Deuteronomy 31

Deuteronomy 31:1 Then Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel,

Deuteronomy 31:2 saying, “I am now 120 years old; I am no longer able to continue to go out and come in. Yahveh has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’

Deuteronomy 31:3 Yahveh your God is the one who will cross ahead of you. He will exterminate these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as Yahveh has said.

Deuteronomy 31:4 Yahveh will do to them just what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when he exterminated them.

Deuteronomy 31:5 Yahveh will give them over to your face, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and tough; don’t be terrified of their faces. You see, Yahveh, your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”

Deuteronomy 31:7 Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and tough, because you will go with this people into the land Yahveh swore to give to their fathers. You will enable them to take possession of it.

Deuteronomy 31:8 Yahveh is the one who will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 31:9 Moses wrote down this instruction, and he gave it to the priests, sons of Levi, who carried the ark of Yahveh’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:10 Moses commanded them, and this is what he said: “At the end of every seven years, at the same time in the year of debt revoking, during the Festival of Huts,

Deuteronomy 31:11 when all Israel assembles in the presence of Yahveh your God at the place he chooses, you are to read this instruction aloud before all Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:12 Collect the people – men, women, dependents, and the guests within your city gates– so that they may listen and learn to fear Yahveh your God and be careful to do all the words of this instruction.

Deuteronomy 31:13 Then their children who do not know the instruction will listen and learn to fear Yahveh your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of.”

Deuteronomy 31:14 Yahveh said to Moses, ” Notice the time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the conference[1] tent so that I may command him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the conference tent,

Deuteronomy 31:15 Yahveh appeared at the tent in a column[2] of cloud, and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.

Deuteronomy 31:16 Yahveh said to Moses, “Notice you are about to lie down with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon me and break the covenant I have established with them.

Deuteronomy 31:17 My nose will burn at them on that day; I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey. Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day, they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us? ‘

Deuteronomy 31:18 I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.

Deuteronomy 31:19 Therefore, write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; place it on their lips so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites.

Deuteronomy 31:20 When I bring them into the land I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me and breaking my covenant.

Deuteronomy 31:21 And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because their descendants will not have forgotten it. You see, I know what they are prone to do, even before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.”

Deuteronomy 31:22 So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.

Deuteronomy 31:23 Yahveh commanded Joshua, son of Nun, and this is what he said, “Be strong and tough, because you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

Deuteronomy 31:24 When Moses had finished writing down on a scroll every single word of this instruction,

Deuteronomy 31:25 he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of Yahveh’s covenant, and this is what he said:

Deuteronomy 31:26 “Take this book of the instruction and place it beside the ark of the covenant of Yahveh your God so that it may stay there as a witness against you.

Deuteronomy 31:27 You see, I know how rebellious and hard-necked you are. Notice, if you are rebelling against Yahveh now, while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after I am dead!

Deuteronomy 31:28 Collect all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call sky and land as witnesses against them.

Deuteronomy 31:29 For I know that after my death you will become completely corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. Disaster will come to you in the future because you will do what is evil in Yahveh’s sight, angering him with what your hands have made.”

Deuteronomy 31:30 Then Moses recited aloud every single word of this song to the entire collected assembly of Israel:

---

[1]‎  אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד= conference tent.

[2] עַמּוּד= column.

Deuteronomy 31 quotes:

“The structure of chapter 31 provides important insight into its meaning. Within Deuteronomy’s larger structure, it begins the final section (chs. 31 – 34) as a frame to chapters 1 – 3. In this respect, it importantly reminds all Israel at the outset of the Lord’s intent to go ahead of his people and destroy the nations which they will encounter across the Jordan, as he did to Sihon and Og on the eastern side of the Jordan. Yet Israel must be strong and courageous in carrying out this task (v. 6). At the same time, Moses’ imminent death (vv. 2, 16) and Joshua’s succession and encouragement (cf. 1:38 and 3:28), using the same terms/language given to Israel, are located at important junctures within the chapter (vv. 7–8, 14 and 23). At the structural heart of the chapter (vv. 14–23), the Lord appears at the Tent of Meeting to speak of Moses’ imminent death and Joshua’s commission. Israel will prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land that they are entering, and thus break the covenant. This will lead to Yahweh hiding his face from them (vv. 17– 18). The response to this situation is a written song, which will serve as a perpetual witness against Israel in time to come (vv. 19–22). On either side of this centrepiece is the written law first given to the priests, the sons of Levi, to be read publicly every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles to an assembly of all the people, in four categories: men, women, children and aliens (vv. 9–13). Then at verses 24–29, the written Book of the Law is given to the Levites to place beside the ark of the covenant, as a passive witness against Israel, anticipating their future rebellion and corruption. This leads to a second assembly (v. 28) of all the elders and officials (possibly also four in number; cf. 29:10[ET]), echoing the gravity of the assembly at Horeb (cf. 4:10), as a counterpart to verse 12. They gather as Israel’s responsible leaders, in view of certain future failure and the danger of replicating the sin of the golden calf episode (vv. 27 and 29). In the meantime, the Lord, through Moses, will speak these words to them, which probably means the words of the song to follow in verse 30, and at the same time he calls upon the third witness of heaven and earth against their inevitable apostasy, thus fulfilling the maximum requirement of the law (17:6; 19:15).”

Woods, Edward J.. Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Book 5) . InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

“The approaching decease of Moses, which has already been anticipated (see 1:37–38 and 3:23–29), now becomes the central focus for the remaining chapters of the book.1 Moses is aware of his approaching death, and in the light of that fact he once again encourages the people in their faith and takes care of some final practical matters relating to the covenant community. First he encourages the people as a whole (vv. 1–6), and then, in the presence of the people, he encourages Joshua in particular, who would soon be assuming the role of leadership (vv. 7–8).”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 369). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

Deuteronomy 31 links:

“To be gathered to his people”
accompany and enable
congressional warning
double-edged witness
Excursus- “To Be Gathered”
in retrospect- no empty word
in retrospect- the source of strength and courage
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, June 14, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, June 12, 2019
noseburn and a hidden face
not the best news
read this instruction aloud
the other verses
The sky above – shamayim, the land beneath – erets
thou shalt sleep
with us through it all

---

The JOHN shelf in Jeff’s library

Deuteronomy 22

Deuteronomy 22:1 “If you see your brother Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother.

Deuteronomy 22:2 If your brother does not live near you or you don’t know him, you are to bring the animal to your home to remain with you until your brother comes looking for it; then you can return it to him.

Deuteronomy 22:3 Do the same for his donkey, his garment, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.

Deuteronomy 22:4 If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it; help him lift it.

Deuteronomy 22:5 “A woman is not to wear male clothing, and a man is not to put on a woman’s garment, for everyone who does these things is repulsive to Yahveh your God.

Deuteronomy 22:6 “If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the land along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, do not take the mother along with the young.

Deuteronomy 22:7 You may take the young for yourself, but be sure to let the mother go free so that you may prosper and live long.

Deuteronomy 22:8 If you build a new house, make a railing around your roof so that you don’t place bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.

Deuteronomy 22:9 Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; or else, the entire harvest, both the crop you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will become defiled.

Deuteronomy 22:10 Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Deuteronomy 22:11 Do not wear clothes made of both wool and linen.

Deuteronomy 22:12 Make tassels on the four corners of the outer garment you wear.

Deuteronomy 22:13 “If a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and comes to hate her,

Deuteronomy 22:14 and places an accusation on her of shameful conduct and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman and was intimate with her, but I didn’t find any evidence of her virginity,’

Deuteronomy 22:15 the young woman’s father and mother will take the evidence of her virginity and bring it to the city elders at the city gate.

Deuteronomy 22:16 The young woman’s father will say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he hates her.

Deuteronomy 22:17 Notice he has placed an accusation on her of shameful conduct, and this is what he said: “I didn’t find any evidence of your daughter’s virginity,” but here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ They will spread out the cloth before the city elders.

Deuteronomy 22:18 Then the elders of that city will take the man and punish him.

Deuteronomy 22:19 They will also fine him a hundred silver shekels and give them to the young woman’s father because that man gave an Israelite virgin a bad name. She will remain his wife; he cannot divorce her as long as he lives.

Deuteronomy 22:20 But if this accusation is true and no evidence of the young woman’s virginity is found,

Deuteronomy 22:21 they will bring the woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city will stone her to death. You see, she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from you.

Deuteronomy 22:22 “If a man is discovered having sexual relations with another man’s wife, both the man who had sex with the woman and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

Deuteronomy 22:23 If there is a young woman who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,

Deuteronomy 22:24 takes the two of them out to the gate of that city and stones them to death – the young woman because she did not cry out in the town and the man because he has humiliated his neighbor’s fiancée. You must purge the evil from you.

Deuteronomy 22:25 But if the man encounters an engaged woman in the open country, and he holds her firmly and rapes her, only the man who raped her must die.

Deuteronomy 22:26 Do nothing to the young woman, because she is not guilty of a failure deserving death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.

Deuteronomy 22:27 When he found her in the field, the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.

Deuteronomy 22:28 If a man encounters a young woman, a virgin who is not engaged, takes hold of her and rapes her, and they are discovered,

Deuteronomy 22:29 the man who raped her is to give the young woman’s father fifty silver shekels, and she will become his wife because he humiliated her. He cannot divorce her as long as he lives.

Deuteronomy 22:30 “A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not violate his father’s marriage bed.

Deuteronomy 22 quotes:

“Let us never forget this ; it is a wholesome truth for every one of us. We all need to bear in mind that if God were to withdraw His sustaininsr ofrace for one moment, tliere is no depth of iniquity’ into which we are not capable of plunging; indeed, we may add — and wo do it with deep thankfulness — it is His own gracious hand that preserves us, each moment, from becoming a complete wreck in every way, — physically, mentally, morally, spiritually, and in our circumstances. May we keep this ever in the remembrance of the thoughts of our hearts, so that we may walk humbly and watchfully, and lean upon that arm which alone can sustain and preserve us.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. p. 341.

“The law, in the address of Moses, not only contains prohibitions, but also requires positive action on the part of the Israelites in particular circumstances. Here, it is prescribed that an Israelite offer assistance to his fellow Israelite (brother); such assistance would require personal effort and initiative. The law counters a natural human tendency not to get involved or not to go out of one’s way to help another. Two categories of assistance are noted: (a) the restoration of lost property (vv. 1–3); (b) direct aid to a neighbor in a difficult circumstance (v. 4). The principle underlying the legislation is the same in both instances.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 286). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

Deuteronomy 22 links:

a distinctive people
a higher standard of mutual respect
consensual and criminal
crime in the city
in retrospect- purging the evil
in retrospect- removing the shame
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, June 10, 2019
passion and shame
puffy jacket story
transvestites and mother bird theft

---

The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Numbers 29

Numbers 29:1 “On the first day of the seventh month you will have a sacred convention. You will not do any ordinary work. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets,

Numbers 29:2 and you will offer an ascending offering, for a pacifying aroma to Yahveh: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old — all perfect;

Numbers 29:3 also their tribute offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram,

Numbers 29:4 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs;

Numbers 29:5 with one male goat for a failure offering, to provide reconciliation for you;

Numbers 29:6 besides the ascending offering of the new moon, and its tribute offering, and the regular ascending offering and its tribute offering, and their drink offering, according to the rule for them, for a pacifying aroma, a fire offering to Yahveh.

Numbers 29:7 “On the tenth day of this seventh month you will have a sacred convention and discipline your throats. You will do no work,

Numbers 29:8 but you will offer an ascending offering to Yahveh, a pacifying aroma: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old: See that they are perfect.

Numbers 29:9 And their tribute offering will be of fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram,

Numbers 29:10 a tenth for each of the seven lambs:

Numbers 29:11 also one male goat for a failure offering, besides the failure offering of atonement, and the regular ascending offering and its tribute offering, and their drink offerings.

Numbers 29:12 “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you will have a sacred convention. You will not do any ordinary work, and you will keep a feast to Yahveh for seven days.

Numbers 29:13 And you will offer an ascending offering, a fire offering, with a pacifying aroma to Yahveh, thirteen bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old; they will be perfect;

Numbers 29:14 and their tribute offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each of the two rams,

Numbers 29:15 and a tenth for each of the fourteen lambs;

Numbers 29:16 also one male goat for a failure offering, besides the regular ascending offering, its tribute offering and its drink offering.

Numbers 29:17 “On the second day twelve bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old — all perfect,

Numbers 29:18 with the tribute offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;

Numbers 29:19 also one male goat for a failure offering, besides the regular ascending offering and its tribute offering, and their drink offerings.

Numbers 29:20 “On the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old — all perfect,

Numbers 29:21 with the tribute offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;

Numbers 29:22 also one male goat for a failure offering, besides the regular ascending offering, its tribute offering, and its drink offering.

Numbers 29:23 “On the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old — all perfect,

Numbers 29:24 with the tribute offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;

Numbers 29:25 also one male goat for a failure offering, besides the regular ascending offering, its tribute offering and its drink offering.

Numbers 29:26 “On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old — all perfect,

Numbers 29:27 with the tribute offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;

Numbers 29:28 also include one male goat for a failure offering, in addition to the regular ascending offering, its tribute offering, and its drink offering.

Numbers 29:29 “On the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old — all perfect,

Numbers 29:30 with the tribute offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;

Numbers 29:31 also include one male goat for a failure offering, in addition to the regular ascending offering, its tribute offering, and its drink offerings.

Numbers 29:32 “On the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old — all perfect,

Numbers 29:33 with the tribute offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;

Numbers 29:34 also include one male goat as a failure offering, in addition to the regular ascending offering, its tribute offering, and its drink offering.

Numbers 29:35 “On the eighth day you will have a solemn assembly. You will not do any ordinary work,

Numbers 29:36 but you will offer an ascending offering, a fire offering, with a pacifying aroma to Yahveh: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old — all perfect,

Numbers 29:37 and the tribute offering and the drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;

Numbers 29:38 also include one male goat for a failure offering, in addition to the regular ascending offering, its tribute offering, and its drink offering.

Numbers 29:39 “These you will offer to Yahveh at your appointed feasts, in addition to your solemn pledge offerings and your spontaneous voluntary offerings, for your ascending offerings, and your tribute offerings, and your drink offerings, and your offering for healthy relationships.”

Numbers 29:40 So Moses told the people of Israel everything just as Yahveh had commanded Moses.

Numbers 29 quotes:

“The lawgiver now passes in the most logical method, to define the limits of the land which Israel should regard as its inheritance, so that it should not seek to go out beyond these limits and
found a world empire (2 Sam. xxiv. ), nor rest within these boundaries until it has acquired and
occupied all the territory within them.”

Lange, Johann Peter, and Samuel T. Lowrie. Numbers: Or, the Fourth Book of Moses. New York: C. Scribner, 1899. p. 181.

“an assembly. The Heb . word ‘azereth contains nothing which implies that the assembly was of a specially solemn character. Before the exile an ‘azereth was held on the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Cakes (Dt. xvi. 8 ); and see Is. i . 13 (R.V. solemn meeting ‘), Am . v. 21. After the exile it was used , as here, of an assembly on the additional eighth dayof the Feast of Booths (Lev. xxiii . 36 , Neh . viii . 18 ) , and on a special fast day ( Joel i . 14, ii. 15) ; and the Chronicler relates that such an assembly was held as the climax of rejoicing on the eighth day ( contrast i K. viii. 66) at the dedication of Solomon’s temple (2 Ch . vii. 9) .”

McNeile, A. H., and A. F. Kirkpatrick. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: University Press, 1911. p. 169.

“The offerings described are those pertaining to the feast of trumpets, the day of atonement, and the feast of tabernacles.”

Steele, Daniel, and John W. Lindsay. Leviticus and Numbers. New York: Eaton & Mains, 1891. p. 391.

Numbers 29 links:

a costly walk
a seven day feast
take a bow
Yom Teruah

---

The NUMBERS shelf in Jeff’s library