Deuteronomy 1 2 3a 3b 4 5 6 7a 7b 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16a 16b 17 18 19 20 21a 21b 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29a 29b 30 31 32 33 34
10:1 BA ET HA HI AMAR YHVH ELAI PESAL LECHA SHNEY LUCHOT AVANIM KA RISHONIM VA ALEH ELAI HA HARAH VE ASITA LECHA ARON ETS
בָּעֵת הַהִוא אָמַר יְהוָה אֵלַי פְּסָל לְךָ שְׁנֵי לוּחֹת אֲבָנִים כָּרִאשֹׁנִים וַעֲלֵה אֵלַי הָהָרָה וְעָשִׂיתָ לְּךָ אֲרוֹן עֵץ
KJ (King James translation): At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
BN (BibleNet translation): At that time YHVH said to me: Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones, and come up to me on the mountain; and make for yourself an ark of wood.
Do we ever hear of this ARON EYTS again? Is it in fact the original of the Ark of the Covenant, by another name? Is the intention that he brings this wooden ark up the mountain with him, and puts the stones in them? If so, is this because YHVH is worried that he'll "drop" and "break" them again? For the detail of the rather ornate wooden box, see Exodus 25:10-22 and 37:1-9.
10:2 VE ECHTOV AL HA LUCHOT ET HA DEVARIM ASHER HAYU AL HA LUCHOT HA RISHONIM ASHER SHIBARTA VA SAMTAM BA ARON
וְאֶכְתֹּב עַל הַלֻּחֹת אֶת הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ עַל הַלֻּחֹת הָרִאשֹׁנִים אֲשֶׁר שִׁבַּרְתָּ וְשַׂמְתָּם בָּאָרוֹן
BN: And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.
SHIBARTA: I wrote "drop" and "break" in quotation marks in my previous notes, and again here; see my note to Deuteronomy 9:17.
Why can't Mosheh write them himself this time, given that they were only ten simple commandments? Does he not have them off by heart?
10:3 VA A'AS ARON ATSEY SHITIM VA EPHSOL SHNEY LUCHOT AVANIM KA RISHONIM VA A'AL HA HARAH U SHNEY HA LUCHOT BE YADI
וָאַעַשׂ אֲרוֹן עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים וָאֶפְסֹל שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת אֲבָנִים כָּרִאשֹׁנִים וָאַעַל הָהָרָה וּשְׁנֵי הַלֻּחֹת בְּיָדִי
BN: So I made an ark of acacia-wood, and hewed two tablets of stone like the first set, and went up onto the mountain, with the two tablets in my hand.
Tablets of stone, which cannot be written on with a feather-plume, like you would on papyrus, nor any other kind of writing implement. Stone requires carving.
10:4 VA YICHTOV AL HA LUCHOT KA MICHTAV HA RISHON ET ASERET HA DEVARIM ASHER DIBER YHVH ALEYCHEM BA HAR MITOCH HA ESH BE YOM HA KAHAL VA YITNEM YHVH ELAI
וַיִּכְתֹּב עַל הַלֻּחֹת כַּמִּכְתָּב הָרִאשׁוֹן אֵת עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה אֲלֵיכֶם בָּהָר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ בְּיוֹם הַקָּהָל וַיִּתְּנֵם יְהוָה אֵלָי
BN: And he wrote on the tablets exactly what he wrote the first time, the Ten Commandments, which YHVH spoke to you, on the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, on the day of the assembly; and YHVH gave them to me.
10:5 VA EPHEN VA ERED MIN HA HAR VA ASIM ET HA LUCHOT BA ARON ASHER ASITI VA YEHEYU SHAM KA ASHER TSIVANI YHVH
KJ: And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
BN: And I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the Tablets in the Ark which I had made; and there they are, as YHVH instructed me.
My question in verse 1 is now answered: no, he doesn't take the wooden ark up the mountain with him; yes, this is the box that is also known as the "Ark of the Testimony".
וָאֵפֶן וָאֵרֵד מִן הָהָר וָאָשִׂם אֶת הַלֻּחֹת בָּאָרוֹן אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי וַיִּהְיוּ שָׁם כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוַּנִי יְהוָה
KJ: And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
BN: And I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the Tablets in the Ark which I had made; and there they are, as YHVH instructed me.
My question in verse 1 is now answered: no, he doesn't take the wooden ark up the mountain with him; yes, this is the box that is also known as the "Ark of the Testimony".
10:6 U VENEY YISRA-EL NASU MI BE'EROT BENEY YA'AKAN MOSERAH SHAM MET AHARON VA YIKABER SHAM VA YECHAHEN EL-AZAR BENO TACHTAV
KJ: And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.
BN: And the Beney Yisra-El journeyed from Be'erot Beney Ya'akan to Moserah; there Aharon died, and there he was buried; and El-Azar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.
Why does he sometimes address them as you, and sometimes speak about them as they?
BE'EROT BENEY YA'AKAN - see Numbers 33:31. It is not described there as an oasis (BE'EROT means "wells"). They also arrived there after leaving MOSEROT, where here it is the other way around.
MOSERAH: is that Moser in the dative, or was the place actually named Moserah? If the latter, should it not be MOSERATAH? Cf GUDGOD in the next verse. And anyway Numbers 33:30 and 31 are clear that it was MOSEROT, in the plural, which would then make this MOSEROTAH in the dative.
וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נָסְעוּ מִבְּאֵרֹת בְּנֵי יַעֲקָן מוֹסֵרָה שָׁם מֵת אַהֲרֹן וַיִּקָּבֵר שָׁם וַיְכַהֵן אֶלְעָזָר בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו
KJ: And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.
BN: And the Beney Yisra-El journeyed from Be'erot Beney Ya'akan to Moserah; there Aharon died, and there he was buried; and El-Azar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.
Why does he sometimes address them as you, and sometimes speak about them as they?
BE'EROT BENEY YA'AKAN - see Numbers 33:31. It is not described there as an oasis (BE'EROT means "wells"). They also arrived there after leaving MOSEROT, where here it is the other way around.
MOSERAH: is that Moser in the dative, or was the place actually named Moserah? If the latter, should it not be MOSERATAH? Cf GUDGOD in the next verse. And anyway Numbers 33:30 and 31 are clear that it was MOSEROT, in the plural, which would then make this MOSEROTAH in the dative.
SHAM MET AHARON: Numbers 20:23ff, repeated in 33:38, is where Aharon's death is recorded, and many stages of the journey on from Moserah - beyond Kadesh in the foothills of Mount Hor (which may or may not be the real name of what is elsewhere Mount Chorev).
How far can we attribute these repeated errors to Mosheh now being old and the synapses worn out, how far is it a writer a thousand years later simply having the facts wrong, or several different versions, all of which need to be included for reasons more political than literary?
10:7 MI SHAM NASU HA GUDGODAH U MIN HA GUDGODAH YATVATAH ERETS NACHALEY MAYIM
מִשָּׁם נָסְעוּ הַגֻּדְגֹּדָה וּמִן הַגֻּדְגֹּדָה יָטְבָתָה אֶרֶץ נַחֲלֵי מָיִם
BN: From there they journeyed to Gudgod; and from Gudgod to Yatvah, a land of brooks of water.
GUDGOD: Chor ha Gidgad in Numbers 33:32.
YATVATAH: See my note at Numbers 33:33.
10:8 BA ET HA HI HIVDIL YHVH ET SHEVET HA LEVI LASET ET ARON BRIT YHVH LA'AMOD LIPHNEY YHVH LESHARTO U LEVARECH BISHMO AD HAYOM HA ZEH
KJ: At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
BN: At that time YHVH separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the Ark of the Covenant of YHVH, to stand before YHVH to minister to him, and to deliver blessings in his name, to this day.
No, this was done a long time before, immediately after the incident of the Golden Calf, in Exodus 28. For a detailed breakdown of where to find the various Levitical roles and duties in the various texts, click here.
10:9 AL KEN LO HAYAH LE LEVI CHELEK VE NACHALAH IM ECHAV YHVH HU NACHALATO KA ASHER DIBER YHVH ELOHEYCHA LO
KJ: Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.
BN: Which is why Levi has no portion or inheritance with his kinsmen; YHVH is his inheritance, exactly as YHVH your god informed him.
And why the tribe of Levi, and not any other tribe? Levi, of whom his father Ya'akov was so deeply ashamed (see Genesis 49:5ff), for what he did to Shechem. Ah, but Levi is Mosheh's tribe, and who else does one promote to the aristocracy, if not one's own family!
10:10 VE ANOCHI AMADETI VA HAR KA YAMIM HA RISHONIM ARBA'IM YOM VE ARBA'IM LAILAH VA YISHMA YHVH ELAI GAM BA PA'AM HA HI LO AVAH YHVH HASHCHITECHA
KJ: And 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.
BN: Now I stayed on the mountain, as on the first occasion, for forty days and forty nights; and YHVH listened to me that time also; YHVH would not destroy you.
This is out of place; he came down from the mountain several verses ago; then they travelled on, and Aharon died, and here he is apparently back at the same mountain; he really is getting senile!
10:11 VA YOMER YHVH ELAI KUM LECH LE MASA LIPHNEY HA AM VA YAVO'U VE YIYRESHU ET HA ARETS ASHER NISHBATI LA AVOTAM LATET LAHEM
KJ: And the LORD said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.
BN: Then YHVH said to me: Get up and lead the people on their journey, and have them set out, that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their ancestors to give them.
pey break
10:12 VE ATAH YISRA-EL MAH YHVH ELOHEYCHA SHO'EL MEY IMACH KI IM LE YIRAH ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA LALECHET BE CHOL DERACHAV U LE AHAVAH OTO VE LA'AVOD ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA BE CHOL LEVAVECHA U VE CHOL NAPHSHECHA
KJ: And 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,
BN: And now, Yisra-El, what does YHVH your god require of you, but to fear YHVH your god, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve YHVH your god with all your heart and with all your soul.
If this is meant to be a quote from the Shema, U VE CHOL ME'ODECHA is missing - see Deuteronnomy 6:5. And note that, on this occasion, he invokes them both to "love" and to "fear" YHVH - for which see my notes to Deuteronomy 6:5 and 6:13.
10:13 LISHMOR ET MITSVOT YHVH VE ET CHUKOTAV ASHER ANOCHI METSAVECHA HAYOM LE TOV LACH
KJ: To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
BN: To keep for your own good YHVH's instructions, and his statutes, which I am instructing you today.
But still hasn't, and yet another chapter all but gone by.
10:14 HEN LA YHVH ELOHEYCHA HA SHAMAYIM U SHEMEY HA SHAMAYIM HA ARETS VE CHOL ASHER BAH
KJ: Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
BN: Behold, the heavens belong to YHVH your god, and the heaven of heavens, the Earth, and everything that is on her.
SHEMEY HA SHAMAYIM: Unclear what exactly Mosheh would have meant by this; easy to know what a Prophet of the First or Second Temple period would have meant, but not Mosheh. In the latter's mythological world, the heavens were simply the blue space when you looked up, hopefully with the sun-god turning his face to shine on you, or rain-clouds when the crops needed it, and only in the amount they needed, or the heavens were the black space when you looked up, and the moon-goddess in one of her three phases, and the twelve constellatory messengers of light, and the other five planetary deities, and maybe a meteorite storm in Lyra, to let you know Passover is near, or a supernova, or a comet, an eclipse, likewise "messengers", usually of deep foreboding, though it might be a mazal tov. But this abstraction called "Shemey ha Shamayim", the "Heaven of Heavens", can only belong to a metaphysical age.
10:15 RAK VA AVOTEYCHA CHASHAK YHVH LE AHAVAH OTAM VA YIVCHAR BE ZARAM ACHAREYHEM BACHEM MI KOL HA AMIM KAYOM HAZEH
KJ: Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
BN: Only YHVH took delight in loving your ancestors, and he chose their seed after them, even you, above all peoples, as it is this day.
10:16 U MALTEM ET ARLAT LEVAVECHEM VE ARPECHEM LO TAKSHU OD
KJ: Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
BN: Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no more.
10:8 BA ET HA HI HIVDIL YHVH ET SHEVET HA LEVI LASET ET ARON BRIT YHVH LA'AMOD LIPHNEY YHVH LESHARTO U LEVARECH BISHMO AD HAYOM HA ZEH
בָּעֵת הַהִוא הִבְדִּיל יְהוָה אֶת שֵׁבֶט הַלֵּוִי לָשֵׂאת אֶת אֲרוֹן בְּרִית יְהוָה לַעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי יְהוָה לְשָׁרְתוֹ וּלְבָרֵךְ בִּשְׁמוֹ עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה
KJ: At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
BN: At that time YHVH separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the Ark of the Covenant of YHVH, to stand before YHVH to minister to him, and to deliver blessings in his name, to this day.
No, this was done a long time before, immediately after the incident of the Golden Calf, in Exodus 28. For a detailed breakdown of where to find the various Levitical roles and duties in the various texts, click here.
10:9 AL KEN LO HAYAH LE LEVI CHELEK VE NACHALAH IM ECHAV YHVH HU NACHALATO KA ASHER DIBER YHVH ELOHEYCHA LO
עַל כֵּן לֹא הָיָה לְלֵוִי חֵלֶק וְנַחֲלָה עִם אֶחָיו יְהוָה הוּא נַחֲלָתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לוֹ
BN: Which is why Levi has no portion or inheritance with his kinsmen; YHVH is his inheritance, exactly as YHVH your god informed him.
And why the tribe of Levi, and not any other tribe? Levi, of whom his father Ya'akov was so deeply ashamed (see Genesis 49:5ff), for what he did to Shechem. Ah, but Levi is Mosheh's tribe, and who else does one promote to the aristocracy, if not one's own family!
10:10 VE ANOCHI AMADETI VA HAR KA YAMIM HA RISHONIM ARBA'IM YOM VE ARBA'IM LAILAH VA YISHMA YHVH ELAI GAM BA PA'AM HA HI LO AVAH YHVH HASHCHITECHA
וְאָנֹכִי עָמַדְתִּי בָהָר כַּיָּמִים הָרִאשֹׁנִים אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לָיְלָה וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהוָה אֵלַי גַּם בַּפַּעַם הַהִוא לֹא אָבָה יְהוָה הַשְׁחִיתֶךָ
BN: Now I stayed on the mountain, as on the first occasion, for forty days and forty nights; and YHVH listened to me that time also; YHVH would not destroy you.
This is out of place; he came down from the mountain several verses ago; then they travelled on, and Aharon died, and here he is apparently back at the same mountain; he really is getting senile!
10:11 VA YOMER YHVH ELAI KUM LECH LE MASA LIPHNEY HA AM VA YAVO'U VE YIYRESHU ET HA ARETS ASHER NISHBATI LA AVOTAM LATET LAHEM
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלַי קוּם לֵךְ לְמַסַּע לִפְנֵי הָעָם וְיָבֹאוּ וְיִירְשׁוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לַאֲבֹתָם לָתֵת לָהֶם
KJ: And the LORD said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.
BN: Then YHVH said to me: Get up and lead the people on their journey, and have them set out, that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their ancestors to give them.
pey break
10:12 VE ATAH YISRA-EL MAH YHVH ELOHEYCHA SHO'EL MEY IMACH KI IM LE YIRAH ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA LALECHET BE CHOL DERACHAV U LE AHAVAH OTO VE LA'AVOD ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA BE CHOL LEVAVECHA U VE CHOL NAPHSHECHA
וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל מָה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אִם לְיִרְאָה אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל דְּרָכָיו וּלְאַהֲבָה אֹתוֹ וְלַעֲבֹד אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשֶׁךָ
KJ: And 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,
BN: And now, Yisra-El, what does YHVH your god require of you, but to fear YHVH your god, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve YHVH your god with all your heart and with all your soul.
If this is meant to be a quote from the Shema, U VE CHOL ME'ODECHA is missing - see Deuteronnomy 6:5. And note that, on this occasion, he invokes them both to "love" and to "fear" YHVH - for which see my notes to Deuteronomy 6:5 and 6:13.
10:13 LISHMOR ET MITSVOT YHVH VE ET CHUKOTAV ASHER ANOCHI METSAVECHA HAYOM LE TOV LACH
לִשְׁמֹר אֶת מִצְוֹת יְהוָה וְאֶת חֻקֹּתָיו אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם לְטוֹב לָךְ
KJ: To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
BN: To keep for your own good YHVH's instructions, and his statutes, which I am instructing you today.
But still hasn't, and yet another chapter all but gone by.
10:14 HEN LA YHVH ELOHEYCHA HA SHAMAYIM U SHEMEY HA SHAMAYIM HA ARETS VE CHOL ASHER BAH
הֵן לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הַשָּׁמַיִם וּשְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם הָאָרֶץ וְכָל אֲשֶׁר בָּהּ
KJ: Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
BN: Behold, the heavens belong to YHVH your god, and the heaven of heavens, the Earth, and everything that is on her.
SHEMEY HA SHAMAYIM: Unclear what exactly Mosheh would have meant by this; easy to know what a Prophet of the First or Second Temple period would have meant, but not Mosheh. In the latter's mythological world, the heavens were simply the blue space when you looked up, hopefully with the sun-god turning his face to shine on you, or rain-clouds when the crops needed it, and only in the amount they needed, or the heavens were the black space when you looked up, and the moon-goddess in one of her three phases, and the twelve constellatory messengers of light, and the other five planetary deities, and maybe a meteorite storm in Lyra, to let you know Passover is near, or a supernova, or a comet, an eclipse, likewise "messengers", usually of deep foreboding, though it might be a mazal tov. But this abstraction called "Shemey ha Shamayim", the "Heaven of Heavens", can only belong to a metaphysical age.
10:15 RAK VA AVOTEYCHA CHASHAK YHVH LE AHAVAH OTAM VA YIVCHAR BE ZARAM ACHAREYHEM BACHEM MI KOL HA AMIM KAYOM HAZEH
רַק בַּאֲבֹתֶיךָ חָשַׁק יְהוָה לְאַהֲבָה אוֹתָם וַיִּבְחַר בְּזַרְעָם אַחֲרֵיהֶם בָּכֶם מִכָּל הָעַמִּים כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה
KJ: Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
BN: Only YHVH took delight in loving your ancestors, and he chose their seed after them, even you, above all peoples, as it is this day.
10:16 U MALTEM ET ARLAT LEVAVECHEM VE ARPECHEM LO TAKSHU OD
וּמַלְתֶּם אֵת עָרְלַת לְבַבְכֶם וְעָרְפְּכֶם לֹא תַקְשׁוּ עוֹד
KJ: Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
BN: Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no more.
Another decidedly abstract concept, which requires Key Stage 2 at the very least to understand it. The word-play in this verse is sophisticated to say the least, way ahead of anything we have encountered before from Mosheh; but should it not be ARPHECHEM rather than ARPECHEM? And is OREPH connected with the constellation Lyra, and the Greek Orpheus who shares that constellation with King David?
Though it is also, if you stop and think about it, a rather mixed metaphor - neither the foreskin nor the heart have much connection with the neck.
References to the Beney Yisra-El as "stiff-necked" can be found at various points from Exodus 32:9 to Acts 7:51-53... click here for the others.
10:17 KI YHVH ELOHEYCHEM HU ELOHEY HA ELOHIM VA ADONEY HA ADONIM HA EL HA GADOL HA GIBOR VE HA NORA ASHER LO YISA PHANIM VE LO YIKACH SHOCHAD
כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הוּא אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים וַאֲדֹנֵי הָאֲדֹנִים הָאֵל הַגָּדֹל הַגִּבֹּר וְהַנּוֹרָא אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִשָּׂא פָנִים וְלֹא יִקַּח שֹׁחַד
KJ: For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
BN: For YHVH your god, he is the god of gods, and lord of lords, the great god, the mighty, and the awful, who pays no regard to persons, and expects no reward.
ADONEY HA ADONIM: This phrase is problematic for a monotheist! But, as we have seen, the Mosheh of the Books of Exodus, Numbers and Leviticus was not a monotheist, and whatever he is in this book is not at all consistent. The description in this verse, "god of gods" and "lord of lords", could be interpreted either as Omnideity - all gods absorbed into him - which is the very last stage of the development of Yisra-Eli god-theology, or more likely it describes his supremacy over the others, YHVH TSEVA'OT, the Lord of the Hosts of the Heavens, the equivalent of the Prime Minister at the head of the Cabinet table rather than the autocratic President-for-Life; and that is definitely the heavens as skies and not the abstract Heaven that we have just encountered.
HA EL...HA NORA: More phrases that resurface later as liturgy; in the Amidah on this occasion.
SHOCHAD: Is that really "reward"? Isn't it more "back-handers"? By which I mean, and any one of several later Prophets could be quoted for this, but try Hosea 6:6, or 1 Samuel 15:22, or Isaiah 1:11-14, or even Psalm 40:7-9, or... the point being, that a verse such as this could not have been written before the 6th century BCE, the epoch in which human beings first achieved abstract thought; and even then it took the Roman destruction of the Temple to bring these acts of propitiation to an end.
10:18 OSEH MISHPAT YATOM VE ALMANAH VE OHEV GER LATET LO LECHEM VE SIMLAH
עֹשֶׂה מִשְׁפַּט יָתוֹם וְאַלְמָנָה וְאֹהֵב גֵּר לָתֶת לוֹ לֶחֶם וְשִׂמְלָה
BN: He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and loves the stranger, by giving him food and raiment.
Interesting that YATOM is translated in King James as "fatherless" rather than "orphan" - probably correctly, given the status of women in society at that time.
OHEV GER: Loving the stranger sounds good in theory, but both Mosheh, and later Ezra and Nechem-Yah, require either the genocide, the expulsion, or the forced conversion of all strangers, so the term, like the law about to be given, is really rather moot.
10:19 VE AHAVTEM ET HA GER KI GERIM HEYIYTEM BE ERETS MITSRAYIM
וַאֲהַבְתֶּם אֶת הַגֵּר כִּי גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם
KJ: Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
BN: You therefore shall love the stranger; for you were strangers in the land of Mitsrayim.
Rabbi Hillel would not disagree. These verses have to be contrasted with those above in which he is the destroyer and hater; but these are the verses which need to be read to, and by, right wing Jews and Christians, the ones who want to deport the wetbacks and deny medical coverage to those who can't afford insurance. The source of this verse is Leviticus 19:18, though Mosheh is extending it here.
10:20 ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA TIYRA OTO TA'AVOD U VO TIDBAK U VI SHMO TISHABEYA
KJ: Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
BN: You therefore shall love the stranger; for you were strangers in the land of Mitsrayim.
Rabbi Hillel would not disagree. These verses have to be contrasted with those above in which he is the destroyer and hater; but these are the verses which need to be read to, and by, right wing Jews and Christians, the ones who want to deport the wetbacks and deny medical coverage to those who can't afford insurance. The source of this verse is Leviticus 19:18, though Mosheh is extending it here.
10:20 ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA TIYRA OTO TA'AVOD U VO TIDBAK U VI SHMO TISHABEYA
אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ תִּירָא אֹתוֹ תַעֲבֹד וּבוֹ תִדְבָּק וּבִשְׁמוֹ תִּשָּׁבֵעַ
KJ: Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
BN: You shall fear YHVH your god; him you shall serve; and to him you shall cleave, and by his name you shall swear oaths.
10:21 HU TEHILAT'CHA VE HU ELOHEYCHA ASHER ASAH IT'CHA ET HA GEDOLOT VE ET HA NORA'OT HA ELEH ASHER RA'U EYNEYCHA
הוּא תְהִלָּתְךָ וְהוּא אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אִתְּךָ אֶת הַגְּדֹלֹת וְאֶת הַנּוֹרָאֹת הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר רָאוּ עֵינֶיךָ
BN: He is your glory, and he is your god, who has done these great and tremendous things for you, which your eyes have seen.
Except that none of these people saw any of these things; they are the generation after those who saw, because those who saw were made to wander round the desert for 38 years until there were none of them left but Yehoshu'a (Joshua) and Kalev (Caleb) - and Mosheh spent the first several chapters of Deuteronomy reiterating that fact again and again, so this can't be his original speech, or even part of the same book as those chapters, but has too be something made up or added on by someone else later on.
10:22 BE SHIVIM NEPHESH YARDU AVOTEYCHA MITSRAYIMAH VE ATAH SAMCHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA KE CHOCHAVEY HA SHAMAYIM LA ROV
בְּשִׁבְעִים נֶפֶשׁ יָרְדוּ אֲבֹתֶיךָ מִצְרָיְמָה וְעַתָּה שָׂמְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם לָרֹב
KJ: Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
BN: Your ancestors went down into Mitsrayim with just seventy people; and now YHVH your god has made you like the stars of heaven for multitude.
Genesis 46 is the source of this claim; however (and see my notes there), the genealogical lists described there are somewhat implausible: Ya'akov himself, three wives, plus twelve sons, plus their twelve wives, plus their sons and daughters, and considerable numbers of sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, not to mention grandchildren, will add up to a great deal more than "just seventy people". But seventy is a symbolic number, the number of those who created the Septuagint in the 4th century BCE (probably not relevant here; this text is of a late date, but more likely to have been 5th century); the number of those who served in the Sanhedrin... lots more of these mysticisms here, and here.
BN: Your ancestors went down into Mitsrayim with just seventy people; and now YHVH your god has made you like the stars of heaven for multitude.
Genesis 46 is the source of this claim; however (and see my notes there), the genealogical lists described there are somewhat implausible: Ya'akov himself, three wives, plus twelve sons, plus their twelve wives, plus their sons and daughters, and considerable numbers of sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, not to mention grandchildren, will add up to a great deal more than "just seventy people". But seventy is a symbolic number, the number of those who created the Septuagint in the 4th century BCE (probably not relevant here; this text is of a late date, but more likely to have been 5th century); the number of those who served in the Sanhedrin... lots more of these mysticisms here, and here.
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