Deuteronomy Quotes

“He paused, twisting his goatee, considering the law in Deuteronomy that forbade clothes with mixed fibers. A problematic bit of Scripture. A matter that required thought. "Only the devil wants man to have a wide range of lightweight and comfortable styles to choose from," he murmured at last, trying out a new proverb. "Although there may be no forgiveness for polyester. On this one matter, Satan and the Lord are in agreement.”
― Joe Hill, Horns

“Recognizing that God has called you to function as his agent defines your task as a parent. Our culture has reduced parenting to providing care. Parents often see the task in these narrow terms. The child must have food, clothes, a bed, and some quality time.

In sharp contrast to such a weak view, God has called you to a more profound task than being only a care-provider. You shepherd your child in God's behalf. The task God has given you is not one that can be conveniently scheduled. It is a pervasive task. Training and shepherding are going on whenever you are with your children. Whether waking, walking, talking or resting, you must be involved in helping your child to understand life, himself, and his needs from a biblical perspective (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).”
― Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child's Heart

“2:34. complete destruction. In contexts that do not have to do with war, the Hebrew word ḥerem refers to something that is devoted to God (Lev 27:21,28-29; Num 18:14). In contexts of war, as in this verse, øerem refers to the rule, in divinely commanded wars only, against taking spoils or slaves, but rather destroying all of these and thus dedicating them to the deity. The point: the war is not for profit.”
― Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah

“3:8. across the Jordan. This phrase occurs several times in Moses' speech in Deuteronomy. Ibn Ezra hinted at a secret implied by this and several other matters in the Torah, and added, "One who understands should keep silent." But scholars of later centuries no longer kept silent. The issue, presumably, was that the land in question is across the Jordan only from the point of view of someone writing in Israel. Moses, who never set foot in Israel, would not be expected to refer to the place where he was standing as across the Jordan. Of course might say that Moses says this phrase with a future audience in mind, a people settled in Israel. But Ibn Ezra's comments are important as being among the first hints that some of the traditional rabbinic commentators questioned whether Moses wrote the Torah. That question—how the Torah came to exist—has become a central concern of biblical scholarship in the last two centuries.”
― Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah

“5:17. adultery. This is perhaps the most readily broken of the commandments (except for coveting?). It is the commandment that good people break. The temptation is extraordinary. The potential for hurt is substantial. The potential for leading to other behavior, especially lying, is tremendous as well.”
― Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah

“6:4. YWHH is one. In comparing Israel's monotheism to pagan religion, we must appreciate the difference between one and many is not the same sort of thing as the difference between two and three or between six and twenty. It is not numerical. It is a different concept of what a god is. A God who is outside of nature, known through acts in history, a creator, unseeable, without a mate, who makes legal covenants with humans, who is one, is a revolution in religious conception.”
― Richard Elliott Friedman, The Bible with Sources Revealed

“7:2. completely destroy. See the comment on Deut 2:34. Many people have been troubled by the idea of commanding the annihilation of the Canaanite residents of the land. The archaeological evidence is that such a destruction never took place. This passage in the Torah was written long after the period of the Israelites' settlement in the land, and so it was ironic that the author of this text conceived of a degree of violence that appears never in fact to have happened, and then people are troubled by this degree of violence in Israel's history.”
― Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah

“7:14. blessed. This word in the Torah generally refers to being well off. Here it is explicitly connected with fertility and good health. So when it says that Israel will be more blessed than other peoples if they keep their covenant, it does not mean that Israel will have some special status, but rather it means that God will bless them with well-being.”
― Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah

“8:6. fear. Some may find the idea of being afraid of God to be strange or unattractive. But the fact remains that to experience the power of the creator of the universe is fearful. Thus Moses hides his face at the burning bush because he is afraid to look at God. Thus the people are terrified when they hear the divine voice at Sinai. Thus Nadab and Abihu die because of a misstep in closeness to the holy. When one appreciates what is at stake, one can understand why the idea of fear of God—literally, profoundly—is so significant here.”
― Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah