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Deuteronomy Chapter
Eleven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 11
In
this chapter
the exhortation to love the Lord
and keep his commands
is
repeated and urged again and again from various considerations; as not only
from the chastisement of Pharaoh and the wicked Egyptians
but of such Israelites
who offended the Lord
and transgressed his law
Deuteronomy 12:1
from the goodness and excellency of the land they were going to inherit
Deuteronomy 11:8
from the blessing of rain that would come upon it
and be productive of all
good things for man and beast
in case of obedience
and a restraint of it in
case of disobedience
Deuteronomy 11:12
from the continuance of them and their offspring in the land
should they be
careful to observe the commands themselves
and teach them their children
Deuteronomy 11:18
and from the extensiveness of their conquests and dominions
Deuteronomy 11:22
and from the different issue and effects of their conduct and behaviour
a
blessing upon them if obedient
but a curse if disobedient
Deuteronomy 11:26
and the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to pronounce the blessing on
Mount Gerizim
and the curse on Mount Ebal; the situation of which places is
described when they should come into the land of Canaan
of which they are
assured
Deuteronomy 11:29.
Deuteronomy 11:1 “Therefore you
shall love the Lord your God
and keep His charge
His statutes
His judgments
and His
commandments always.
YLT
1`And thou hast loved
Jehovah thy God
and kept His charge
and His statutes
and His judgments
and
His commands
all the days;
Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God
.... Because
he is so great and glorious in himself
and because he had done such great and
good things for them
the Israelites
particularly in the multiplication of
them
the last thing mentioned:
and keep his charge; whatsoever the Lord had
charged them to observe
even what follow:
and his statutes and his judgments
and his commandments
alway; all his laws
ceremonial
judicial
and moral; and that constantly and continually
all the
days of their lives.
Deuteronomy 11:2 2 Know
today that I do not speak with your children
who have not known
and who have not seen the chastening of the Lord your God
His greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm—
YLT
2and ye have known to-day --
for it is not your sons who have not known
and who have not seen the
chastisement of Jehovah your God
His greatness
His strong hand
and His
stretched-out arm
And know you this day
.... Take notice of
and
diligently attend unto
what is now about to be delivered:
for I speak not unto your children which have not known
and which
have not seen
the chastisement of the Lord your God; who have no
knowledge and experience of the chastisement of the Lord on themselves
or on
their foes or friends; and with whom the argument drawn from it could not come
with that force
and make that impression
as it might be thought it would
being used with them who had perfect knowledge of it. The Targums of Onkelos
and Jonathan render it doctrine
which
being children
they were not
instructed so perfectly in as they were who were adult persons
to whom Moses
directs his discourse:
his greatness
his mighty hand
and stretched out arm: the exceeding
greatness of his power
displayed in the following instances.
Deuteronomy 11:3 3 His
signs and His acts which He did in the midst of Egypt
to Pharaoh king of
Egypt
and to all his land;
YLT
3and His signs
and His
doings
which He hath done in the midst of Egypt
to Pharaoh king of Egypt
and
to all his land;
And his miracles
and his acts
which he did in the midst of Egypt
.... The
miraculous works done there
the ten plagues inflicted on the Egyptians for
refusing to let Israel go:
unto Pharaoh king
of Egypt
and unto all his land; for those
plagues not only affected him and his court
and his metropolis
but all parts
of the land
the inhabitants of it everywhere.
Deuteronomy 11:4 4 what
He did to the army of Egypt
to their horses and their chariots: how He made
the waters of the Red Sea overflow them as they pursued you
and how the
Lord has destroyed them to this day;
YLT
4and that which He hath done
to the force of Egypt
to its horses
and to its chariot
when He hath caused
the waters of the Red Sea to flow against their faces in their pursuing after
them
and Jehovah destroyeth them
unto this day;
And what he did unto the army of Egypt
unto their horses
and to
their chariots
.... At the Red sea
when they pursued Israel in order to bring
them back or destroy them
after they had let them go
which army was very
numerous; see Exodus 14:7.
how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them; "or to
flow over their faces"F2הציף־על פניהם "fecit inundare super facics eorum"
Pagninus
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. :
as they pursued after you; so that they could not
see their way
nor steer their course after them; and not only so
but were
covered with the waters of the sea
drowned in them
and sunk to the bottom of
them: and how the Lord hath destroyed them unto this day; either continued to
destroy them yet more and more by one means or another; or else the destruction
made by the several plagues upon them
and particularly that of their army at
the Red sea
which was the strength and glory of the nation
was so general and
extensive
that they never recovered it to that day; and so were in no capacity
of coming out against them
and attacking them
and doing them any hurt
all
the forty years they had been in the wilderness; of which no doubt they had
knowledge
and of their condition and circumstances there.
Deuteronomy 11:5 5 what
He did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place;
YLT
5and that which He hath done
to you in the wilderness
till your coming in unto this place;
And what he did unto you in the wilderness
until ye came unto
this place. Meaning not so much the good things he did for them in divers
places
as the chastisements and corrections he had exercised them with for
their murmurings
rebellions
idolatry
and uncleanness
as at Taberah
Kibrothhattaavah
on the coast of Edom
and plains of Moab; by fire
by sword
by plagues
and fiery serpents; the instances both before and after being of
this sort.
Deuteronomy 11:6 6 and
what He did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab
the son of Reuben: how the
earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up
their households
their tents
and all the substance that was in their possession
in the midst of all
Israel—
YLT
6and that which He hath done
to Dathan
and to Abiram
sons of Eliab
sons of Reuben
when the earth hath
opened her mouth and swalloweth them
and their houses
and their tents
and
all that liveth
which is at their feet
in the midst of all Israel:
And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram
the sons of Eliab
the son
of Reuben
.... When they with Korah and his company quarrelled with Moses
and Aaron about the priesthood
Numbers 16:1
how
the earth opened her mouth
and swallowed them up; the history of which see in Numbers 16:30.
and their households and their tents; not their
houses and their tents
as the Septuagint and some other versions; for though
the word signifies houses
and is often used for them
yet here it must signify
families
their wives
and children; since they had no houses
but dwelt in
tents
all which were swallowed up with them:
and all the substance that was in their possession; gold
silver
cattle
household goods
and whatever they were possessed of:
or was at their feetF3אשר ברגליהם "quae erat in pedibus
eorum"
Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus. ; or which followed them
their living
creatures; or was for them
as Aben Ezra interprets it; for
their use
service
and necessity: and this was done
in the midst of all Israel; openly and publicly
they beholding it
as follows; and therefore should be rendered
"before
all Israel"F4בקרב "coram omni
Israele"
Noldius
p. 212. No. 975. ; and
besides
the tents of Dathan
and Abiram
Reubenites
were not in the midst of Israel.
Deuteronomy 11:7 7 but
your eyes have seen every great act of the Lord which He
did.
YLT
7`-- But [it is] your eyes
which are seeing all the great work of Jehovah
which He hath done;
But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the Lord which he
did; Even all before related
with many others; and therefore the
instruction they should learn from thence should be as follows.
Deuteronomy 11:8 8 “Therefore
you shall keep every commandment which I command you today
that you may be
strong
and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess
YLT
8and ye have kept all the
command which I am commanding thee to-day
so that ye are strong
and have gone
in
and possessed the land whither ye are passing over to possess it
Therefore shall you keep all the commandments which I command you
this day
.... For the reasons before suggested
as well as for what
follow:
that ye may be strong; healthful in body
and
courageous in mind
for sin tends to weaken both; whereas observance of the
commands of God contributes to the health and strength of the body
and the
rigour of the mind; both which were necessary to the present expedition they
were going upon:
and go in and possess the land whither ye go to possess it; the land of
Canaan
they were marching towards in order to possess it; and nothing would
more inspire them with courage
and cause them to enter it manfully without
fear of their enemies
than obedience to the commands of God; whose presence
being promised them on that account
they might expect it
and so had nothing
to fear from the inhabitants of the land.
Deuteronomy 11:9 9 and
that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord swore to give your fathers
to them and their descendants
‘a land
flowing with milk and honey.’[a]
YLT
9and so that ye prolong days
on the ground which Jehovah hath sworn to your fathers to give to them and to
their seed -- a land flowing with milk and honey.
And that ye may prolong your days in the land
.... Not only
enter it
and take possession of it
but continue in it long
which depended
upon their obedience to the laws of God:
which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to
their seed; had promised with an oath
so that they might be assured of the
enjoyment of it
though they could not be of their continuance in it
unless
they obeyed the divine commands:
a land that floweth with milk and honey; abounds with
all good things
whose fruits are fat as milk
and sweet as honey; so the
Targum of Jonathan.
Deuteronomy 11:10 10 For
the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from
which you have come
where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot
as a vegetable garden;
YLT
10`For the land whither thou
art going in to possess it
is not as the land of Egypt whence ye have come
out
where thou sowest thy seed
and hast watered with thy foot
as a garden of
the green herb;
For the land whither thou goest in to possess it
.... The land
of Canaan they were about to take possession of:
is not as the land of Egypt
from whence ye came out; either the whole land of Egypt
or that part of it
Rameses
in
which Israel dwelt
and which was the best of it
as Jarchi observes
and yet
Canaan exceeded that; though the design of this passage is not so much to set
forth the superior excellency and fertility of the land of Canaan to that of
Egypt
which was certainly a very fruitful country; see Genesis 13:10 but
to observe some things in which they differed
whereby they both became
fruitful
and in which Canaan had the advantage:
where thou sowedst thy seed
and wateredst it with thy foot
as a
garden of herbs; as a gardener when he has sowed his seed
or planted his plants
waters them that they may grow
by carrying his water pot from bed to bed
which requires much labour and toil. In Egypt rain seldom fell
especially in
some places it was very rare
though that there was none at all is a vulgar
mistake; See Gill on Zechariah 14:18 F5See
also Vansleb's Relation of a Voyage to Egypt
p. 213. who speaks of large rains
in Egypt. . To supply the want of it the river Nile overflowed once a year
which not only moistened the earth
but left mud or slime upon it
which made
it fruitful; but this was not sufficient
for what through the river not
overflowing enough sometimes
and so as to reach some places
and through the
heat of the sun hardening the earth again
it was found necessary to cut canals
from it
and by water from thence to water it
as a gardener waters his seed
and plants; and it is to this watering that respect is here had
not to the
overflowing of the Nile
for that was before the seed was sown; but to the
watering of it out of the canals
which was done after it was sown; the former
was without any trouble of theirs
the latter with much labour; the manner in
which it is done is expressed by the phrase "with thy foot"
which
the Targum explains "by thyself"
by their own labour and industry.
Jarchi is more particular; "the land of Egypt had need to "have water
brought from the Nile with thy foot; he seems to have understood the phrase to
signify carrying water on foot from the Nile to the place where it was wanted;
but the custom still in use in Egypt
when they water their fields
plantations
or gardens
will give us a clear understanding of this phrase; as
a late traveller informs usF6Shaw's Travels
p. 408.
the water is
drawn out of the river (Nile) by instruments
and lodged in capacious cisterns;
when plants require to be refreshed
they strike out the plugs that are fixed
in the bottoms of the cisterns
and then the water gushing out
is conducted
from one rill to another by the gardener
who is always ready as occasion
requires to stop and divert the torrent by turning the earth against it
"with his foot"
and opening at the same time with his mattock a new
trench to receive it: and to the same purpose another learned personF7Clayton's
Chronology of the Hebrew Bible
p. 478. has observed
that at other times (than
the flowing of the Nile) they are obliged to have recourse to art
and to raise
the water out of the river and some deep pits by the help of machines
which
water is afterwards directed in its course by channels cut in the ground
which
convey the water to those places where it is wanted; and when one part of the
ground is sufficiently watered
they then stop that channel
by thrusting some
earth into the entrance of it "with their foot"
and then also
"with their foot" open a passage into the next channel
and so on:
and Philo the JewF8De Confusione Ling p. 325. speaks of a machine
with which they used to water fields
and was worked with the feet by going up
the several steps within
which gave motion to it.
Deuteronomy 11:11 11 but
the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys
which drinks water from the rain of heaven
YLT
11but the land whither ye are
passing over to possess it
[is] a land of hills and valleys; of the rain of
the heavens it drinketh water;
But the land whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills and
valleys
.... And so could not be watered by the overflow of a river
and
by canals cut out of it
and in the manner Egypt was; which was for the most
part a plain and flat country
but not so Canaan
in which were many hills and
mountains
as those about Jerusalem
Carmel
Tabor
Lebanon
and others; and
plains and valleys
as the valley of Jezreel
&c. and which made it more
delightful and pleasant for prospects; see Deuteronomy 8:7 and
drinketh water of the rain of heaven; by which it was watered
refreshed
and
made fruitful; not by means of men
but by the Lord himself
and so with much
more ease to men
and without the toil and labour they were obliged to in
Egypt
as well as it was both more healthful and pleasant; for the damps that
arose from the overflow of the Nile were sometimes prejudicial to health; and
during the season of its overflow
which was in the summer
they were obliged
to keep in their houses
and could not walk abroad for weeks together; to which
inconveniences the land of Canaan was not subject; but then
as its fertility
depended on rain from heaven
the Israelites would be under the greater
obligation to observe the commands of God
who could give and withhold it at
his pleasure
and as they conducted themselves; which seems to be the general
drift of this passage.
Deuteronomy 11:12 12 a
land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it
from the beginning of the year to
the very end of the year.
YLT
12a land which Jehovah thy
God is searching; continually [are] the eyes of Jehovah thy God upon it
from
the beginning of the year even unto the latter end of the year.
A land which the Lord thy God careth for
.... In a very
particular and special manner; otherwise he has a general care of the whole
world
and all the parts of it; for as the earth is his
and the fulness
thereof
his providential care reaches everywhere; but as this spot was what he
had chosen for his own residence
and the place of his worship
and for an
habitation for his peculiar people; he exercised a more peculiar care over it
to make it fruitful
commodious
and pleasant; or which "he seeketh"F9דרש "quaerit"
Pagninus; "quaerens"
Montanus. ; that is
the good of it
and to make it convenient
useful
and
delightful to his people; yea
which he sought for and desired for his own
habitation
Psalm 132:13
the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it
from the
beginning of the year even unto the end of the year; his eyes of
providence
to give the former and the latter rain
and that there be seedtime
and harvest in their seasons
and that the fruits of it be produced at their
proper time; some at the beginning
others at the end of the year
and others
in the intervening months
and all wisely suited to the good of the inhabitants
of it.
Deuteronomy 11:13 13 ‘And
it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you
today
to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all
your heart and with all your soul
YLT
13`And it hath been -- if
thou hearken diligently unto My commands which I am commanding you to-day
to
love Jehovah your God
and to serve Him with all your heart
and with all your
soul –
And it shall come to pass
if you shall hearken diligently unto my
commandments which I command you this day
.... In the name
and by
the authority of the Lord
the only lawgiver:
to love the Lord your God
and to serve him with all your heart
and with all your soul; see Deuteronomy 10:12.
Jarchi interprets this of prayer; but it is not to be restrained to that only
but includes the whole service of God
in all the parts of it
performed from a
principle of love to him
and in sincerity and truth.
Deuteronomy 11:14 14 then
I[b] will give you
the rain for your land in its season
the early rain and the latter rain
that
you may gather in your grain
your new wine
and your oil.
YLT
14that I have given the rain
of your land in its season -- sprinkling and gathered -- and thou hast gathered
thy corn
and thy new wine
and thine oil
That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season
.... Such a
quantity of it as the land required
a sufficiency of it to make it fruitful
and that in proper time:
the first rain and the latter rain; the former rain in
Marchesvan
the latter rain in Nisan
as the Targum of Jonathan; the first fell
about our October
which was at or quickly after seedtime
to water the seed
that it might take root
and grow and spring up; and the latter fell about
March
a little before harvest
to ripen the corn
and swell and plump the ears
of it
and make them yield more and better; See Gill on Joel 2:23
that thou mayest gather in thy corn
and thy wine
and thine oil; which were
the principal things the land afforded for the sustenance of men; bread corn
the stay and staff of human life
and which strengthens man's heart
and makes
him fit for labour; wine
which is his drink
and makes the heart of man glad
and cheerful; and oil
which in these countries was used instead of butter
and
was fattening
and made the face to shine
Psalm 104:15. The
ingathering of these fruits were at different times; the barley harvest first
the wheat harvest next
and after that the vintage
and the gathering of the
olives; and by means of rain in due season they were favoured with each of
these.
Deuteronomy 11:15 15 And
I will send grass in your fields for your livestock
that you may eat and be
filled.’
YLT
15and I have given herbs in
thy field for thy cattle
and thou hast eaten
and been satisfied.
And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle
.... By giving
plentiful showers of rain at proper times
to cause it to spring up and grow
that so there might be food for the cattle of every sort
greater or lesser;
see Psalm 104:13
that thou mayest eat and be full; which refers to the
preceding verse as well as to this; and the sense is
that the Israelites might
eat of and enjoy the fruits of the earth to satiety; namely
their corn
wine
and oil; and that their cattle might have grass enough to supply them with.
Deuteronomy 11:16 16 “Take
heed to yourselves
lest your heart be deceived
and you turn aside and serve
other gods and worship them
YLT
16`Take heed to yourselves
lest your heart be enticed
and ye have turned aside
and served other gods
and bowed yourselves to them
Take heed to yourselves
that your heart be not deceived
.... By
observing the influence of the heavens upon the fruitfulness of the earth
and
so be drawn to the worship of the host of them
the sun
moon
and stars; or by
the examples of nations round about them; and by the plausible arguments they
may make use of
taken from the traditions of ancestors
from antiquity
and
the consent of nations
and the great numbers of worshippers
and the like:
and ye turn aside; from the true God
and the worship of him;
or from the law
as Jarchi
which directs to the worship of one God
and
forbids idolatry
or the worshipping of images:
and serve other gods
and worship them; other gods
than the one only living and true God; gods that made not the heavens and the
earth
and which cannot give rain
nor any blessing and mercy of life
nor help
and deliver their worshippers when in distress.
Deuteronomy 11:17 17 lest
the Lord’s anger be aroused against you
and He shut up the heavens so that
there be no rain
and the land yield no produce
and you perish quickly from
the good land which the Lord is giving you.
YLT
17and the anger of Jehovah
hath burned against you
and He hath restrained the heavens
and there is no
rain
and the ground doth not give her increase
and ye have perished hastily
from off the good land which Jehovah is giving to you.
And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you
.... For their
idolatry
nothing being more provoking to him than that
it being contrary to his
nature and being
as well as to his will
and to his honour and glory:
and he shut up the heaven
that there be no rain; the treasures
and storehouses of it there
or the windows of it
the clouds
which when
opened let it down
but when shut withhold it; the key of rain is one of the
keys which the Jews sayF11Targum Jon. in Deut. xxviii. 12. the Lord
keeps in his own hand
and with it he opens and no man shuts
and shuts and no
man opens; see Deuteronomy 28:12.
and that the land yield not her fruit; which is
unavoidably the case when rain is withheld:
and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord
giveth you; for if the land does not yield its fruits sufficient to support
the inhabitants of it
they must in course perish.
Deuteronomy 11:18 18 “Therefore
you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul
and bind
them as a sign on your hand
and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
YLT
18`And ye have placed these
my words on your heart
and on your soul
and have bound them for a sign on
your hand
and they have been for frontlets between your eyes;
Verses 18-20
Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart
and in
your soul
.... Treasure up the laws of God delivered to them in their
minds
retain them in their memories
and cherish a cordial affection for them;
which would be an antidote against apostasy
idolatry
and other sins
Psalm 119:11.
and bind them for a sign upon your hand
that they may be as
frontlets between your eyes; of this and the two following verses; see
Gill on Deuteronomy 6:7;
see Gill on Deuteronomy 6:8;
see Gill on Deuteronomy 6:9.
Deuteronomy 11:19 19 You
shall teach them to your children
speaking of them when you sit in your house
when you walk by the way
when you lie down
and when you rise up.
YLT
19and ye have taught them to
your sons
by speaking of them in thy sitting in thy house
and in thy going in
the way
and in thy lying down
and in thy rising up
Deuteronomy 11:20 20 And
you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates
YLT
20and hast written them on
the side-posts of thy house
and on thy gates
Deuteronomy 11:21 21 that
your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which
the Lord swore to your fathers to give them
like the days of the heavens
above the earth.
YLT
21so that your days are
multiplied
and the days of your sons
on the ground which Jehovah hath sworn
to your fathers to give to them
as the days of the heavens on the earth.
That your days may be multiplied
.... Long life being a
very desirable blessing
and which is promised to those that obey and keep the
law; see Deuteronomy 30:19.
and the days of your children; which are dear to
parents
and the continuance of whose lives
next to their own
is most
desirable
yea
as desirable as their own; and especially it is desirable that
they might have a posterity descending from them
to enjoy for ever their
estates and possessions; as it was to the people of Israel
that they might
have a seed always to dwell
in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them; the land of
Canaan
so often spoken of as the promise
oath
and gift of God:
as the days of heaven upon the earth; that is
as
long as the heavens and the earth shall be
and the one shall be over the
other
as they will be to the end of time.
Deuteronomy 11:22 22 “For
if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love
the Lord your God
to walk in all His ways
and to hold fast to Him—
YLT
22`For
if ye diligently keep
all this command which I am commanding you -- to do it
to love Jehovah your
God
to walk in all His ways
and to cleave to Him
For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I
command you to do them
.... Observe and take notice of them
even all of them
and so as
not merely to have a theory or notional knowledge of them
but to put them in
practice:
to love the Lord your God; and show it by obeying
his commands
and which is the end of the commandment
and the principle from
which all obedience should flow:
to walk in all his ways
and to cleave unto him; see Deuteronomy 10:12.
Deuteronomy 11:23 23 then
the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you
and you will
dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves.
YLT
23then hath Jehovah
dispossessed all these nations from before you
and ye have possessed nations
greater and mightier than you;
Then will the Lord drive out all those nations from before you
.... By little
and little
even all the seven nations which then inhabited the land of Canaan;
and this he would do to make room for them
that they might inherit the land;
see Deuteronomy 7:1.
and ye shall possess greater nations
and mightier than yourselves; countries
whose inhabitants were more in number
and greater in strength
than they; and
therefore the conquest of them was not to be ascribed to themselves
but to the
Lord; this is often observed; see Deuteronomy 7:1.
Deuteronomy 11:24 24 Every
place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness
and Lebanon
from the river
the River Euphrates
even to the Western Sea
[c] shall be
your territory.
YLT
24every place on which the
sole of your foot treadeth is yours; from the wilderness
and Lebanon
from the
river
the river Phrat
even unto the farther sea is your border;
Every place wherein the soles of your feet shall tread
.... Meaning
in the land of Canaan; though the Jews vainly apply this to every land
and
country
and place therein
where any of them come; pleasing themselves with
this foolish fancy
that all shall be theirs that the foot of any of them have
trod upon
or they have dwelt in; but that it respects only the land of Canaan
appears by the following description of it and its boundaries:
from the wilderness; the wilderness of Paran
which lay to the south of it
where Kadesh was
from whence the spies were
sent
and was the southern border of it:
and Lebanon; which was a range of mountains to the north of it; and was the
northern border of the land:
from the river
the river Euphrates; which was the eastern
border of it
when it was carried to its utmost extent
as in the days of
Solomon
1 Kings 4:21.
even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be: the
Mediterranean sea
which was the western border of the land of Canaan
or
"the hinder sea"
and so it is called Zechariah 14:8
it
lay at the back of them; for if a man stands with his face to the east
the
south will be on his right hand
and the north on his left
and the west will
be behind him
or at the back of him.
Deuteronomy 11:25 25 No
man shall be able to stand against you; the Lord your God
will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you
tread
just as He has said to you.
YLT
25no man doth station himself
in your presence; your dread and your fear doth Jehovah your God put on the
face of all the land on which ye tread
as He hath spoken to you.
There shall be no man able to stand before you
.... Meaning
not a single man
such an one as Og
or any of the sons of Anak
the giants;
because it could never be thought
imagined
or feared
that one man only
should be able to stand against 600
000 fighting men
but any people or nation
though greater and mightier than they:
for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you
and the dread of
you
upon all the land that ye shall tread upon: that is
upon all the
land of Canaan
and the inhabitants of it; who should hear what wonderful
things had been done for them in Egypt
and at the Red sea
and in the
wilderness; and what they had done to Sihon and Og
and to their countries
and
which accordingly was fulfilled
Joshua 2:9.
as he hath said unto you; had promised them
Deuteronomy 2:25
and which was prophesied of in the prophetic song at the Red sea; see Exodus 15:14.
Deuteronomy 11:26 26 “Behold
I set before you today a blessing and a curse:
YLT
26`See
I am setting before
you to-day a blessing and a reviling:
Behold
I set before you this day a blessing and a curse
.... Meaning
the law of God
and the statutes
judgments
and commandments of it; which
if
obeyed
blessings would be bestowed upon them; but if disobeyed
they would be
liable to the curses of it
as the following words explain it; see Deuteronomy 30:15
everyone of the Israelites were called upon to see and consider this matter
it
being an interesting one to them all.
Deuteronomy 11:27 27 the
blessing
if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God
which I command you today;
YLT
27the blessing
when ye
hearken unto the commands of Jehovah your God
which I am commanding you
to-day;
A blessing
if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God
.... That is
a blessing should come upon them
even all temporal blessings they stood in
need of; they should be blessed in body and estate
in their families
and in
their flocks
in town and country; see Deuteronomy 28:1
which I command you this day; afresh repeated to them
and enjoined them the observation of it in the name of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 11:28 28 and
the curse
if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God
but turn aside from the way which I command you today
to
go after other gods which you have not known.
YLT
28and the reviling
if ye do
not hearken unto the commands of Jehovah your God
and have turned aside out of
the way which I am commanding you to-day
to go after other gods which ye have
not known.
And a curse
if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your
God
.... Accursed in body and estate
in basket and store; in their
families
flocks
and herds; within doors and without; in city
and country;
going out
or coming in; in this world
and that to come
if divine goodness
prevent not; see Deuteronomy 28:15.
but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day; which the law
he gave them
and repeated to them
directed them to walk in:
to go after other gods
which ye have not known; to serve and
worship the gods of other nations
strange gods
which neither they nor their
fathers knew anything of
or ever received any good thing from; and which
indeed are no gods
and nothing in the world
as an idol is.
Deuteronomy 11:29 29 Now
it shall be
when the Lord your God has brought you into
the land which you go to possess
that you shall put the blessing on Mount
Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
YLT
29`And it hath been
when
Jehovah thy God doth bring thee in unto the land whither thou art going in to
possess it
that thou hast given the blessing on mount Gerizim
and the
reviling on mount Ebal;
And it shall come to pass
when the Lord thy God hath bought thee
into the land whither thou goest to possess it
.... Which is often
observed
as being near at hand; and when and where many things were to be
done
which could not be done in the place and circumstances they now were
particularly what follows:
that thou shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim
and the curse
upon Mount Ebal; that is
pronounce the one on one mountain
and the other on the
other mountain
or at least towards them
or over against them. The Targum of
Jonathan is"ye shall set six tribes on Mount Gerizim
and six tribes on
Mount Ebal; (#De 27:12
13) blessing they shall
turn their faces against Mount Gerizim
and cursing they shall turn their faces
against Mount Ebal;'with which agrees the account given in the Misnah;"six
tribes went to the top of Mount Gerizim
and six to the top of Mount Ebal; and
the priests and the Levites
and the ark
stood below in the middle; the
priests surrounded the ark
and the Levites the priests
and all Israel were on
this and on that side of the ark
as in Joshua 8:33 then
they turned their faces against Gerizim
they opened with the blessing
blessed
is he that maketh not any graven or molten image
and both answered
"Amen"; then they turned their faces against Mount Ebal
and opened
with the curse
Deuteronomy 27:15
and both answered AmenF19Sotah
c. 7. sect. 5. ;'see the performance
of this command in Joshua 8:33.
Deuteronomy 11:30 30 Are
they not on the other side of the Jordan
toward the setting sun
in the land
of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal
beside the terebinth
trees of Moreh?
YLT
30are they not beyond the
Jordan
behind the way of the going in of the sun
in the land of the
Canaanite
who is dwelling in the plain over-against Gilgal
near the oaks of
Moreh?
Are they not on the other side Jordan
.... Opposite
to that where Moses now was in the plains of Moab
even in Samaria; so in the
MisnahF20Sotah
c. 7. sect. 5. it is said
"as soon as Israel
passed over Jordan
they came to Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal
which are in
Samaria;'but those mountains were not near Jordan nor Jericho
to which the
people of Israel came first
but sixty miles from thence; though they were
as
Moses says
on the other side from the place they now were:
by the way wherewith the sun goeth down; or
as the
Targum of Jonathan
"after the way of the sun setting;'following that
or
taking their direction from thence
signifying that they lay to the west of
Jordan:
in the land of the Canaanites; of that particular tribe
or nation which were eminently called Canaanites
for these dwelt by the sea by
the coast of Jordan
Numbers 13:29 or as
further described:
that dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal; in the plain
open champaign country opposite to Gilgal; not that Gilgal Joshua encamped at
before he came to Jericho
which in Moses's time was not known by that name
but another
as Dr. LightfootF21Chorograph. Cent. c. 48. observes
and he thinks Galilee is meant:
beside the plains of Moreh; near to Shechem
Genesis 12:6 and
that Gerizim
one of these mountains
was not far from Shechem
is evident from
Judges 9:6 and so
in the MisnahF23Sotah
c. 7. sect. 5. it is said
that these
mountains were on the side of Shechem
which is in the plains of Moreh
as in Deuteronomy 11:30
as the plains of Moreh here denote Shechem
so there: Benjamin of Tudela saysF24Itinerarium
p. 38
40. there is a valley between them
in which lies Shechem; and in his
time there were on Mount Gerizim fountains and orchards
but Mount Ebal was dry
like stones and rocks. The Targum of Jonathan here
instead of Moreh
reads
Mamre; see Genesis 13:18.
Deuteronomy 11:31 31 For
you will cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you
and you will possess it and dwell in it.
YLT
31for ye are passing over the
Jordan to go in to possess the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you;
and ye have possessed it
and dwelt in it
For ye shall pass over Jordan
to go in to possess the land Which
the Lord your God giveth you
.... They were now near it
and by this they
are assured they should pass over it
in order to take possession of the land
God had given them
and which gift of his was a sufficient title to it:
and ye shall possess it
and dwell therein: should not
only take possession of it
but make their abode in it; they are assured hereby
of continuance in it
on condition they obeyed the laws of God
as follows.
Deuteronomy 11:32 32 And
you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set
before you today.
YLT
32and observed to do all the
statutes and the judgments which I am setting before you to day.
And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments
.... Take
notice of them
and heed unto them
so as to practise them:
which I set before you this day; repeated in order to
them
on the observance of which depended their continuance in the land of
Canaan; and therefore this is so often repeated and urged.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)