Devotional Short Notes on Deuteronomy 1
Who is the writer of Deuteronomy? All the
sources are from Moses. Who is the compiler of these sources of Moses? It can
be Isaiah the historian of the palace and later prophet of Israel. But how does compilers work? Do they put their
own weight on the material? No. They are like stenographers, they just recorded
as correct and direct as possible in a machine fashion and tries hard to keep
out of the material. If the sources spell wrong and Isaiah would see it, would
he change the spelling to that of his own time to correct it? They did not. The
bilingualisms, the dialectical differences in spelling they kept to the
absolute. The sermons wrapping the law in this book are all
by Moses and throughout his mission. It is as if the date of the origin of the compilation
of Deuteronomy was when they arrived at the Jordan around 1410 BCE. The words were spoken over a long period, when
they were in the plain over against the Red (Deuteronomy 1:1), between Paran
and Tophel and Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. The length it took to go from Horeb
by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-Barnea was eleven days (Deuteronomy 1:2). It
was maybe three addresses that Moses made in Moab. For the 11th day period to travel, compare
travel-period with that of Thutmosis III when he got the news of the death of
Hatshepsut. This was the 3rd of April when Hatshepsut died in 1482 BCE
of liver cancer, obesity and especially skin problems and Thutmosis III was at
Gaza receiving the news on the 10th of April. Saddled a horse and
raced down to prevent Moses from becoming the new pharaoh of Egypt since he did
not have the royal blood. Reached Thebes on the 28th of April 1482
BCE. The next day on the 29th of April 1482 Thutmosis III was
inaugurated as the new pharaoh of Egypt at Karnak. Moses was hiding in Midian
since 1490 BCE. Moses was the favorite of Hatshepsut. The time of this sermon is given in 1:4 “After
he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites which dwelt in Hesbon and Og the
king of Bashan which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei”. Archaeologists are always
slightly arrogant at times like a certain school who opposed any identification
of destruction at Heshbon for the Late Bronze after the Andrews University
excavations there and stated that there never was this war there for the data
do not suffice. Yes. One can answer, it will not suffice when three quarters of
the tell are still intact as virgin soil, untouched by archaeologists hands. It
is not enough to sample here and sample there and superimposed the samples as a
Gestalt-theory for the whole tell or even the whole country. That is why the
sample studies of Nelson Glueck in Transjordan stands under serious review. Moses began “to declare this law saying…” (1:5).
Basically he started to preach. He was not pronouncing a new law or a substitution
of the previous one (see also Keil Deuteronomy 270 “There is not the slightest
trace, throughout the whole book, of any intention whatever to give a new or
second law”). In 2009 Ryan O’ Dowd published his dissertation
on Hebrew Wisdom and the Book of Deuteronomy. He compared modern wisdom and
ancient Hebrew wisdom indicating that “[t]o know is to live in ethical
conformity with God's ordered reality, not to escape from it into objective
analysis” (p. 3). Ethics, worship and history are enwrapped in a
revelation of God by a sermonizing narrative calling on people to hear what God
says and do what He asks. There is constantly an appeal. Moses cites from a Horeb piece of parchment
where he scribbled the words of the Lord on that mountain verbatim citing: “The
Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb saying…”. He does not add, he cited what
was said before. There God said in the past: “You have dwelled
long enough in this mountain, turn you and take your journey and go to the
mountain of the Amorites…” Then the possession promise is given. Notice that
the promise was not given only to Abraham but to Isaac, not only to Jacob but “and
to their seed after them”. That last point connects similarly to Joseph as
meant in Galatians 3:17-19, not Abraham. The short-chronology of current
scholars on this verse, is thus not supported. The long-period chronology of
Galatians goes to Joseph not Abraham. Otherwise the whole chronological system
of the Scriptures crumble. But it doesn’t and is absolutely correct. Another problem with modern scholars is that
they seek to see where citations were made by Moses or any other prophet of the
same passage in Deuteronomy and if they see a phrase is not repeated in that
later citation of the passage, they surmise that it was added, interpolated
into the text after the Exile. How they have eyes or an empiricism to see
beyond the “Ugly Ditch” of no-data of Gottschalt Lessing, I do not know. They
certainly have faith as agnostics in their own ideas even if it is not textual.
The citation in 1:9 is from an speech that Moses
made at Mount Horeb about the election of leaders. He could not bear them alone.
The Lord multiplied them and to repeat the statement, Moses said 1000 times
more. “…make you a thousand times so many more as you..”(1:11).
This is an Egyptianism which was common in the 18th dynasty from
where A. Gardiner in his Middle Egyptian Grammar paragraph 262 at 2 took an example
from: “this thy thousand years” or “years” literally reading: “your thousand,
this of years”. Moses would have had in mind: “your thousand, this of times (multiplication)”.
The citation is from Sethe’s Urkunde IV of the 18th dynasty
examples which is the period Moses lived in. It is typical Middle Egyptian
expressions. The speech of Moses extends from 1:9b-13 where
he cites from verbatim the exact words. He could not bear alone their strife
and complaints (1:12). So he was asking in that speech before that they select
wise men and understanding, which were known among the tribes. They were to be
the rulers. Qualified leaders were wise not foolish, understanding not creating
confusion, known to be honorable not plagued with finger-pointing gossips from
the people. Moses reminded them of their reply in the past and
someone recorded their words exactly: “The thing which you have spoken to us is
good to do” (1:14). Moses himself is talking because in the next
long line of verses, Moses used the first person “I” with his actions. I took
(verse 15); I charged (verse 16); I will hear (verse 17); I commanded (verse
18). He appointed leaders and then spoke to the judges in verse 16. He laid
down a MOU for the judges to judge “righteously” between a man and his brother
and the stranger with him. There should not be respect of persons in judgment
(1:17). The small and the great should be heard (1:17). They must not be afraid
to face someone (1:17). The judgment is God’s (1:17). Moses was the supreme
court for cases that was too difficult for them to do “the cause that is too
hard for you, bring unto me, and I will hear it”. He wrapped up the long paragraph with the
statement that he commanded them all the things they should do (1:18). The
verse serves as a kind of envelope or frame around the narrative just dealt
with. It is also an Egyptianism. In Gardiner paragraph 511 on page 417 at 4 is
a similar phrase: “to cause me to do what my lord commanded” also from Uruk
IV which is the Sethe series on the Eighteenth Dynasty texts which is the
very time of Moses. There is a similar expression from Deir el Behari. He took a break from his writing and ate, or
drank water, or went for a walk. When Moses returned he took up the pen and got
another incident ready to report on: “and when we departed from Horeb…” They
were on the move. The wilderness was “terrible” (1:19). At Kadesh-Barnea they
could see the mountain of the Amorites and the Lord said they can go and
possess it. Canaanites were Amorites and other mixed nations. They were
poly-ethnic squatting in a land not of their own. The speech of Moses is then cited verbatim as
stenographers wrote it for him: “You came to the mountain of the Amorites,
which the Lord our God gives us. Behold the Lord God has set the land before
you, go up possess, as the Lord God of your fathers has said unto you: ‘Fear
not, nor be discouraged’”. The direct Words of God is a citation within a
citation. They were to go into the land “with the Lord”. Putting “behold” in front of this sentence was
also a common Middle Egyptian practice in the eighteenth dynasty as Uruk IV
indicate IV. 689. Sim. Ib. 137, 16. It reads in Gardiner paragraph 119: “Behold,
His Majesty was in the land of Retjnu”. But, Israel was careful. Worried. Calculative.
They device a tool for surveillance of the land “we will send men before us,
and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we
must go, and into what cities we shall come” (1:22). Navigational issues. Moses liked the idea (1:23) and selected 12. “The saying pleased me well”. In the Amarna letter EA 20, may date to the time
of Thutmosis IV around 1405 after the five year entry time of Joshua which is
about five years after the death of Moses and very proximate to the words
spoken here in Deuteronomy 1. The phrase “the saying pleased me well” is found
similarly in EA 20 line 11 “Very pleasing indeed were the words of my brother”
[Original in Knudzen transcribed: ù
[ṭ]a-a-pa
da-a[n-n]i-iš-ma
a-ma-a-ti[š]u
ša
aḫi-ia
translated by me as “also good and conscientious are his words, of my brother”].
Moses is not out of place with his times or outside
sources different than Moses. Same time same words. The twelve went into the mountain of the valley
of Eschol and took fruit and brought it down. Their comment was that the land
was good (1:25). But, the reaction of the people were different.
They did not want to go up. The Lord said go up but the people rebelled against
God’s commandment (1:26). They went to their tents and murmured there.
Moses then cited some of their sayings: that the Lord hated them; He only
brought them out of Egypt to deliver them into the hands of the Amorites. He
wanted to destroy them (1:27). Utter nonsense. They were discouraged by the words of their
fellow men saying that the people are greater and taller than them; that their
cities are walled up to heaven; and that they also saw the sons of the Anakims
there. The Anakims were probably Egyptian militia from the Egyptian word for
life, ankh or anḫ.
The role of the heart as organ for decisions,
emotions, courage are also typically Middle Egyptian Grammar: Gardiner §250
on page 185. But Moses saying that time was that they should
not fear these people (1:29). Moses said that the Lord their God will go
before them and fight them just as He did in Egypt (1:30). They were literally
carried by the Lord like a father carries his son (1:31). It is very interesting that Moses had to reboot
them with inspirational talks like this, for the Amarna letters that were sent
to the pharaohs of Egypt during the Hebrew militant years between 1410-1405
BCE, was a similar attempt of inspiring the pharaoh to come and protect them
from the Habiru that invaded the country. But, the pharaohs did not want
to come. Letter after letter is a complaint and call for soldiers and
protection but nothing came. “Yet in this thing you have not believe the Lord
your God” (1:32). Then Moses explained hou God is: He goes before
them in the way; He showed them the place to sleep over; and by a cloud He
showed them which way to walk (1:33). Then God heard them speaking and was unhappy
about it (1:34). He determined that not one of them shall see the
land (1:35). Caleb was exempted (1:36). The reason is “he has
wholly followed the Lord”. This is a key phrase and a secret to success even
unto our own day. We need to wholly follow the Lord. Not partially. Total
dedication. Total transformation. Unreserved surrender. Then Moses pointed out that the Lord was also
angry with him: “You shall not go in there” (1:37). Joshua shall go it though (1:38). Then Moses explained what God’s view of hamartology
is, the science of sin: “your children, which in that day had no knowledge
between good and evil, they shall go there” (1:39). Accountability with God is not for babies,
children, who are not yet adults. Responsibility starts with the adulthood of a
person. Thus, original sin has no bearing on guilt before God. It is the
knowledge of good and evil and the decision of that which is at stake here. Then God sent them through the Wilderness
(1:40). When they realized they have sinned, they put on
their armour and was willing to go fight (1:41). But the Lord told them not to
go up and fight since the Lord is not with them (1:42). They were warned but they did not listen and
went up the hill (1:43). The Amorites came like bees and chased them unto
Seir and unto Hormah (1:44). They wept before the Lord but He did not listen
to them (1:45). So they stayed in Kadesh many days unto the days
that they stayed (1:46).
Dear God We learned that Moses wrote down precisely what
happened during their stay in the Wilderness and the exact words they used. We
are thankful for this first chapter that inspires us to give ourselves wholly
unto our Lord and Savior. In Jesus Name, Amen.