Chs. 9–10:11. Warnings against Self-Righteousness, enforced by a Retrospect of the People’s Behaviour

Israel about to cross Jordan and face nations mightier than itself must know that Jehovah goeth before, quickly to destroy them (vv. Deuteronomy 9:1-3). Israel must not thereafter say that He hath done this for Israel’s righteousness, for He shall do it because of the wickedness of those nations and to establish His promise to the fathers (Deuteronomy 9:4-5). Israel itself is not a righteous but a stiffnecked people, provoking and rebellious from Egypt till now (Deuteronomy 9:6-7). This is illustrated by a narrative of their conduct at Ḥoreb, where, while Moses was on the Mount, receiving the two stone tables of the covenant, Israel made a molten calf, God threatened to destroy them, Moses brake the tables and fasted 40 days and nights before God, fearful of His wrath; but at his intercession God relented both with regard to the people and to Aaron, and Moses destroyed the calf (Deuteronomy 9:8-21). At other places also Israel provoked God, and have been always rebellious (Deuteronomy 9:22-24). But Moses’ intercession at Ḥoreb prevailed (Deuteronomy 9:25-29), and on two new tables of stone God wrote again the Ten Words and Moses put them in the Ark of wood which he had been bidden to make (vv. Deuteronomy 10:1-5). There follow a fragment of a subsequent itinerary of the people with the death of Aaron (Deuteronomy 9:6-7); a record of the separation of the tribe of Levi to bear the Ark (Deuteronomy 9:8-9); and a renewed statement of Moses’ intercession on the Mount with the command he then received to continue to lead the people towards the land (Deuteronomy 9:10-11).—So long as the discourse is hortatory it remains in the Sg. form of address (Deuteronomy 9:1-7 a); but changes to the Pl. when the speaker begins the historical review, and the Pl. continues to the end of the section except for a couple of instances of the Sg. (Deuteronomy 9:7 to Deuteronomy 10:11); when with the resumption of exhortation, Deuteronomy 10:12 ff., the Sg. is also resumed. For such a historical review a reporting author might naturally use another source; and in this case the supposition is supported by the sudden and clear change from Sg. to Pl. which is not explicable otherwise, e.g. on psychological grounds; but finally confirmed by what commentators do not appear to have noticed, the fact that in the historical section the divine name Jehovah is nowhere (save in Deuteronomy 9:16; Deuteronomy 9:23) followed by your God as almost invariably in the hortatory sections. On the historical section see below on Deuteronomy 9:7 b. Both it and the hortatory portions bear marks of expansion by editorial hands.

1. Hear, O Israel] Deuteronomy 6:4.

thou art to pass over Jordan this day] Similarly Deuteronomy 30:18 (and cp. Deuteronomy 2:18), Sg.; Deuteronomy 4:14; Deuteronomy 4:26; Deuteronomy 11:31; Deuteronomy 31:13, Pl., but apparently editorial.

to possess] or dispossess. Deuteronomy 2:12; Deuteronomy 2:21 f., Deuteronomy 11:23, Deuteronomy 12:2; Deuteronomy 12:29, Deuteronomy 18:14, Deuteronomy 19:1, Deuteronomy 31:3, with personal object as here. For another form of same vb. see on Deuteronomy 4:38.

nations greater and mightier than thyself] So Deuteronomy 4:38 also Sg.; Deuteronomy 11:23, Pl.: cp. Joshua 23:9.

cities … fenced, etc.] See on Deuteronomy 1:28.

2. great and tall … Anakim] See on Deuteronomy 1:28.

whom thou knowest, etc.] Deuteronomy 7:15; and hast heard say, Deuteronomy 1:28; Numbers 13:28.

3. Know therefore] See on Deuteronomy 7:9.

he which goeth over before thee] Deuteronomy 31:3 (cp. Joshua 3:11).

a devouring fire] Only here and Deuteronomy 4:24.

he shall destroy … and he] he emphatic.

bring them down before thee] In D the verb is found only here: it is used also of the subjection of Israel’s enemies in the deuteronomic Jdg 3:30; Jdg 4:23; Jdg 8:28, the late passage 1 Samuel 7:13, and otherwise only in late writers; except for Jdg 11:33 and 2 Samuel 8:1 which may be pre-deuteronomic.

quickly] Omitted by LXX B, but otherwise confirmed. See on Deuteronomy 7:22.

as the Lord hath spoken unto thee] Exodus 23:23 (edit.), Exodus 23:27 (E).

4. Speak … in thine heart] See on Deuteronomy 8:17.

thrust them out] See on Deuteronomy 6:19.

For my righteousness] Here ethical: contr. Deuteronomy 6:25.

whereas for the wickedness … from before thee] The whole clause is wanting in LXX B and seems a gloss or expansion anticipating the next v. and weakening the connection (Valeton, Dillm., Driver, Steuern., Berth.).

5. dost thou go in to possess] Characteristic of the Sg. passages.

the wickedness of these nations] wickedness the direct opposite of righteousness; in disputes as to justice the wicked is the man who is in the wrong (Deuteronomy 25:1; Exodus 2:13 (J), Deuteronomy 23:1; Deuteronomy 23:7 (E), see note; Isaiah 5:23); so wickedness in Deuteronomy 25:2. Both adj. and noun are largely used especially in later writings of all in opposition to Jehovah and His people; but the terms also cover a wider ethical range, Ezekiel 18:27; Ezekiel 33:19, etc. Here, therefore, the wickedness of these, nations will primarily mean their refusal to acknowledge the true God, but implicitly the immorality and ethical uncleanness of their rites: to which recent excavations at Gezer and elsewhere bear testimony. See what is said on abomination Deuteronomy 7:25 : here it is clearer that more than ritual unrighteousness is intended.

thy God] Sam. and LXX B omit.

establish the word, etc.] See on Deuteronomy 8:18 : establish the covenant, etc. It is true that the people must fulfil their side of the covenant by obedience to its laws without which they shall not receive these material blessings in the land; but God made the covenant out of His own free will, Deuteronomy 7:7, and will keep it because of His faithfulness, Deuteronomy 7:9, and not because of any merit of the people.

which the Lord sware] Sam. and LXX B etc.: which he sware.

6. Know therefore] See on Deuteronomy 7:9 : the verse begins by giving the conclusion of the previous proof, but adds also another—

for thou art a stiffnecked people] Apparently first used of Israel (in connection with the golden calf) in J, Exodus 33:3; Exodus 34:9 (Exodus 32:9; Exodus 33:5 are editorial); then here and Deuteronomy 9:13 : cp. Deuteronomy 10:16, Deuteronomy 31:27. Cp. Isaiah 48:4 : thou art obstinate, thy neck is an iron sinew: the figure is of an animal refusing to turn in the direction his rider desires.

7. Remember, forget thou not] More musical without the intervening and which Sam. inserts.

thou provokedst … to wrath] See on Deuteronomy 1:34.

7b. It is in this clause that the Sg. form of address ceases and the Pl. begins, to continue up to Deuteronomy 10:9 or 11. Coincidently exhortation is replaced by a historical retrospect: a retrospect similar to the discourse in chs. 1–3, not merely by being couched in the Pl. as that also is, but by other features of its style and by its dependence (even more full and literal) on JE. With no reference to the P narrative with which the JE has been interlaced, Exodus 24:12-18 it is supplementary to 1–3 for it gives an account of the legislation at Ḥoreb, which that discourse lacks. On these grounds the section has been assigned to the same author as 1–3 (Horst, Bertholet, etc.); while Steuern. takes it as the continuation of the Pl. discourse in ch. 5, and as having originally formed with that the introduction to the Law Code by the writer who used the PL address throughout (see Introd.). On this compare supplementary note at the end of the section; and for possible additions especially in Deuteronomy 9:10-14 see the separate notes. Driver, Deut. 112, gives a comparative table of the section and the corresponding passages in JE on which it is based. Notice how the divine title is given simply as Jehovah without the usual deuteronomic addition thy God (nowhere except in Deuteronomy 9:16; Deuteronomy 9:23). The style of the section is instructive both as to the way in which the original deuteronomic writer expanded JE and subsequent editors made further expansion by the addition of deuteronomic formulas.

Sam. and LXX differ from Heb. as to where the Pl. begins, reading ye went forth for thou wentest forth: possibly original, the Heb. Sg. being due to the omission of a consonant before its double in the next word1[128]; and the transition being more likely just here. Whether Deuteronomy 9:7 b and even Deuteronomy 9:8 as Steuern. supposes are from the hand of the editor who joined the originally separate sections is uncertain. Notice in Deuteronomy 9:7 b, Deuteronomy 9:8 phrases which like the rest of this Pl. section recall chs. 1–3.

[128] Does the Pasaḳ in the Massoretic text indicate a lost letter?

until ye came unto this place] Deuteronomy 1:31.

ye have been rebellious against Jehovah] been acting rebellion (part. with auxil. verb: a frequent constr. in Deut.) with (i.e. in your dealings with) Jehovah. The same constr. Deuteronomy 9:24, Deuteronomy 31:27. A different constr. of same verb Deuteronomy 1:26 q.v.

8. Even (or particularly) in Horeb] The most notorious rebellion of all. Here begins the recital of the sin of the golden calf as in Exodus 32-34, JE.

provoked, etc.] Deuteronomy 9:7.

was angry] See on Deuteronomy 1:37.

9. Based on Exodus 24:13; Exodus 24:15 a, Exodus 24:18 b, E, Exodus 34:28, J, this verse omits E’s reference to the elders and Aaron, Exodus 24:14, and of course has no reference to the interlaced sentences of P, id. Exodus 24:15 b – Exodus 24:18 a; to the tables of stone it adds even the tables of the covenant, etc. (Deuteronomy 9:11; Deuteronomy 9:15 : see Exodus 4:13 and Exodus 5:22 tables of stone only, and cp. Exodus 5:2); the last fact, I did neither eat bread nor drink water, was either transferred by D from J’s story of Moses’ second ascent of the Mount, Exodus 34:28; or was found by him in E’s story of the first ascent from which it has now disappeared. Cp. Matthew 4:2.

10. tables of stone written with the finger of God] Taken exactly from. Exodus 31:18 b, E: the divine name is not changed to the usual the Lord thy God. With His own voice, face to face, God spake the words of the covenant (Deuteronomy 4:12 f., Deuteronomy 5:4) and now with His own finger wrote them. Thus by a double metaphor is the directly divine origin and supreme sanctity of the Ten Words emphasised.

all the words, which the Lord had spoken] Exodus 24:3. E.

out of the midst of the fire] Deuteronomy 4:12, Deuteronomy 5:4; Deuteronomy 5:22.

day of the assembly] Deuteronomy 10:4, Deuteronomy 18:16. See note on Deuteronomy 5:22.

The verse seems superfluous after 9 and before 11, and is regarded as a later intrusion (Steuern., Berth.). Note that—

11 follows naturally on Deuteronomy 9:9.

12. Taken from E, Exodus 32:7-8 a (on which see notes) with the addition of quickly from here and the substitution of brought forth (D’s favourite expression) for brought up; and the omission of calf.

corrupted themselves] Deuteronomy 4:16; Deuteronomy 4:25, Deuteronomy 31:29 also Pl. passages: while the Sg. passages use one form of the verb only in the sense to destroy: Deuteronomy 4:31, Deuteronomy 10:10, Deuteronomy 20:19-20 : cp. Deuteronomy 9:26.

the way] See on Deuteronomy 5:33. Here the particular reference is to the 2nd commandment.

a molten image] Heb. a molten (thing), Exodus 32:4; Exodus 32:8 molten calf. Steuern. takes this v. as another doublet superfluous before 13, and, along with Deuteronomy 9:10 when compared with the expanded Heb. text of Exodus 32:7-9 (of which the LXX omits parts), illustrative of the manner in which an editor expanded parallel passages with each other’s contents. But the superfluity of the v. is not so apparent. Some mention of the molten image seems necessary here.

13. stiffnecked] See on Deuteronomy 9:6.

14. let me alone] desist from me; Exodus 32:10 let me rest, give me peace.

destroy] See on Deuteronomy 1:27.

blot out their name, etc.] Deuteronomy 29:20, Deuteronomy 25:19 : cp. synonym in Deuteronomy 7:24 q.v. Not in Exodus 32:10.

a nation mightier and greater] Expansion of great nation, Exodus 32:10. This whole v. is illustrative of the expansive style of D. Bertholet sees the immediate continuation of the v. in Deuteronomy 10:10 and points out how excellently Deuteronomy 9:15 follows on Deuteronomy 9:12. This would account for the omission of Moses’ first intercession while still on the Mount, Exodus 32:11-14.

15. So I turned and came down, etc.] Exodus 32:15.

and the mount burned with fire] A circumstantial clause: the mount all the time burning with fire: not in Ex. In the next clause D adds two to hands.

16a. Substantially the same as Exodus 32:19 a.

16b. Purely deuteronomic tradition: see Deuteronomy 9:12 b.

17. Vivid variation and expansion of Exodus 32:19 b: and Moses’ anger waxed hot and he cast the tables out of his hands and brake them beneath the mount.

18. as at the first] Refers to what follows it—the length of time and the fasting—not to what precedes—the falling down before God. This intercession seems to be the same as that described in Deuteronomy 10:10 and ‘anticipated here on account of its importance in the argument’ (Driver). Cp. Exodus 32:30 which says that on the morrow of his meeting with the people Moses returned to the Mount to intercede for them with God; and Exodus 34:9 which says that he again interceded in the second forty days which he spent on the Mount. Which of these is intended here?

all your sin] Sam., LXX: sins.

in doing that which was evil, etc.] Deuteronomy 4:25.

to provoke him] A different verb from that in Deuteronomy 9:7-8, and the same as in Deuteronomy 4:25 (q.v.), Deuteronomy 31:29; and not so characteristic of D as the other.

19. For I was afraid] or trembled Deuteronomy 28:60.

that time also] Obscure, and probably an editorial addition, unless the reference is to Deuteronomy 9:10 or to Exodus 15:25; Exodus 17:4 f. and other occasions. It is possible there was originally no mention of God’s answer here. It seems a little premature for the purpose of the discourse; and may have been added from Deuteronomy 10:10.

20. To this there is no reference in Exodus.

21. Characteristically expanded, with variations, from Exodus 32:20 : one item in the latter, and made the children of Israel drink of it, is omitted.

22, 23. Other instances of Israel’s rebelliousness: Tab‘erah, ‘Burning-place,’ because fire broke out on them there, Numbers 11:1-3, E; Massah, ‘Proof,’ for there they put God to the proof, Exodus 17:7, J; Ḳibroth-hat-ta’avah, ‘Graves of Lust,’ Numbers 11:31-34, J.

ye provoked, etc.] As in Deuteronomy 9:7-8.

Kadesh-barnea] See on Deuteronomy 1:19 f.

ye rebelled, etc.] As in Deuteronomy 1:26 q.v.

24. Ye have been rebellious] As in Deuteronomy 9:7.

25. So I fell down, etc.] Having recounted in Deuteronomy 9:22-24 the accumulated burdens of the people’s sins (there is therefore no need to doubt the originality of these verses, as Steuernagel does) under which he fell down, the speaker returns to the fact of his falling; and in—

26–29. And I prayed, etc.] details his intercession. Cp. Exodus 32:11-13, JE, but probably editorial. Here the deuteronomic additions are which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness (greatness in Pl. passages Deuteronomy 5:24, here and Deuteronomy 11:2); look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness (the masc. noun, while the fem. is used in Deuteronomy 9:4-5), nor to their sin; great power and stretched out arm (see on Deuteronomy 4:34); and there are some variations.