Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 11:8
Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;
8. On such recognition ( Deu 11:2 But know ye) of the awful discipline of God the discourse now bases another of its many appeals to the people to observe the Law, with the usual promise of consequent benefits. That the appeal and promise are composed in the usual deuteronomic phrases is no ground, by itself, for considering that the verse is an editorial addition. (So Steuern., who finds the immediate continuation of Deu 11:7 in Deu 11:16.) Nor are the phrases all repetitions; that ye may be strong is new.
keep all the commandment ] Again the Miwah of Deu 11:31 q.v., Deu 6:1 and Deu 7:11.
which I command thee this day ] The one Sg. clause in the section. Sam. and LXX codd. A etc. have Pl., LXX cod. Vat. agrees with the Heb. Sg. It is a good illustration of how many are the possible explanations of these smaller and sporadic changes of address. Either the Sg. is a clerical error which has slipped into the Heb. text and is to be corrected by the Versions; or it is original, and the readings of these are harmonistic, as in A.V. Or, if the Sg. is the correct reading it may be either a mere inadvertence on the part of the original writer, or the clause may have been inserted by an editor with the echo of Deu 7:11 in his ear. This last seems to the present writer the most probable explanation. But any of the others is possible.
that ye may be strong, and go in ] only here; cp. Deu 4:1, that ye may live and go in.
and go in and possess the land ] Cp. the variation in the Sg. Deu 9:5, go in to possess their land.
whither ye go over to possess it ] a phrase peculiar to Pl.; see on Deu 6:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 8. Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments] Because God can execute such terrible judgments, and because he has given such proofs of his power and justice; and because, in similar provocations, he may be expected to act in a similar way; therefore keep his charge, that he may keep you unto everlasting life.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And this knowledge was to impel them to keep the law, that they might be strong, i.e., spiritually strong (Deu 1:38), and not only go into the promised land, but also live long therein (cf. Deu 4:26; Deu 6:3). – In Deu 11:10-12 Moses adduces a fresh motive for his admonition to keep the law with fidelity, founded upon the peculiar nature of the land. Canaan was a land the fertility of which was not dependent, like that of Egypt, upon its being watered by the hand of man, but was kept up by the rain of heaven which was sent down by God the Lord, so that it depended entirely upon the Lord how long its inhabitants should live therein. Egypt is described by Moses as a land which Israel sowed with seed, and watered with its foot like a garden of herbs. In Egypt there is hardly any rain at all (cf. Herod. ii. 4, Diod. Sic. i. 41, and other evidence in Hengstenberg’s Egypt and the Books of Moses, pp. 217ff.). The watering of the land, which produces its fertility, is dependent upon the annual overflowing of the Nile, and, as this only lasts for about 100 days, upon the way in which this is made available for the whole year, namely, by the construction of canals and ponds throughout the land, to which the water is conducted from the Nile by forcing machines, or by actually carrying it in vessels up to the fields and plantations.
(Note: Upon the ancient monuments we find not only the draw-well with the long rope, which is now called Shaduf, depicted in various ways (see Wilkinson, i. p. 35, ii. 4); but at Beni-Hassan there is a representation of two men carrying a water-vessel upon a pole on their shoulders, which they fill from a draw-well or pond, and then carry to the field (cf. Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Books of Moses, pp. 220-1).)
The expression, “with thy foot,” probably refers to the large pumping wheels still in use there, which are worked by the feet, and over which a long endless rope passes with pails attached, for drawing up the water (cf. Niebuhr, Reise, i. 149), the identity of which with the described by Philo as ( de confus. ling. i. 410) cannot possibly be called in question; provided, that is to say, we do not confound this with the Archimedean water-screw mentioned by Diod. Sic. i. 34, and described more minutely at v. 37, the construction of which was entirely different (see my Archaeology, ii. pp. 111-2). – The Egyptians, as genuine heathen, were so thoroughly conscious of this peculiar characteristic of their land, which made its fertility far more dependent upon the labour of human hands than upon the rain of heaven or divine providence, that Herodotus (ii. 13) represents them as saying, “The Greeks, with their dependence upon the gods, might be disappointed in their brightest hopes and suffer dreadfully from famine.” The land of Canaan yielded no support to such godless self-exaltation, for it was “a land of mountains and valleys, and drank water of the rain of heaven” ( before , to denote the external cause; see Ewald, 217, d.); i.e., it received its watering, the main condition of all fertility, from the rain, by the way of the rain, and therefore through the providential care of God.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; 9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: 11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: 12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. 13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. 15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. 16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17 And then the LORD‘s wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
Still Moses urges the same subject, as loth to conclude till he had gained his point. “If thou wilt enter into life, if thou wilt enter into Canaan, a type of that life, and find it a good land indeed to thee, keep the commandments: Keep all the commandments which I command you this day; love God, and serve him with all your heart.”
I. Because this was the way to get and keep possession of the promised land. 1. It was the way to get possession (v. 8): That you may be strong for war, and so go in and possess it. So little did they know either of hardship or hazard in the wars of Canaan that he does not say they should go in and fight for it; no, they had nothing in effect to do but go in and possess it. He does not go about to teach them the art of war, how to draw the bow, and use the sword, and keep ranks, that they might be strong, and go in and possess the land; no, but let them keep God’s commandments, and their religion, while they are true to it, will be their strength, and secure their success. (2.) It was the way to keep possession (v. 9): That you may prolong your days in this land that your eye is upon. Sin tends to the shortening of the days of particular persons and to the shortening of the days of a people’s prosperity; but obedience will be a lengthening out of their tranquillity.
II. Because the land of Canaan, into which they were going, had a more sensible dependence upon the blessing of heaven than the land of Egypt had, v. 10-12. Egypt was a country fruitful enough, but it was all flat, and was watered, not as other countries with rain (it is said of Egypt, Zech. xiv. 18, that it has no rain), but by the overflowing of the river Nile at a certain season of the year, to the improving of which there was necessary a great deal of the art and labour of the husbandman, so that in Egypt a man must bestow as much cost and pains upon a field as upon a garden of herbs. And this made them the more apt to imagine that the power of their own hands got them this wealth. But the land of Canaan was an uneven country, a land of hills and valleys, which not only gave a more pleasing prospect to the eye, but yielded a greater variety of soils for the several purposes of the husbandman. It was a land that had no great rivers in it, except Jordan, but drank water of the rain of heaven, and so, 1. Saved them a great deal of labour. While the Egyptians were ditching and guttering in the fields, up to the knees in mud, to bring water to their land, which otherwise would soon become like the heath in the wilderness, the Israelites could sit in their houses, warm and easy, and leave it to God to water their land with the former and the latter rain, which is called the river of God (Ps. lxv. 9), perhaps in allusion to, and contempt of, the river of Egypt, which that nation was so proud of. Note, The better God has provided, by our outward condition, for our ease and convenience, the more we should abound in his service: the less we have to do for our bodies the more we should do for God and our souls. 2. So he directed them to look upwards to God, who giveth us rain form heaven and fruitful seasons (Acts xiv. 17), and promised to be himself as the dew unto Israel, Hos. xiv. 5. Note, (1.) Mercies bring with them the greatest comfort and sweetness when we see them coming from heaven, the immediate gifts of divine Providence. (2.) The closer dependence we have upon God the more cheerful we should be in our obedience to him. See how Moses here magnifies the land of Canaan above all other lands, that the eyes of God were always upon it, that is, they should be so, to see that nothing was wanting, while they kept close to God and duty; its fruitfulness should be not so much the happy effect of its soil as the immediate fruit of the divine blessing; this may be inferred from its present state, for it is said to be at this day, now that God has departed from it, as barren a spot of ground as perhaps any under heaven. Call it not Naomi: call it Marah.
III. Because God would certainly bless them with an abundance of all good things if they would love him and serve him (v. 13-15): I will give you the rain of your land in due season, so that they should neither want it when the ground called for it nor have it in excess; but they should have the former rain, which fell at seed-time, and the latter rain, which fell before the harvest, Amos iv. 7. This represented all the seasonable blessings which God would bestow upon them, especially spiritual comforts, which should come as the latter and former, rain, Hos. vi. 3. And the earth thus watered produced, 1. Fruits for the service of man, corn and wine, and oil, Ps. civ. 13-15. 2. Grass for the cattle, that they also might be serviceable to man, that he might eat of them and be full, v. 15. Godliness hath here the promise of the life that now is; but the favour of God shall put gladness into the heart, more than the increase of corn, and wine, and oil will.
IV. Because their revolt from God to idols. would certainly be their ruin: Take heed that your hearts be not deceived,Deu 11:16; Deu 11:17. All that forsake God to set their affection upon, or pay their devotion to, any creature, will find themselves wretchedly deceived to their own destruction; and this will aggravate it that it was purely for want of taking heed. A little care would have prevented their being imposed upon by the great deceiver. To awaken them to take heed, Moses here tells them plainly that if they should turn aside to other gods, 1. They would provoke the wrath of God against them; and who knows the power of that anger? 2. Good things would be turned away from them; the heaven would withhold its rain, and then of course the earth would not yield its fruit. 3. Evil things would come upon them; they would perish quickly form off this good land. And the better the land was the more grievous it would be to perish from it. The goodness of the land would not be their security, when the badness of the inhabitants had made them ripe for ruin.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
(8) The commandments.Literally, the commandment. It is one course of action rather than many details which is enjoined.
Go in and possessi.e., complete the conquest in detail, so as to enjoy the whole profit of the land.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Let not the Reader overlook the expression in those verses that Israel was to go in to possess the land. Not as if they were to fight for it, but as if it was already conquered. The reason was, the LORD their GOD had promised Canaan to his people. He undertook to drive out the present possessors, and to bring them in. And therefore so promised, the thing itself was as good as accomplished. But, considered as this really was, a type of the heavenly Canaan, the subject riseth higher to our view, and becomes abundantly more interesting, JESUS hath in reality already conquered for his people. He hath purchased their redemption by his blood. He is gone before to take possession of the promised land in their name, and will come again, and bring them into the possession of it, with himself; that where he is, there they may be also. See his sweet promise to this effect, Joh 14:3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 11:8-12
8You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and go in and possess the land into which you are about to cross to possess it; 9so that you may prolong your days on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it with your foot like a vegetable garden. 11But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year.
Deu 11:8 therefore This refers to all preceding historical allusions of chapter 11 or possibly even farther back. Much of Deuteronomy, up to this point, has rehearsed again and again the same admonitions.
Deu 11:9 so that you may prolong your days on the land Compare Deu 11:21 with Deu 5:16. This is not an individual promise of longevity but a cultural promise of stability to a society which honors the Law of God (cf. Deu 4:1; Deu 8:1) and thereby honors the family (cf. Deu 4:40; Deu 5:16; Deu 5:33; Deu 6:2). See full note at Deu 4:40.
the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them See Special Topic: Covenant Promises to the Patriarchs .
a land flowing with milk and honey This is not only a physical description but a technical designation for the land of Palestine in Ugaritic and Egyptian documents. See note at Deu 6:3.
Deu 11:10 not like the land of Egypt The cultivation of crops was quite different in Egypt than Palestine. Palestine had seasonal rain (cf. v.11), Egypt had to depend on irrigation from the Nile and its annual flood.
water it with your foot This probably refers to (1) an irrigation system in which a field was flooded and then the foot was used to punch a hole in the dike to let water out or (2) a treadmill used to lift water for irrigation.
Deu 11:11 the land. . .drinks water from the rain of heaven For desert peoples there is no greater blessing than adequate, regular water (cf. Deu 8:7-9). This good land is conditional on covenant obedience (cf. Deu 11:16-17; Lev 26:14-20; Deu 28:12; Deu 28:23-24; 1Ki 8:35; 1Ki 17:1; 2Ch 7:11-14; Isa 5:6; Jeremiah 14; Amo 4:7-8).
Deu 11:12 the eyes of the LORD This is an anthropomorphic description of the Lord like Deu 11:2. It expresses His special care and presence in the Promised Land. See Special Topic: God Described As Human (anthropomorphism) .
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
commandments. See note on Deu 6:1, Deu 6:25; Deu 7:11.
go = are going over.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Therefore: Deu 8:10, Deu 8:11, Deu 10:12-15, Deu 26:16-19, Deu 28:47, Psa 116:12-16
that ye may: Deu 31:23, Jos 1:6, Jos 1:7, Psa 138:3, Isa 40:31, Dan 10:19, 2Co 12:9, 2Co 12:10, Eph 3:16, Eph 6:10, Phi 4:13, Col 1:11
Reciprocal: Deu 11:13 – diligently Deu 27:10 – General Zec 8:16 – are
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
11:8 Therefore shall ye keep {c} all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;
(c) Because you have felt both his chastisement and his benefits.