law known as the “second discourse of Moses,” although it should actually be the first, as it is the very first addition to the “core” or “Deuteronomic Code.”

We need to read chapters 5–11 considering this background, keeping in mind that there are some fundamental themes or an underlying ideology within them.

1. The theology of the crown, or Davidic theology, arises when political circumstances revive the hopes of regaining the territory conquered centuries earlier by David, to whom God had supposedly committed himself unconditionally. The new David is Hezekiah, of whom 2 Kings 18:5 states that “he put his trust in the Lord.”
2. The figure of Moses as the highest authority in the Exodus tradition; it is not about abolishing anything already said and part of the tradition. Moses is the great mediator, and since ancient times, Mosaic law has had no equal, always being referred to as the divine will itself. Therefore, the Deuteronomist current (D) adopts the figure of Moses as the mediator and guarantor of the law’s authenticity and binding nature.
3. The Name of God as the author and promulgator of the law serves to help people understand that the entire book is the word of God and reflects his will. In summary, these chapters form the religious foundation of Hezekiah’s political-religious reform, which is based on calling all the people together to renew their covenant with the Lord.

Introduction

This is the law that Moses gave to the children of Israel.

These are the precepts, decrees, and laws which Moses made known to the children of Israel after they departed from Egypt,

at the other side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-Peor, in the land of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. This Sihon, who lived in Heshbon, was defeated by Moses and the children of Israel after they departed from Egypt

and took possession of his land, as they had done with Og, the king of Bashan. The two Amorite kings ruled to the east of the Jordan,

from Aroer at the boundary of the brook of Arnon, up to Mount Sirion, also called Hermon,

that is, the whole plain to the east of the Jordan up to the Dead Sea at the foot of Mount Pisgah.