Sedra 8, Nitzavim
Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20
(is this the shortest sedra in the calendar?)
The previous Sedra ended at what is verse 8 in some Christian translations, but verse 9 in the King James, because it brought forward the end of chapter 28 as verse 1 of its chapter 29. Confused? I have put the KJ verse numbers in brackets to assist.
The previous Sedra ended at what is verse 8 in some Christian translations, but verse 9 in the King James, because it brought forward the end of chapter 28 as verse 1 of its chapter 29. Confused? I have put the KJ verse numbers in brackets to assist.
Chapter 29 (cont)
29:9 ATEM NITSAVIM HAYOM KULCHEM LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHEM RASHEYCHEM SHIVTEYCHEM ZIKNEYCHEM VE SHOTREYCHEM KOL ISH YISRA-EL
אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם רָאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם כֹּל אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל
KJ (King James translation, 29:10): Ye 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,
BN (BibleNet translation): You are standing this day, all of you, before YHVH your god: your chiefs, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, every man of Yisra-El...
And after all the prophetic tub-thumping, and the brief return to historical rambling, the language and the ceremony return to formality. I imagine that Mosheh has come down from the pulpit and walked to the table where the Ten Commandments have been lying open all this time, the senior tribal leaders and Kohanim have grouped around him in whatever arranement has been pre-agreed, the sceptre is back in Mosheh's hand, and the man who has been given the honour of holding Nechushtan is immediately behind him: this is the start of the dramatic denouement:
29:10 TAP'CHEM NESHEYCHEM VE GERCHA ASHER BE KEREV MACHANEYCHA MEY CHOTEV EYTSECHA AD SHO'EV MEYMEYCHA
טַפְּכֶם נְשֵׁיכֶם וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בְּקֶרֶב מַחֲנֶיךָ מֵחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ עַד שֹׁאֵב מֵימֶיךָ
KJ (29:11): Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water:
BN: Your little ones, your wives, and the stranger who is in the midst of your camp, from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water...
We have to wonder why there would be non-Yisra-Elim in the camp; have they been hiring Bedou as camp-servants? Ah, no, of course, I wasn't paying proper attention at verse 6, when Mosheh talked about conquering Sichon and giving Mo-Av to the three tribes: these are slaves, conquered in the recent battle, and they too will be required to swear the Oath of Allegiance.
BN: Your little ones, your wives, and the stranger who is in the midst of your camp, from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water...
We have to wonder why there would be non-Yisra-Elim in the camp; have they been hiring Bedou as camp-servants? Ah, no, of course, I wasn't paying proper attention at verse 6, when Mosheh talked about conquering Sichon and giving Mo-Av to the three tribes: these are slaves, conquered in the recent battle, and they too will be required to swear the Oath of Allegiance.
29:11 LE'AVRECHA BI VRIT YHVH ELOHEYCHA U VE ALATO ASHER YHVH ELOHEYCHA KORET IMACH HAYOM
לְעָבְרְךָ בִּבְרִית יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וּבְאָלָתוֹ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ כֹּרֵת עִמְּךָ הַיּוֹם
KJ (29:12): That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day:
BN: That you should "cross over" into the covenant of YHVH your god - and into his oath - which YHVH your god is making with you this day...
Word-play of some interest here - we have seen it repeatedly in Deuteronomy, but never with this meaning before. LE'AVRECHA means "to cross over", from the same root that gives EVER = "Hebrew"; one does not normally "cross over" into a covenant or treaty or contract, and yet, symbolically, there is an act of "crossing over" taking place, a transcendence from one state of being (stateless bondage and wandering: no heart, eyes, ears) to another (the people of YHVH heading for the land of their inheritance, imbued with mercy and knowledge).
VE ALATO is an audial play on words, the preposition BE being prefixed to ALAH = "oath", but insinuating the word BA'AL (with an ayin - ע), and thereby suggesting the "mastery" of YHVH over all other gods within the covenant; both these plays on words are then confirmed and endorsed by the wording of the following verse.
29:12 LEMA'AN HAKIM OT'CHA HAYOM LO LE AM VE HU YIHEYEH LECHA LE ELOHIM KA ASHER DIBER LACH VE CHA ASHER NISHBA LA AVOTEYCHA LE AV-RAHAM LE YITSCHAK U LE YA'AKOV
KJ (29:13): That 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.
BN: That he may establish you this day as his people, and that he may be your god, as he spoke to you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Av-Raham, to Yitschak, and to Ya'akov.
29:13 VE LO IT'CHEM LEVAD'CHEM ANOCHI KORET ET HA BRIT HA ZOT VE ET HA ALAH HA ZOT
KJ (29:14): Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;
BN: Nor is it only with you that I am making this covenant and this oath...
Sudden switch to first person - but who speaks on YHVH's behalf here? Mosheh himself? A Kohen? Or is the I in fact Mosheh? I suspect that, in the screenplay, Mosheh has gone silent for a moment, and allowed the Kohen Gadol to have his role in the ceremony with these words (though it is less easy to discern at which point below Mosheh resumes).
29:14 KI ET ASHER YESHNO POH IMANU OMED HAYOM LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYNU VE ET ASHER EYNENU POH IMANU HAYOM
KJ (29:15): But 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:
BN: But with he who is standing here with us this day before YHVH our god, and also with he who is not here with us this day...
Does the masculine infer the automatic inclusion of the feminine, or are the , women not included, except insofar as they are the property of their father or their husband?
Probably the most important statement in the entire history of Jewish survival. You who are not even born yet, you are also included in this covenant - or excluded, if I am right about the women. (Or maybe, because this is taking place at a moment in time, it counts as a time-bound covenant, and therefore the women are exempt).
29:15 KI ATEM YADATEM ET ASHER YASHAVNU BE ERETS MITSRAYIM VE ET ASHER AVARNU BE KEREV HA GOYIM ASHER AVARTEM
KJ (29:16): (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;
BN: For you know how we dwelt in the land of Mitsrayim; and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed.
29:16 VE TIR'U ET SHIKUTSEYHEM VE ET GILULEYHEM EYTS VA EVEN KESEPH VE ZAHAV ASHER IMAHEM
KJ (29:17): And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)
BN: And you have seen their detestable things, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were with them.
29:17 PEN YESH BACHEM ISH O ISHAH O MISHPACHAH O SHEVET ASHER LEVAVO PHONEH HAYOM MEY IM YHVH ELOHEYNU LALECHET LA'AVOD ET ELOHEY HA GOYIM HA HEM PEN YESH BACHEM SHORESH POREH ROSH VE LA'ANAH
KJ (29:18): Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;
BN: Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from YHVH our god, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood;
29:18 VE HAYAH BE SHAMO ET DIVREY HA ALAH HA ZOT VE HITBARECH BI LEVAVO LEMOR SHALOM YIHEYEH LI KI BI SHERIRUT LIBI ELECH LEMA'AN SEPHOT HA RAVAH ET HA TSEMEYAH
וְהָיָה בְּשָׁמְעוֹ אֶת דִּבְרֵי הָאָלָה הַזֹּאת וְהִתְבָּרֵךְ בִּלְבָבוֹ לֵאמֹר שָׁלוֹם יִהְיֶה לִּי כִּי בִּשְׁרִרוּת לִבִּי אֵלֵךְ לְמַעַן סְפוֹת הָרָוָה אֶת הַצְּמֵאָה
KJ (29:19): And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
BN: And it come to pass, when he hears the words of this oath, that he should bless himself in his heart, saying: I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, that the watered be swept away with the dry...
Is ALAH an oath or a curse? Most translations for this verse give "curse", but above (verse 11) it is definitely "oath". But in the next two verses, it definitely reads as "curse".
29:19 LO YOVEH YHVH SELO'ACH LO KI AZ YE'SHAN APH YHVH VE KINATO BA IYSH HA HU VE RAVTSAH BO KOL HA ALAH HA KETUVAH BA SEPHER HA ZEH U MACHAH YHVH ET SHEMO MI TACHAT HA SHAMAYIM
KJ (29:21): The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.
BN: YHVH will not be willing to pardon him; rather, the anger of YHVH and his jealousy shall be kindled against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and YHVH shall blot his name out from under the heavens.
29:20 VE HIVDIYLO YHVH LE RA'AH MI KOL SHIVTEY YISRA-EL KE CHOL ALOT HA BRIT HA KETUVAH BE SEPHER HA TORAH HA ZEH
KJ (29:21): And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:
BN: And YHVH shall separate him as one of the evil ones among the tribes of Yisra-El, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Scroll of the Law.
HIVDIYLO: "Separate" would be LEHAKDISH, in the sense of holy. This uses the word which so dominated the Creation story at the beginning of Genesis, when cell division at every level took place, bifurcation upon bifurcation. Yes, a "separation" too, but the distinction being made is between KODESH = "holy" and HAVDALAH, which distinguishes the sacred from the profane.
KETUVAH: Grammatically that should be KETUVOT, plual.
29:21 VE AMAR HA DOR HA ACHARON BENEYCHEM ASHER YAKUMU ME ACHAREYCHEM VE HA NACHRI ASHER YAVO MEY ERETS RECHOKAH VE RA'U ET MAKOT HA ARETS HA HI VE ET TACHALU'EYHA ASHER CHILAH YHVH BAH
KJ (29:22): So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it;
BN: And the generation to come, your children who shall grow up after you, and the foreigner who shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses with which YHVH has made it sick...
29:22 GAPHRIT VA MELACH SEREPHAH CHOL ARTSAH LO TIZARA VE LO TATSMI'ACH VE LO YA'ALEH VAH KOL ESEV KE MACHPECHAT SEDOM VA AMORAH ADMAH U TSEVOYIM ASHER HAPHACH YHVH BE APO U VA CHAMATO
KJ (29:23): And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
BN: That the whole land is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor does it bear fruit, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sedom and Amorah, Admah and Tsevoyim, which YHVH overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath...
And if that verse doesn't confirm that Sedom and Sinai were volcanic eruptions...
29:12 LEMA'AN HAKIM OT'CHA HAYOM LO LE AM VE HU YIHEYEH LECHA LE ELOHIM KA ASHER DIBER LACH VE CHA ASHER NISHBA LA AVOTEYCHA LE AV-RAHAM LE YITSCHAK U LE YA'AKOV
לְמַעַן הָקִים אֹתְךָ הַיּוֹם לוֹ לְעָם וְהוּא יִהְיֶה לְּךָ לֵאלֹהִים כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָךְ וְכַאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב
BN: That he may establish you this day as his people, and that he may be your god, as he spoke to you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Av-Raham, to Yitschak, and to Ya'akov.
29:13 VE LO IT'CHEM LEVAD'CHEM ANOCHI KORET ET HA BRIT HA ZOT VE ET HA ALAH HA ZOT
וְלֹא אִתְּכֶם לְבַדְּכֶם אָנֹכִי כֹּרֵת אֶת הַבְּרִית הַזֹּאת וְאֶת הָאָלָה הַזֹּאת
KJ (29:14): Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath;
BN: Nor is it only with you that I am making this covenant and this oath...
Sudden switch to first person - but who speaks on YHVH's behalf here? Mosheh himself? A Kohen? Or is the I in fact Mosheh? I suspect that, in the screenplay, Mosheh has gone silent for a moment, and allowed the Kohen Gadol to have his role in the ceremony with these words (though it is less easy to discern at which point below Mosheh resumes).
29:14 KI ET ASHER YESHNO POH IMANU OMED HAYOM LIPHNEY YHVH ELOHEYNU VE ET ASHER EYNENU POH IMANU HAYOM
כִּי אֶת אֲשֶׁר יֶשְׁנוֹ פֹּה עִמָּנוּ עֹמֵד הַיּוֹם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר אֵינֶנּוּ פֹּה עִמָּנוּ הַיּוֹם
BN: But with he who is standing here with us this day before YHVH our god, and also with he who is not here with us this day...
Does the masculine infer the automatic inclusion of the feminine, or are the , women not included, except insofar as they are the property of their father or their husband?
Probably the most important statement in the entire history of Jewish survival. You who are not even born yet, you are also included in this covenant - or excluded, if I am right about the women. (Or maybe, because this is taking place at a moment in time, it counts as a time-bound covenant, and therefore the women are exempt).
29:15 KI ATEM YADATEM ET ASHER YASHAVNU BE ERETS MITSRAYIM VE ET ASHER AVARNU BE KEREV HA GOYIM ASHER AVARTEM
כִּי אַתֶּם יְדַעְתֶּם אֵת אֲשֶׁר יָשַׁבְנוּ בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר עָבַרְנוּ בְּקֶרֶב הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר עֲבַרְתֶּם
BN: For you know how we dwelt in the land of Mitsrayim; and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed.
29:16 VE TIR'U ET SHIKUTSEYHEM VE ET GILULEYHEM EYTS VA EVEN KESEPH VE ZAHAV ASHER IMAHEM
וַתִּרְאוּ אֶת שִׁקּוּצֵיהֶם וְאֵת גִּלֻּלֵיהֶם עֵץ וָאֶבֶן כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב אֲשֶׁר עִמָּהֶם
BN: And you have seen their detestable things, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were with them.
29:17 PEN YESH BACHEM ISH O ISHAH O MISHPACHAH O SHEVET ASHER LEVAVO PHONEH HAYOM MEY IM YHVH ELOHEYNU LALECHET LA'AVOD ET ELOHEY HA GOYIM HA HEM PEN YESH BACHEM SHORESH POREH ROSH VE LA'ANAH
פֶּן יֵשׁ בָּכֶם אִישׁ אוֹ אִשָּׁה אוֹ מִשְׁפָּחָה אוֹ שֵׁבֶט אֲשֶׁר לְבָבוֹ פֹנֶה הַיּוֹם מֵעִם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ לָלֶכֶת לַעֲבֹד אֶת אֱלֹהֵי הַגּוֹיִם הָהֵם פֶּן יֵשׁ בָּכֶם שֹׁרֶשׁ פֹּרֶה רֹאשׁ וְלַעֲנָה
BN: Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from YHVH our god, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood;
29:18 VE HAYAH BE SHAMO ET DIVREY HA ALAH HA ZOT VE HITBARECH BI LEVAVO LEMOR SHALOM YIHEYEH LI KI BI SHERIRUT LIBI ELECH LEMA'AN SEPHOT HA RAVAH ET HA TSEMEYAH
BN: And it come to pass, when he hears the words of this oath, that he should bless himself in his heart, saying: I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, that the watered be swept away with the dry...
Is ALAH an oath or a curse? Most translations for this verse give "curse", but above (verse 11) it is definitely "oath". But in the next two verses, it definitely reads as "curse".
29:19 LO YOVEH YHVH SELO'ACH LO KI AZ YE'SHAN APH YHVH VE KINATO BA IYSH HA HU VE RAVTSAH BO KOL HA ALAH HA KETUVAH BA SEPHER HA ZEH U MACHAH YHVH ET SHEMO MI TACHAT HA SHAMAYIM
לֹא יֹאבֶה יְהוָה סְלֹחַ לוֹ כִּי אָז יֶעְשַׁן אַף יְהוָה וְקִנְאָתוֹ בָּאִישׁ הַהוּא וְרָבְצָה בּוֹ כָּל הָאָלָה הַכְּתוּבָה בַּסֵּפֶר הַזֶּה וּמָחָה יְהוָה אֶת שְׁמוֹ מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם
KJ (29:21): The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.
BN: YHVH will not be willing to pardon him; rather, the anger of YHVH and his jealousy shall be kindled against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and YHVH shall blot his name out from under the heavens.
29:20 VE HIVDIYLO YHVH LE RA'AH MI KOL SHIVTEY YISRA-EL KE CHOL ALOT HA BRIT HA KETUVAH BE SEPHER HA TORAH HA ZEH
וְהִבְדִּילוֹ יְהוָה לְרָעָה מִכֹּל שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּכֹל אָלוֹת הַבְּרִית הַכְּתוּבָה בְּסֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה
BN: And YHVH shall separate him as one of the evil ones among the tribes of Yisra-El, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Scroll of the Law.
HIVDIYLO: "Separate" would be LEHAKDISH, in the sense of holy. This uses the word which so dominated the Creation story at the beginning of Genesis, when cell division at every level took place, bifurcation upon bifurcation. Yes, a "separation" too, but the distinction being made is between KODESH = "holy" and HAVDALAH, which distinguishes the sacred from the profane.
KETUVAH: Grammatically that should be KETUVOT, plual.
29:21 VE AMAR HA DOR HA ACHARON BENEYCHEM ASHER YAKUMU ME ACHAREYCHEM VE HA NACHRI ASHER YAVO MEY ERETS RECHOKAH VE RA'U ET MAKOT HA ARETS HA HI VE ET TACHALU'EYHA ASHER CHILAH YHVH BAH
וְאָמַר הַדּוֹר הָאַחֲרוֹן בְּנֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר יָקוּמוּ מֵאַחֲרֵיכֶם וְהַנָּכְרִי אֲשֶׁר יָבֹא מֵאֶרֶץ רְחוֹקָה וְרָאוּ אֶת מַכּוֹת הָאָרֶץ הַהִוא וְאֶת תַּחֲלֻאֶיהָ אֲשֶׁר חִלָּה יְהוָה בָּהּ
KJ (29:22): So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it;
BN: And the generation to come, your children who shall grow up after you, and the foreigner who shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses with which YHVH has made it sick...
29:22 GAPHRIT VA MELACH SEREPHAH CHOL ARTSAH LO TIZARA VE LO TATSMI'ACH VE LO YA'ALEH VAH KOL ESEV KE MACHPECHAT SEDOM VA AMORAH ADMAH U TSEVOYIM ASHER HAPHACH YHVH BE APO U VA CHAMATO
גָּפְרִית וָמֶלַח שְׂרֵפָה כָל אַרְצָהּ לֹא תִזָּרַע וְלֹא תַצְמִחַ וְלֹא יַעֲלֶה בָהּ כָּל עֵשֶׂב כְּמַהְפֵּכַת סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה אַדְמָה וּצְבֹיִים אֲשֶׁר הָפַךְ יְהוָה בְּאַפּוֹ וּבַחֲמָתוֹ
BN: That the whole land is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor does it bear fruit, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sedom and Amorah, Admah and Tsevoyim, which YHVH overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath...
And if that verse doesn't confirm that Sedom and Sinai were volcanic eruptions...
29:23 VE AMRU KOL HA GOYIM: AL MEH ASAH YHVH KACHAH LA ARETS HA ZOT, MEH CHARI HA APH HA GADOL HA ZEH
וְאָמְרוּ כָּל הַגּוֹיִם עַל מֶה עָשָׂה יְהוָה כָּכָה לָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת מֶה חֳרִי הָאַף הַגָּדוֹל הַזֶּה
BN: All the nations shall wonder: Why has YHVH done thus to this land? What is the meaning of the heat of this great anger?
And on and on goes the prophetic rant - if this really were Mosheh giving his departure speech, his people would by now have recognised that he had gone mad or senile, and started to turn away in grief. Everything depends on context: the leader about to step down, go to his hospice-bed, hand over to his successor, surely gives the Henry V speech before Agincourt, not this endless doom-and-gloom diatribe?
29:24 VE AMRU AL ASHER AZVU ET BRIT YHVH ELOHEY AVOTAM ASHER KARAT IMAM BE HOTSIY'O OTAM ME ERETS MITSRAYIM
וְאָמְרוּ עַל אֲשֶׁר עָזְבוּ אֶת בְּרִית יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתָם אֲשֶׁר כָּרַת עִמָּם בְּהוֹצִיאוֹ אֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם
BN: Then men shall say: Because they forsook their covenant with YHVH, the god of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Mitsrayim.
29:25 VA YELCHU VA YA'AVDU ELOHIM ACHERIM VA YISHTACHAVU LAHEM ELOHIM ASHER LO YEDA'UM VE LO CHALAK LAHEM
וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ לָהֶם אֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְדָעוּם וְלֹא חָלַק לָהֶם
BN: And went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods that they did not know, and which he had not allotted to them.
LO CHALEK LAHEM: Allotted? Yes, indeed. Or "shared out" - the root CHALAK means a "division". "You shall have no other gods before me." Then YHVH is indeed simply the supremo of a pantheon, and we are still a along way from monotheism or the Omnideity.
29:26 VA YICHAR APH YHVH BA ARETS HA HI LEHAVI ALEYHA ET KOL HA KELALAH HA KETUVAH BA SEPHER HA ZEH
BN: Therefore YHVH's anger was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this scroll.
29:27 VA YIT'SHEM YHVH MEY AL ADMATAM BE APH U VE CHEMAH U VE KETSEPH GADOL VA YASHLICHEM EL ERETS ACHERET KAYOM HAZEH
וַיִּתְּשֵׁם יְהוָה מֵעַל אַדְמָתָם בְּאַף וּבְחֵמָה וּבְקֶצֶף גָּדוֹל וַיַּשְׁלִכֵם אֶל אֶרֶץ אַחֶרֶת כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה
BN: And YHVH rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.
KAYOM HAZEH: Ostensibly this is imagining a future people commenting on a future exile, diaspora, captivity; but it leaves one wondering if perhaps some of this was not already being written while they were still in Babylon, before Koresh (Cyrus), before Ezra, as an encouragement to the exiles to stay loyal. ("By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept for thee Tsi'on..." as per Psalm 137), or after the defeat of Babylon by Koresh, as an encouragement to return to Yisra-El.
29:28 HA NISTAROT LA YHVH ELOHEYNU VE HA NIGLOT LANU U LE VANEYNU AD OLAM
הַנִּסְתָּרֹת לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְהַנִּגְלֹת לָנוּ וּלְבָנֵינוּ עַד עוֹלָם לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת
BN: The secret things belong to YHVH our god; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may carry out all the words of this law.
NISTAROT: Usually rendered by priests and rabbis, if not by translators, as "the mysteries".
samech break
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