Deuteronomy Chapter 1
Deuteronomy 1:3
"3And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them;" (KJV)
year 40, month 11, day 1
Deuteronomy 1:9-18
Moses sets up the 'chain of command' among the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 1:16
"16And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him." (KJV)
Moses specifically tells the judges to judge righteously between every man and his brother and the stranger that is with him.
This included the 'stranger that is with him'.
Deuteronomy 1:21-45
The story of the 12 spies
Deuteronomy 1:28
"28Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there." (KJV)
Who are these people?
Deuteronomy 1:39
"39Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it." (KJV)
Interesting here that YHWH has mercy on the children 'which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil'.
Where did they say that the little ones should be a prey? I am curious as, at one time, the Hebrews were sacrificing their children to Molek. I wonder if their is a connection here.
Deuteronomy 1:41-44
What happened when the people did things their way and in their time to avoid the curse of YHWH.
This is a very important lesson for today. The Jews claim that they are returning to the land and can now drive out the Caanites as they were instructed to do back in the days of Moses. This story clearly shows that if you do not do what YHWH wants you to do when HE wants you to do it and HE pronounces judgement (like HE did to the house of Israel AND the house of Judah) then you cannot go back and obey on your own terms.
Deuteronomy 1:45
"45And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you." (KJV)
This is how YHWH handles direct disobedience.
Deuteronomy Chapter 2
Deuteronomy 2:5
5Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.(KJV)
YHWH is specific that the Hebrews cannot have the land of Esau or Mount Seir.
Deuteronomy 2:7
'For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.' (KJV)
It seems that all my life YHWH has done this for me. I have lacked for nothing.
Deuteronomy 2:9
'And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.' (KJV)
YHWH is specific that the Hebrews cannot have the land of Ar or the Moabites.
Deuteronomy 2:10-11
10The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;(KJV)
Where did the Emins/Ĕmites go? Were they destroyed by the great flood?
11Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites called them Emims.(KJV)
Giants
Deuteronomy 2:14
'14And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.' (KJV)
So much for men of war in YHWH's eyes.
Deuteronomy 2:19
19And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.(KJV)
YHWH is specific that the Hebrews cannot have the land of the children of Ammon because he had given it to the children of Lot.
Deuteronomy 2:20-21
20(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;(KJV)
21A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:<(KJV)
Giants in the land of giants.
Deuteronomy Chapter 3
Deuteronomy 3:11
"11For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man." (KJV)
Og, king of Bashan was the last of the remnant of Giants.
If a cubit is 18", then his bed was 13 1/2' long and 6' wide.
Deuteronomy Chapter 4
Deuteronomy Chapter 4
Moses commands obedience
Idolatry forbidden
Israel as a chosen nation
Deuteronomy 4:2
"2Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. " (KJV)
YHWH tells the people not to add to his word or diminish it.
The Torah of YHWH is perfect. (Psalm 19:7-8)
Don't Add or Subtract (Deuteronomy 4:2)
by Rabbi Shraga Simmons
A king calls in his trusted minister and says: "I have an important mission for you to perform. Go to the neighboring kingdom and meet their leaders. But remember one thing - under no circumstances must you remove your shirt during this meeting. Now go and do as I say."
The minister sets off on his merry way and soon arrives at the neighboring kingdom. There he heads straight for the palace where he meets with the king. In the midst of their discussion, he sees some of the king's officers pointing and laughing at him.
"Why are you laughing?" asks the visiting minister.
"Because we've never seen someone with such a pronounced hunchback," they say.
"What are you talking about? I'm not a hunchback!"
"Of course you are!"
"No I'm not!"
"We'll bet you one million dollars that you are!"
"Fine - I'll gladly take your bet."
"Okay, so take off your shirt and prove it."
At which point the minister remembers the parting words of the king: "Under no circumstances must you remove your shirt during the meeting." Yet, the minister reasons, a million dollars would certainly bring added wealth to the king's coffers. I know I'm not a hunchback, so I'll surely win the bet. I am certain that under these circumstances the king would approve!
The minister removes his shirt and proudly displays his perfect posture. With pride in his achievement, he holds out his hand, into which is placed a check for one million dollars.
The minister can barely contain his excitement. He quickly ends the meeting and runs back to give the wonderful news to his king. "I earned you a million dollars!" exclaims the minister. "It was easy. I only had to remove my shirt to prove that I wasn't a hunchback."
"You did what?!" shouts the king. "But I told you specifically not to remove your shirt. I trusted that you'd follow instructions, and so I bet the other king $10 million dollars that he couldn't get you to remove your shirt!"
NOTE: The following link is from an orthodox web site. Reader discernment is advised.
Parsha V'etchanan
PRIMAL MISTAKE
Intuitively, it is understandable why not to subtract from the Torah. But why can't we add to the mitzvot? Isn't doing more always better?
Consider a great work of art. Would you add a few notes to a Bach fugue, or some brushstrokes to a Rembrandt portrait?!
Adding to the mitzvot is not serving God - it is serving oneself with what "feels good." Perfection, by definition, cannot be improved upon. Adding to the Torah implies that God is lacking. It is self-worship of one's own creativity.
Furthermore, the same subjective judgement which decides to add, is that which eventually leads one to subtract:
In the Garden of Eden, the snake tried to entice Eve to eat from the Tree. "Did God really say not to eat from the Tree?" queried the snake.
"Absolutely," said Eve. "God said we can't eat it, and we can't even touch it" (Genesis 3:3).
At that point, says the Midrash, the snake pushed Eve so that she brushed up against the Tree. "See that!" said the snake. "You touched the Tree and nothing happened. God didn't really mean what He said. You touched it, now go ahead and eat it."
So Eve ate.
Those who add, will come to subtract.
NOTE: The following link is from an orthodox web site. Reader discernment is advised.
Parsha V'etchanan
Deuteronomy 4:3
"3Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you." (KJV)
The incident at Baalpeor.
Deuteronomy 4:9
"9Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;" (KJV)
This is the purpose of the children of Israel, to be an example to all the people of the world.
Deuteronomy 4:13
"13And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone." (KJV)
The Ten Commandments are a covenant.
The Ten Commandments are YHWH's covenant.
Deuteronomy 4:16
"16Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female," (KJV)
Warnings against making graven images.
Deuteronomy 4:26
"26I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed." (KJV)
Moses prophesies that the children of Israel will perish from off the Holy Land, that they will be scattered among the nations and that they shall serve other gods.
Deuteronomy 4:29-31
"29But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." (KJV)
This verse is reiterated in Jeremiah 29:13
"30When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;" (KJV)
This verse seems to be speaking about the End of Days or long after the Messiah was crucified.
"31(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them." (KJV)
Moses tells the people that IF they repent and become obedient YHWH will not forsake them.
Moses tells the people that even in the latter days, if they will turn to YHWH and be obedient, HE will not forsake them, nor destroy them nor forget the covenant which he swore to their fathers.
Deuteronomy 4:41-43
"41Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;" (KJV)
"42That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:" (KJV)
"43Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites." (KJV)
Moses seperates out three (3) cities of refuge for people who accidentally kill someone to flee to.
Deuteronomy Chapter 5
Deuteronomy 5:6-18
The ten commandments are also listed in Exodus 20:1-17
Deuteronomy Chapter 6
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
These two verses are the Shema. This prayer is said every morning and every evening by the Jews.
"THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW GOD
Judaism teaches that the only way to learn about God is through revelation. God has to communicate with us and tell us about Himself; His thoughts, aspirations and expectations, His motivations. It is primarily for this reason that God gave us the Torah; any knowledge of God that we possess comes to us through the study of God's Torah. The fact that God is unknowable except through the revelations of Torah has enormous implications.
The third positive commandment is the commandment to love God. What does this specifically entail? It enjoins us to study and think about His commandments, His statements and His works until we reach the level of comprehension about Him where we consciously enjoy our knowledge of Him. This is the type of love that we are commanded to feel.
The Sifri teaches: it is written "You shall love YHVH your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources" (Devarim 6:5). How do I know how to go about actually fulfilling this commandment? That is why this verse is followed by "And these matters that I command you today shall be upon your heart. You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise." (Ibid. 5) It is by studying the Torah that you will learn to know the Creator. (Maimonedes, the Book of the Mitzvot)
The Mitzvah to love God, clearly concerned with building relationship rather than acquiring knowledge, nevertheless mandates the study of Torah as the method of its fulfillment. It is impossible to form a relationship with an unknown. God is not a fellow human being with whom I can sit in a room and converse or get to know empathetically. God is infinite whereas I am finite and we share no common experience. Empathy is out of the question. Any relationship that I succeed in establishing with Him has to come about through the vehicle of study and knowledge.
AISH.com - To Know You Is To Love You by Rabbi Noson Weisz - from the Korach 5771 ADVANCED Parsha.
Deuteronomy Chapter 7
Deuteronomy Chapter 7
Deuteronomy 7
9Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;(KJV)
Covenant
Deuteronomy 7:25
25The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therin: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.(KJV)
I found this verse interesting. This in not the first time YHWH has specifically told them NOT to take possession of gold and silver (* references needed here *) but rather to destroy it. I think this was done to remove any memory of the pagan idol and the pagan images and icons on the coins.
Burning gold or silver will not destroy it but rather cause it to take the shape of whatever it cools upon, in this case, the earth. Burning/melting would however destroy the shape of their pagan idols and any images or icons on their pagan coins.
It is like a cleansing ritual for the gold and silver. By abandoning the gold and silver they 'destroyed', the Hebrew people were, in essence, removing the abomination. Anyone who discovers the precious metals in the future will see it as a gift from YHWH (or the earth) and will have no memory of how it was once used.
Deuteronomy 7:26
26Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.(KJV)
We are not supposed to bring abominations into our house.
Deuteronomy Chapter 8
Deuteronomy 8
" " (KJV)
Deuteronomy Chapter 9
Deuteronomy 9:2
The giant race of the Anakims/Anaqim are mentioned.
Deuteronomy 9:4-6
Moses tells the people never to forget that they were NOT given the land because they were righteous but rather because of the wickedness of the people living in the land.
Deuteronomy 9:7-8
Moses tells the people never to forget how they provoked YHWH to wrath in the wilderness and at Horeb/Horĕb.
Deuteronomy 9:9
"9When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:" (KJV)
Moses states that the Ten Commandments were a covenant.
Deuteronomy 9:10
Moses states that the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of YHWH.
Deuteronomy 9:11
"11And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant." (KJV)
After 40 days and 40 nights, YHWH gave Moses the tablets. Was this 40 day period a period of cleansing?
Deuteronomy 9:12-14
"14Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they." (KJV)
YHWH saw that the people had made a molten image and threatened to destroy them all and make of Moses a nation mightier and greater than they.
Deuteronomy 9:15-17
Moses came down the mountain with the first set of commandments and seeing the people had sinned, he broke them.
Deuteronomy 9:18-20
"18And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger." (KJV)
Moses prayed and fasted for another 40 days and 40 nights and prayed for Aaron also as YHWH was wroth with him. YHWH listened to Moses' prayers.
Moses fasted 40 days and 40 nights. Was this 40 day period a period of cleansing?
Deuteronomy 9:21
Moses burnt the calf, stamped it, ground it into dust and cast it into the brook that came down out of the mountain.
Deuteronomy 9:22
Moses recounts that the people provoked YHWH to wrath at Taberah/Tab'ĕrah, Massah/Massah and Kibrothhattaavah/Qibroth Hatta'awah.
Deuteronomy 9:22
Moses recounts that the people rebelled against YHWH at Kadeshbarnea/Qadĕsh Barnĕa.
Deuteronomy Chapter 10
Deuteronomy 10:2
2And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.(KJV)
The 10 commandments are in the arc of the covenant.
Deuteronomy 10:10
"10And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee." (KJV)
This is the 2nd time Moses has gone up for 40 days and 40 nights
Deuteronomy 10:12
"12And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul," (KJV)
What YHWH requires of us.
Deuteronomy 10:16
"16Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked." (KJV)
This is not just a B'rit Hadasha term but goes all the way back to Torah.
Deuteronomy Chapter 11
Deuteronomy 11:14
14That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. (KJV)
14then I shall give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, and you shall gather in your grain, and your new wine, and your oil. (The ISR Scriptures)
There was no corn in the Middle East at this time. Corn came later from the Americas.
Deuteronomy 11:24
"24Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be." (KJV)
Another reference to "the soles of your feet shall tread".
Deuteronomy Chapter 12
Deuteronomy 12:5
"5But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:" (KJV)
Is this verse referring to the temple or the city of Jerusalem?
Deuteronomy 12:11
"11Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:" (KJV)
Is this verse referring to the temple or the city of Jerusalem?
Deuteronomy 12:13
"13Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest:" (KJV)
Do not offer burnt offerings just anywhere.
Deuteronomy 12:19
"19Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth." (KJV)
Do not forsake the Levites.
Deuteronomy 12:21
"21If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after." (KJV)
When did YHWH teach them to slaughter? Is this just referring to the command to slaughter? Orthodox Jews and Rabbis use this verse as proof that an oral Torah existed.
Deuteronomy 12:32
"32What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." (KJV)
Do not add to nor diminish YHWH's commands.
Deuteronomy Chapter 13
Deuteronomy 13:13
13Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;(KJV)
Belial (H1100) means wicked or wickedness.
Deuteronomy Chapter 14
Deuteronomy Chapter 14
Clean and unclean animals
Deuteronomy 14:1
1Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. (KJV)
The cutting of flesh seems to be a pagan custom that is also forbidden in Leviticus 19:28. This could also be a prohibition against tatoos.
Deuteronomy 14:21
21Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. (KJV)
This verse seems to have contradictions to me. If it is not good for us as YHWH's people, then why is it okay to give it to others? Isn't there one Torah for all? Aren't we supposed to be setting an example for the rest of mankind?
Additionally, the sentence about cooking a baby goat in it's mother's milk seems to have just been stuck in this verse as an afterthought. It does not seem to fit the flow of the chapter.
Deuteronomy 14:26
'26And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,' (KJV)
What is goin on here? I suspect there is an error in translation here. I think, perhpaps 'lust' should have been translated 'desire'. Nonetheless what is happening here? It seems like they're taking their tithes and having a 'party' (for lack of a better word).
Deuteronomy 14:28
'28At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:' (KJV)
What is goin on here? It almost sounds like a mass banquet.
Deuteronomy Chapter 15
Deuteronomy Chapter 16
Deuteronomy 16
Various feasts
The administration of justice
Deuteronomy 16:1
"1Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night." (KJV)
The Month of Abib/Abib
Deuteronomy 16:2
"2Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there." (KJV)
Passover
Deuteronomy 16:3
"3Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life." (KJV)
Passover
Unleavened Bread
Deuteronomy 16:5
"5Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee:" (KJV)
The passover sacrifice cannot be done anywhere we choose.
Deuteronomy 16:6
"6But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt." (KJV)
The place where YHWH places HIS name is either the tabernacle, the temple, and/or Jerusalem.
The Place Where YHWH Places HIS Name KEYS
Deuteronomy 16:8
"8Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein." (KJV)
Unleavened Bread
Deuteronomy 16:9
"9Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn." (KJV)
The Feast of Weeks
Count seven (7) weeks
Deuteronomy 16:10
"10And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:" (KJV)
The Feast of Weeks - chag haShavuot
Deuteronomy 16:11
"11And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there." (KJV)
The Feast of Weeks
Deuteronomy 16:13
"13Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:" (KJV)
The Feast of Tabernacles
Deuteronomy 16:14
"14And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates." (KJV)
The Feast is for everyone within your gates.
Deuteronomy 16:15
"15Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice." (KJV)
The Feast of Tabernacles is to be a seven (7) day feast.
Deuteronomy 16:19
"19Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous." (KJV)
Warning against bribery
Deuteronomy 16:21
"21Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee." (KJV)
Warning against pagan idol worship.
Deuteronomy 16:22
"22Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth." (KJV)
Warning against idol and image worship.
Would this prohibit the 'star of David' as a symbol?
Deuteronomy Chapter 17
Deuteronomy 17:7
"7The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you." (KJV)
The accuser shall cast the first stone. If the accuser is found to be bearing false witness, then they will also get stoned. This is to prevent false witness.
Deuteronomy 17:9
"9And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:" (KJV)
THEY = priests, Levites and judges.
Deuteronomy 17:10
"10And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:" (KJV)
THEY = priests, Levites and judges.
Deuteronomy 17:11
"11According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left." (KJV)
THEY = priests, Levites and judges.
Deuteronomy 17:12
"12And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel." (KJV)
THEY = priests, Levites and judges.
Deuteronomy Chapter 18
Deuteronomy Chapter 18
Deuteronomy 18:5
5For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever.(KJV)
Deuteronomy 18:9
"9When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations." (KJV)
The existing nations were practicing abominations before God.
Deuteronomy 18:10
"10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch." (KJV)
Child sacrifice?
Deuteronomy 18:11
"11Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer." (KJV)
Witchcraft and sorcery.
Deuteronomy 18:12
"12For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee." (KJV)
Seems like a good reason NOT to have pagan symbols on our currency.
Deuteronomy 18:15-19
Moses prophesied that that the Messiah will be like him (Moses) and that YHWH will require people to listen to HIM.
Deuteronomy 18:15
"15The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;" (KJV)
YHWH is talking about the Messiah in this verse.
Deuteronomy 18:16
"16According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not." (KJV)
YHWH seems to be saying that the Messiah will speak the same words as was spoken on Mount Sinai.
Deuteronomy Chapter 19
Deuteronomy 19:2,9
Deuteronomy 19:21
'21And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.' (KJV)
This verse applies to the person or persons who have made false accusations or bore false witness.
Deuteronomy Chapter 20
Deuteronomy 20:19-20
'19When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege:' (KJV)
'20Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.' (KJV)
Don't cut down the trees that are used for food.
Deuteronomy Chapter 21
Deuteronomy Chapter 21
Deuteronomy 21:9
9So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.(KJV)
The guilt of innocent blood.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23
22And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:(KJV)
23His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.(KJV)
Why are we commanded not to let a body hang in a tree overnight?
Deuteronomy Chapter 22
Deuteronomy 22:5
"5The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God." (KJV)
No cross dressing.
Deuteronomy 22:6
"6If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:" (KJV)
Do not kill a mother with her young.
Deuteronomy 22:9
"9Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled." (KJV)
Do not mix seed.
Deuteronomy 22:10
"10Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together." (KJV)
Do not mix working animals. They pull at different rates and this hurts both animals.
Deuteronomy 22:11
"11Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together." (KJV)
Do not clothing materials.
Deuteronomy 22:12
"12Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself." (KJV)
Tzitzit
Deuteronomy 22:30
"30A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt." (KJV)
No incest.
Deuteronomy Chapter 23
Deuteronomy 23
3An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:
4Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. (KJV)
It appears that the Ammonites and Moabites have been cut off. My question is, 'Cut off from what?' Since their will be three peoples during the time of the Millenial Reign (Isaiah 19:23-25), I wonder if this only means they won't be able to join the congregation of Israel.
Deuteronomy Chapter 24
Deuteronomy 24:19-22
19When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
20When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
21When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
22And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing. (KJV)
YHWH is commanding us to be considerate of the of the poor and needy and to remember that we were once bondsmen in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 24:4
"4Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." (KJV)
Causing the land to sin.
Deuteronomy 24:7
"7If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you." (KJV)
No kidnapping
Deuteronomy Chapter 25
Deuteronomy 25:3
3Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
Deuteronomy 25:4
4Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
Deuteronomy 25:9
9Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house.
Deuteronomy 25:13-14
13Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
14Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small.
Deuteronomy Chapter 26
Deuteronomy 26:5
"5And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:" (KJV)
Does this verse indicate that the promise of YHWH in Genesis 12:2 was fulfilled while the Hebrews were sojourning in Egypt?
The Jewish Religion twists this verse to claim that their members were being persecuted.
Passover Haggadah (Hebraic Heritage Ministries International) (WWW.HEBROOTS.ORG) (06/10/12)
ALL: And it is this that has stood by our fathers and us; for not one alone that has risen up against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise up against us to destroy us. But the Holy One, blessed be He, delivers us from their hands.
LEADER: Go and learn what Laban the Aramean planned to do to Jacob our father, for Pharaoh decreed solely that the male children should be put to death, but Laban had planned to uproot all, as it is said:
ALL: And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: "The Aramean sought to destroy my father, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous"--Deuteronomy 26:5
If the Hebrews were so persecuted in Egypt how did they become a "a nation, great, mighty, and populous"? In the beginning of their stay in Egypt, the Hebrews were given the very best land to live in (Genesis 47:6). That does not seem to be an act of persecution.
Deuteronomy 26:12
12When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; (KJV)
What is the year of tithing?
Deuteronomy Chapter 27
Deuteronomy Chapter 27
YHWH lists curses that will befall the children of Israel if they disobey HIS commandments and statutes.
This chapter seems to be describing a ritual. It is like the groom bringing his bride across the threshold, into their new house, with the household instructions being recited before entry.
Deuteronomy Chapter 28
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
YHWH lists the blesses that will come if we listen to HIM and do all HIS commandments, and then HE lists the curses that will befall us if we do not.
Deuteronomy 28:15
"15But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:" (KJV)
One of the greatest prophecies that is seldom ever talked about.
Deuteronomy 28:15-68
YHWH lists the curses that will come if we do not listen to HIM and do not observe all HIS commandments.
Deuteronomy 28:49-50
'49The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;' (KJV)
'50A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:' (KJV)
I wonder whose these people are. Is this referring to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, or some other nation? Perhaps it is referring to the U.S.?
Deuteronomy 28:63-64
"63And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it." (KJV)
"64And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone." (KJV)
Deuteronomy Chapter 29
Deuteronomy 29:1
1These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.(KJV)
These commands are in addition to the original 10 commandments given at Mount Horeb.
Deuteronomy 29:4
4Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.(KJV)
YHWH gives HIS people hearts to perceive, eyes to see, and ears to hear on this day..
Deuteronomy 29:9-15
9Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.(KJV)
Keep the words of the Covenant and do them.
10Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel,(KJV)
11Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:(KJV)
YHWH is making this covenant with ALL the people from the greatest to the least of them.
12That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:(KJV)
YHWH is making a covenant and an oath on this day.
13That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.(KJV)
14Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;(KJV)
15But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:(KJV)
This is a 'generational' covenant.
Deuteronomy Chapter 30
Deuteronomy Chapter 30
This chapter addresses the return to the land of Israel.
Deuteronomy 30:1-5
YHWH told the people that they return to HIS ways, he will collect them from the ends of the earth and bring them back to the promised land.
Deuteronomy 30:3
'3That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.' (KJV)
Our heavenly Father will come get us after HE returns.
Deuteronomy 30:5
'5And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.' (KJV)
Our heavenly Father will come get us.
Deuteronomy 30:6
'6And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.' (KJV)
Moses tells the people that YHWH will circumcise their heart and the heart of their seed.
circumcise the heart
This is NOT just a B'rit Hadasha term but goes all the way back to Torah.
Deuteronomy 30:10
'10If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.' (KJV)
Commandments and Statutes
This is the book of the law.
Deuteronomy 30:12
'12It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?' (KJV)
This is the verse that the rabbis use to usurp YHWH's authority.
Deuteronomy 30:16
'16In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.' (KJV)
Commandments, Statutues and Judgements.
Deuteronomy 30:17
'17But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;' (KJV)
This is exactly what they did!
Deuteronomy Chapter 31
The appoinment of Joshua
The Lord appears to Moses
The song of Moses
Deuteronomy 31:10-11
"10And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles," (KJV)
"11When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing." (KJV)
Every seven (7) years at the feast of tabernacles...
the Torah is to be read to all Israel.
Deuteronomy 31:12
"12Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:" (KJV)
The Torah is to be read to all Israel including the 'stranger that is within thy gates'.
Deuteronomy 31:13
"13And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it." (KJV)
The children and everyone is to learn and obey.
Deuteronomy 31:16
"16And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them." (KJV)
YHWH certainly predicted this one correctly.
Deuteronomy 31:17
"17Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?" (KJV)
YHWH certainly predicted this one correctly.
Deuteronomy 31:18
"18And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods." (KJV)
The people brought this misery upon themselves.
Deuteronomy 31:19
"19Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel." (KJV)
YHWH wrote a song that would be a witness against the children of Israel.
What is this song?
Deuteronomy 31:20
"20For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant." (KJV)
YHWH certainly predicted this one correctly. The people broke his covenant.
Deuteronomy 31:21
"21And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware." (KJV)
YHWH knew what the people would do in the future.
Deuteronomy 31:22
22Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.(KJV)
What happened to this song?
Deuteronomy 31:26
"26Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee." (KJV)
The book of the law of Moses is beside the ark of the covenant, not in it..
Deuteronomy 31:27
"27For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?" (KJV)
Moses certainly predicted this one correctly.
If you rebel to my face, how much so will you when I'm gone?
Deuteronomy 31:28
"28Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them." (KJV)
Is heaven and earth being called to witness this?
Deuteronomy 31:29
"29For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands." (KJV)
Moses certainly predicted this one correctly.
Deuteronomy 31:30
"30And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended." (KJV)
Is this chapter the song?
Deuteronomy Chapter 32
Deuteronomy 32:4
"4He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." (KJV)
THE ROCK.
Deuteronomy 32:18
"18Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee." (KJV)
The ROCK! A reference to the Messiah?
Deuteronomy 32:21
'21They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.' (KJV)
Provoked to anger, provoked to jealousy.
Deuteronomy 32:35
"35To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste." (KJV)
Deuteronomy Chapter 33
Deuteronomy Chapter 34
Deuteronomy 34:4
"4And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither." (KJV)
From the top of Pisgah/Pisgah in the mountains of Nebo/Nebo and just before Moses/Mosheh's death, YHWH is showing Moses/Mosheh's the promised land and recalling the promise HE made to Abraham/Abrahim, Isaac/Yitshaq and Jacob/Ya'aqob.
Deuteronomy 34:7
"7And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated." (KJV)
Moses was 120 years old when he died.