Translation:
V1: These are the
statutes and standards that you shall observe[1]
by doing[2]
them in the land that the Yahweh[3],
the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live
on the ground.
V2: You shall surely
destroy all the places that the nations you are possessing serve there, their
gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every luxuriant tree.
V3: You shall tear down
their altars and shatter their pillars, and their Asherim you shall burn with
fire, and idols of their gods you shall cut down, and you shall destroy their
name from that place.
V4: You shall not do so
to Yahweh your God.
V5: Surely, the place
that Yahweh your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name there
for his/its dwelling[4],
you will seek[5]. There you
shall go.
V6: And you shall bring
in there your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the
contribution of your hand, and your votive offerings, and your freewill
offerings, and the firstborns of your herd and of your flock.
V7: And you shall eat
there before Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice in every undertaking of
your hand, you and your households, because Yahweh your God has blessed you.
V8: You shall not do
according to all that we are doing here today, each one doing what is right[6]
in his own eyes.[7].
V9: For until now[8],
you have not come to the resting place and to the inheritance that Yahweh your
God is giving you.
V10: But you shall cross
the Jordan and you shall live in the land that Yahweh your God caused you to
inherit, and he shall give you rest[9]
from all your enemies around[10],
so[11]
you shall live in safety[12].
V11: Then it[13]
shall be, the place that Yahweh your God shall choose, in it his name shall
dwell there[14], there[15]
you shall bring all that I command you[16]:
your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices[17],
and your tithes, and the contribution of your hand, and all choicest of your
votive offerings that you shall vow to Yahweh.
Historical context:
Deuteronomy is the fifth
book of the Pentateuch[18]
and includes a series of speeches of Moses on the plains of Moab, right before
Israel’s entry into the Promised Land.[19]
It is thought to be written after the death of Moses[20]
and before the reform of Josiah,[21]
since Moses could not have narrated his own death and Josiah found the “Book of
the Law” in the temple (2Kings22). Final compilation might be postexilic.[22] Deuteronomy
sets a vision for a life in the promised land.[23]
It looks back to the past of human failure and rebellion, and looks forward to
the future of a promise not yet claimed.[24]
Literary context:
The genre is statutes
and standards.[25] It bears
resemblance to the Ancient Near East treaties.[26]
Deuteronomy contains two sets of stipulations: Chapters5-11 comprises of general
basic principles. Chapters12-26:15 is a more specific elaboration of the ten
commandments that reflect life in a land with a centralised monarchical
society.[27] Deuteronomy
has a sermonic style with heavy use of distinctive vocabulary and phraseology,
especially on the promise of the land they are about to enter, and exhortations
to obey the commands of the covenant when they enter.[28]
Chapter12 is about Israel’s worshipping Yahweh with complete loyalty.[29]
Literary
characteristics:
Structurally, there is
the superscription (12:1), the command to destroy Canaanite religious sites
(12:2-4), and the call to worship Yahweh at his chosen place (12:5-14).[30]
Deuteronomy12:1 is closely linked with Deuteronomy11:31-32 by chiasm: “You”,
“Gift of the land”, “Decrees and laws”.[31]
Deuteronomy12 has similarities to Deuteronomy7: The command to destroy the
peoples and religion of Canaan (12:1-4&7:1-5), Israel’s holiness (12:5-12&7:6-11),
enjoyment of abundance in the land as a corollary of holiness (12:13-28&7:12-16),
and warning against ensnarement by foreign religion (12:29-32 &7:17-26).[32]
The repetition in V29-32 of the points made in V1-4 parallels the “sandwich
feature” of Deuteronomy7 V1-5vsV17-26.[33]
Exegesis:
In V1, the narrator
introduces Moses’ speech and we see two words with similar meanings. חֹק has a wide variety of meanings but “statute” is a more
common translation. מִשְׁפָּט can mean judgment, legal
specifications, rules, ordinances, laws. Some[34]
translate מִשְׁפָּט “judgment”,
but I do not think it will work here because we are told to “do” them. Since the
word can also mean legal specifications, both “standards” and “rules” are
suitable translation choices. Therefore, I translated the two words as
“statutes and standards”. Moses opens with the instruction to observe the
standards and statutes by doing them. נתן (give) in this verse is now in perfect (has given) as opposed
to the present participle (giving) in 11:31, which marks a new phase in the
argument, now focusing on life in the land they are about to ירשׁ (possess).[35]
The keeping of the statutes and standards are linked closely with the formula
of the gift of the land.[36]
The words אֶרֶץ (land)
and אֲדָמָה (ground) occurs together in this verse. When the two
occurs together elsewhere (eg. Deuteronomy4:17-18), אֶרֶץ can mean “the
whole earth”. Here it is a mere repetition of the idea of land as territory.[37]
In V2,
the complete אבד (destruction)
of all the מָקוֹם (places)
of Canaanite worship is the first act to be undertaken in the land,[38],[39],[40]
written as an emphatic command (infinitive absolute followed by verb imperfect
2nd person). We see that Canaanite
worship is very indiscriminate, happening everywhere.[41]
There is assonance in the Hebrew for “high mountains” הֶהָרִ֤ים and הָֽרָמִים֙.[42]
עֵץ (tree in singular collective), talks about trees in
general, and the adjective רַעֲנָן means luxuriant, full of
leaves, leafy, and spreading, but not green as McConville translates.[43],[44]
Fertility rites are carried out on hills and under luxuriant trees. The rites
generally include sex-related activities (Hosea4:13).[45]
V3 is a command to destroy altars,
pillars, Asherim and idols, which repeat Deuteronomy7:5, but now there is an
additional command to wipe out their names from those places.[46]
The suffix for מִזְבֵּחַ (altar) is 3mp, which is unusual. Usually this is
attached to a singular noun, as in Deuteronomy7:5.[47]
The מַצֵּבָה (pillars) are upright stones severing as male fertility
symbols in Canaanite sanctuaries. According to Deuteronomy16:22, Yahweh worship
could have altars but not pillars.[48]
The אֲשֵׁרָה (Asherim) are feminine fertility symbols dedicated to
Ashera, a Canaanite mother goddess. These are also forbidden for Yahweh worship
(Deuteronomy16:21).[49]
פָּסִיל (idols) of any kind were forbidden by the second commandment
and throughout Deuteronomy. Israel was told it will soon perish if It made
these things (Deuteronomy4:25-26).[50]
V4 literally means, “you
shall not do so to Yahweh your God”. The Israelites are warned not to behave
like the people they will displace.[51]
That is, “you shall not worship Yahweh like the way they do”.[52]
Some commentators translate it as “you shall not worship Yahweh in that way”[53],[54] but the original language does not contain the word
“worship”.
In V5, כִּי is an adversative conjunction. The focus shifts to the
call to worship Yahweh at his chosen place. אִם כִּי paired together can mean
that an action will not take place unless another action is taken (unless), or
a situation in which there are no other alternatives (nothing less), or to introduce
a positive oath (surely).[55] I think positive oath
fits best. The place for Yahweh
worship contrasts with “all the places” where Canaanite worship has been
carried out. There shall be one sanctuary and Yahweh will choose it.[56]
The term מָקוֹם is unspecific,
and can mean both “land” and “sanctuary”. There seems to be an avoidance of
using the available words for ‘temple’ or ‘sanctuary’, eg. הֵיכָל or בַּיִת.[57] בחר is the most explicit term for
“election” in Deuteronomy.[58]
In imperfect form, there is an openness on the matter of choice.[59]
מִכָּל־שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֔ם suggests that
it is to be one out of all Israel’s tribes.[60]
This is the first of
twenty-one occurrences of “the place formula” in Deuteronomy.[61],[62]
Just as a person who bears the name of Yahweh is recognised as belonging to
Yahweh, the place bearing Yahweh’s name is Yahweh’s possession.[63] לְשִׁכְנ֥וֹ (qal infinitive construct suffix3ms) is a hapax legomenon, so
interpreters often amend to לְשַׁכֵּ֤ן (piel infinitive construct with suffix) in conformity with V11.[64]
The infinitive construct prefixed with לְ means
an action, “to dwell”, is about to take place. There is ambiguity about whether
the suffix refers to ‘it’, that is, ‘the name’, or to ‘him’ Yahweh.[65]
I do not think the amendment or suffix makes much difference to the meaning.
V5-7 tells us practices
that are approved by Yahweh.[66]
This invitation is dominated by five verbs: seek, go, bring, eat, rejoice.[67]
דרשׁ often means “seek Yahweh in
worship” (Deuteronomy4:29).[68]
The choice of the verb is בוא (qal perfect) “come” rather
than הלך “go”,
suggesting that the instructions are given from Yahweh’s point of view.[69]
I translated the English as “go” because of the subsequent word שָׁם as it does not
make sense in English to “come there”.
In V6, בוא occurs again (hiphil perfect). This word has a tone of
“come and bring” as opposed to the alternative לקח (take) which sounds more like
an invitation than law. Seven types of offerings are listed.[70]
עֹלָה (burnt
offerings) are sacrifices of the whole animal on the altar. It was the most
important offering because the entire victim was consumed by fire as a gift to
Yahweh.[71]
In זֶבַח (other animal
sacrifices, or “peace offerings” in Deuteronomy27:7), blood was thrown against
the altar and only the fat was consumed by fire. Select portions of meat went
to the priests and the remainder were eaten by the worshippers.[72]
Israelites were expected to give a מַעֲשֵׂר (tithe) of all crops (Deuteronomy14:22) and herds and flocks
(Leviticus27:32).[73]
“The תְּרוּמָה (contribution) of your hand” is what is voluntarily “set
apart, dedicated, contributed” from a larger amount. Elsewhere in the OT, תְּרוּמָה refers to a
range of voluntary contributions, but in Deuteronomy, it refers to the “firstfruits”.[74]
נֵדֶר (votive
offerings) fulfil a vow after a worshipper’s prayer has been answered
(Deuteronomy23:22-24[21-23]).[75]
נְדָבָה (freewill
offering) is one where no vow was made, and the worshipper is simply giving
thanks for Yahweh’s goodness (Psalms54:8).[76]
The בְּכֹר (firstborns) of their flock and herd are to be offered at
the central sanctuary year by year (Deuteronomy15:20).[77]
We see Israel’s worship must be conducted in the proper way, at the chosen
place, and wholeheartedly.[78]
In V7, לִפְנֵי֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם means that God is present.
This is an echo of the first decisive encounter between Yahweh and Israel at
Horeb (Deuteronomy4:10).[79]
שׂמח (rejoice) appears 9 times in Deuteronomy and is virtually
a command. If Israel does not serve Yahweh “with gladness”, it will be cursed
(Deuteronomy28:47-48).[80]
“In every undertaking of your hand” is a common expression in Deuteronomy,
denoting both “labour” and “the fruit of one’s labour”.[81]
Entire בַּיִת (households) are to go to the festival to celebrate.
Israel is pictured as a community together in worship.[82]
אֲשֶׁר here functions
as a subordinate causal clause, explaining the reason for this festivity as “because
Yahweh your God has blessed you”.
V8-9 is a command to
stop current problematic practices, marking a contrast with the behaviour
required in V5-7.[83]
אִישׁ can mean man, husband, person, mankind, each one, one another. Here it means “each one”, as part of the
expression “each one doing what is right in his own eyes”, in that one is
sacrificing and celebrating sacrificial meals at any place one chooses.[84]
מְנוּחָה, can mean “resting place”[85],[86] or “rest”[87]. I translated it as “resting place” because
of the theme of the “place” in this chapter. I translated נַחֲלָה as “inheritance”.
The disjunctive clause
וְ “but” in V10 introduces a
contrast, giving positive instructions regarding Israel’s future worship in the
land.[88]
I translated ישׁב as “live”
instead of “dwell” to differentiate from the earlier שׁכן. I translated נחל as “inherit” to differentiate
from the earlier ירשׁ, and the verb נחל echoes the previous verse’s noun נַחֲלָה “inheritance”.
God’s gift as a dynamic act is emphasised.[89]
A recurrent theme in Deuteronomy is Yahweh giving the Israelites “rest” in the
land they are about to inherit.[90]
In V11, מִבְחָר (choicest) offerings echoes Yahweh’s “choice” of the
worship place.[91] To have
the chosen people offering specially chosen gifts in the place chosen by Yahweh
is the key to maintain the covenant relationship triangle: Yahweh, Israel and
the Land.[92]
Theology and contemporary
relevance:
This passage offers us
insight into the theology of worship. God is the only legitimate object of
worship. Man-made forms are illegitimate and abominable.[93]
Moses commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the place of God’s
choice (V6-7), and stop worshipping in any way they pleased (V8).[94]
So, worship is designed to please the object of worship, not the worshipers. The
presence of God is more important than the location (V7), as the location of the place is not even named.[95]
Worship involves eating and rejoicing in a community (V11) in the presence of
God. True worship includes both delight in the grace that God has granted upon
us, and sobriety because of the responsibility God has entrusted upon us.[96]
Bibliography:
Alexander, T. D. From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch.
Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.
Arnold, Bill T. and John H. Choi. A Guide
to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Block, Daniel I. Deuteronomy: The NIV
Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
Lundbom, J. R. Deuteronomy: A Commentary.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013.
McConville, J. G. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old
Testament Commentary. Downers Grove: InverVarsity Press, 2002.
McConville, J. G. “Deuteronomy, book of.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch,
edited by T. D. Alexander and D. W. Baker, 182-193. Downers Grove:
InterVarsity, 2003.
Merrill, Eugene H. Deuteronomy: The New
American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994.
Robson, James E. Deuteronomy 1-11: A
Handbook on the Hebrew Text. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2016.
Woods, E. J. Deuteronomy. Downers
Grove: Intervarsity press, 2011.
Wright, C. J. H. Deuteronomy. Peabody:
Hendrickson, 1996.
[2] James
E. Robson, Deuteronomy 1-11: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text (Waco: Baylor
University Press, 2016), 180. לְ and עשׂה infinitive construct
is gerundial, “by doing them”. Many commentators add the word “careful” into
this phrase, ie. “you are to be careful to keep/do”, but the Hebrew does not
have it.
[4] J.
G. McConville, Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary (Downers
Grove: InverVarsity Press, 2002), LXX avoids שׁכן and uses “to call over” (epiklethenai) to stress the
transcendence of Yahweh.
[5] Many
commentators shifted “you will seek” to the beginning of this verse.
[6] J.
R. Lundbom, Deuteronomy: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), Targum
has “what is good and right”.
[7] Literally
“each one, everything the right in his eyes” in Hebrew.
[8] In
Hebrew, “until now” comes after “for you have not come”.
[9] The
Hebrew ordering is “give rest to you”.
[10] Repeating
two “from” is redundant.
[13] “It”
referring to “the place”.
[14] Hebrew
ordering “to dwell his name there” does not make sense. Most
commentators translate it as “his name shall dwell” or “a dwelling for his name”.
[15] A
directional heh, telling us where we are bringing the sacrifices.
[16] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 211. LXX adds “today” after “everything I am
commanding you,” probably in conformity with the pattern elsewhere in
Deuteronomy.
[17] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 433. Targums have “sanctified sacrifices”.
[18] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 17.
[19]
J. G. McConville, “Deuteronomy, book of” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch,
ed. T. D. Alexander and D. W. Baker (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2003), 182.
[20] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 21.
[21] McConville,
“Deuteronomy, book of” 185.
[22] T. D. Alexander, From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch
(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012), 89.
[23] Robson,
Deuteronomy 1-11, 1.
[24] Robson,
Deuteronomy 1-11, 2.
[25] Daniel
I. Block, Deuteronomy: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2012), 303.
[26] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 19.
[27] Eugene
H. Merrill, Deuteronomy: The New American Commentary (Nashville:
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 218.
[28] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 19.
[29] C.
J. H. Wright, Deuteronomy (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996), 159. Reflecting two Decalogue commandments: thou shall not have any gods
before me, thou shall not make any idols.
[30] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 213.
[31] E.
J. Woods, Deuteronomy (Downers Grove: Intervarsity press, 2011), 184.
[32] Woods,
Deuteronomy, 184-185.
[33] Wright,
Deuteronomy, 159.
[34] Robson,
Deuteronomy 1-11, 179. Eg. the KJV Bible and Robson
[35] Woods,
Deuteronomy, 186.
[36] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 217.
[37] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 218.
[38] Woods,
Deuteronomy, 186.
[39] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 423.
[40] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 218.
[41] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 218.
[42] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 423.
[43] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 424.
[44] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 209.
[45] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 423.
[46] Woods,
Deuteronomy, 186.
[47] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 211.
[48] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 424.
[49] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 425.
[50] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 425.
[51] Block,
Deuteronomy, 305.
[52] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 219.
[53] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 209.
[54] Block,
Deuteronomy, 302.
[55] Bill
T. Arnold, and John H. Choi, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2003), 144-145.
[56] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 426.
[57] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 219.
[58] Block,
Deuteronomy, 305.
[59] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 220.
[60] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 428.
[61] Block,
Deuteronomy, 305.
[62] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 428.
[63] Block,
Deuteronomy, 306.
[64] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 211.
[65] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 211.
[66] Block,
Deuteronomy,304.
[67] Block,
Deuteronomy, 305.
[68] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 428.
[69] Block,
Deuteronomy, 306.
[70] Block,
Deuteronomy, 307.
[71] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 429.
[72] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 429.
[73] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 429.
[74] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 429.
[75] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 430.
[76] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 430.
[77] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 430.
[78] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 223.
[79] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 223.
[80] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 431.
[81] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 431.
[82] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 223.
[83] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 223.
[84] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 431.
[85] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 414.
[86] Block,
Deuteronomy, 302.
[87] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 209.
[88] Block,
Deuteronomy, 308.
[89] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 224.
[90] Lundbom,
Deuteronomy, 432.
[91] McConville,
Deuteronomy, 225.
[92] Block,
Deuteronomy, 308-309.
[93] Block,
Deuteronomy, 313.
[94] Block,
Deuteronomy, 313.
[95] Wright,
Deuteronomy, 163.
[96] Arnold
and Choi, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, 144-145.
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