Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 28:36
The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
36. The Lord bring thee ] The Heb. vb. is a jussive.
thy king ] The first Jewish king to be deported seems to have been Jehoiakin in 597 b.c., 2Ki 24:8 ff. But cp. 2Ch 33:10-13 on Manasseh; and for the probable fact underlying this statement see Jerusalem, ii. 184.
there shalt thou serve other gods ] See Deu 28:64, and Deu 4:28.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 36. – 45. Can any thing be conceived more dreadful than the calamities threatened in these verses?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thee and thy king: the calamity shall be both universal, which even thy king shall not be able to avoid, much less the subjects, who have far less advantage and opportunity for escape; and irrecoverable, because he who should protect or rescue them is lost with them. See Lam 4:20.
There shalt thou serve other gods; either being corrupted by their examples and counsels, or compelled to it by their tyranny. So what formerly was their choice and delight now becomes their plague and misery. And this doubtless was the condition of many Israelites under the Assyrian and Babylonish captivities, as we may gather from Jer 44:17-19, and other places, though many of them kept themselves free from that infection.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
36. The Lord shall bring thee, andthy king, c.This shows how widespread would be the nationalcalamity and at the same time how hopeless, when he who should havebeen their defender shared the captive fate of his subjects.
there shalt thou serve othergods, wood and stoneThe Hebrew exiles, with some honorableexceptions, were seduced or compelled into idolatry in the Assyrianand Babylonish captivities (Jer44:17-19). Thus, the sin to which they had too often betrayed aperverse fondness, a deep-rooted propensity, became their punishmentand their misery.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shall set over thee,…. This was fulfilled both in Jehoiachin and in Zedekiah, kings of Judah, who were carried captive to Babylon, by Nebuchadnezzar, 2Ki 24:15;
unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; the land of Babylon, which was at a distance from them, and is represented in Scripture as afar off, Jer 5:15; and which the Jews, not being a trading people, or dealing in merchandise in foreign parts, were unacquainted with:
and there shall thou serve other gods, wood and stone; which they were obliged to do in Babylon, of which it seems best to understand it; for though it may be interpreted of their compliance with the image worship of the Papists in their present condition, as the former clause may be of their rulers and governors, included in the name of king, carried captive by the Romans; who were a nation as little, if not less known than the Babylonians: but the former sense seems to suit best here, as this does with De 28:64; where the language is somewhat different, and very appropriate. The Targum of Jonathan is,
“shall pay tribute to those that worship idols of wood and stone.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
36. The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king. The fulfillment of this prophecy at length taught the Jews, though too late, that it was no empty threat, merely for the purpose of frightening them; and this also applies to the other predictions. For, on account of the great distance from them, the Jews would never have supposed that the Assyrians and Chaldeans were God’s scourges, as they actually found them to be; because they placed no faith in the words of Moses. Much less credible was it to them that the king, whom they had appointed, should be dragged as a prisoner to distant countries. And surely this was a very sad and formidable punishment, since all their safety depended on the stability of their kingly government. Thus Jeremiah magnifies this evil above all others, that the Christ of God, who was the breath of the Church, and under whose shadow they hoped to be everywhere safe, should be taken. (246) (Lam 4:20.) And this was fulfilled in the case of Jeconiah, as well as in that of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. Let us, therefore, learn not to measure God’s judgments by our own reason, but to tremble at them, although they are hidden from us. All aggravation of their captivity is also added, i e. , that they should be oppressed by such tyranny as to be compelled to serve wood and stone. Dull and stupid as they were, still they ought to have retained their abomination of such gross wickedness. Hence it might be gathered that they would not be reduced to such a necessity except by the terrible vengeance of God. For although they had been attracted by the superstitions of the Gentiles, so as eagerly to run after them, still, after they were deprived of the worship of God, and had undergone the yoke of the wretched and ungodly servitude which was imposed on them, the foulness of idolatry must have been more fully understood. There is also an antithesis implied in these words, viz., that because they had refused to submit themselves to the true God, and to obey His Law, they should become the slaves of idols.
(246) “The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall lie among the heathen.” — Lam 4:20.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 28:3646
494.
Consider the chronology involved in Deu. 28:36. How many years for the conquest? How many years in the period of Judges? How long before the nation of Israel was taken into captivity?
495.
Which captivity is prophesied here?
496.
We should learn the oft repeated lesson: what is so many times referred to as good luck is actually Gods blessing; what is called bad luck is Gods chastizment.
497.
Read Jer. 16:13; Jer. 44:17-19 for one fulfillment.
498.
There is a contrast in Deu. 28:15 and Deu. 28:43-44. What is it?
499.
According to Deu. 28:46 what was to be a sign to the nation of Israel?
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 28:3646
36 The Lord shall bring you and your king whom you have set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall [be forced to] serve other gods, of wood and stone. [Fulfilled, 2Ki. 17:4; 2Ki. 17:6; 2Ki. 24:12; 2Ki. 24:14; 2Ki. 25:7; 2Ki. 25:11; Dan. 6:11-12.]
37 And you shall become an amazement, a proverb, and a byword, among all peoples to which the Lord will lead you.
38 You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it. [Fulfilled, Hag. 1:6.]
39 You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them.
40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olive trees shall drop their fruit.
41 You shall beget sons and daughters, but shall not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. [Fulfilled, Lam. 1:5.]
42 All your trees and the fruit of your ground shall the locust possess. [Fulfilled, Joe. 1:4.]
43 The transient (stranger) among you shall mount up higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.
44 He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 All these curses shall come upon you and shall pursue you and overtake you, till you are destroyed, because you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you;
46 They shall be upon you for a sign [of warning to other nations] and for a wonder, and upon your descendants for ever.
COMMENT 28:3646
A NATION THAT THOU HAST NOT KNOWN, THOU NOR THY FATHERS; AND THERE SHALT THOU SERVE OTHER GODS, WOOD AND STONE (Deu. 28:36)What nation in history that has conquered and carried away Israel, best fits this prophecy? But before we proceed further, we must ask the question, Is God always referring to the same nation in this chapter, or are his words at times general in scope, with perhaps a number of specific fulfillments? We must immediately answer that the last statement is at least true so far as history is concerned: history will show a number of nations that meet the requirements of most of these scriptures, such as Persia, Babylonia, Assyria, Greece and Rome. And who is to say these nations were not instruments in the hand of God. (Dan. 4:31-32; Dan. 4:35; Jer. 1:10; Jer. 18:5-9)? Some are overwhelmingly convinced that the Babylonian siege and captivity, and that only, was in the mind of God throughout these verses. We could not deny this in such verses as Deu. 28:36, but in Deu. 28:49; Deu. 28:52-53 the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman legions so perfectly fits the description that it surely can be called one fulfillment of the prophecy. And this writer would be hard pressed to deny the claim of one who argued that the atrocities and wholesale murders of the Jews by the Germans before and during World War II was another fulfillment of several statements in Deuteronomy 28. The atrocities were cruel, inhuman, and malicious on the part of the Germans, but so are those described here!
As a general rule we may say that Deu. 28:36-46 better describe the Babylonian siege and captivity, and Deu. 28:47-57 the Roman. Compare this first section with Deu. 4:25-31 and note the promise of returning to their homeland when they returned to God. This, of course, was especially true of the seventy-year Babylonian captivity.
Since 1948 Israel, as a result of the Zionist movement, has again been officially recognized as a nation. In the summer of 1967 they won an important victory over the Arabs, regaining the Arab sector of Jerusalem and other important territory to the south. But what of Israels future? As long as she continues to reject the Messiah her prosperity can only be temporary.
A NATION THAT THOU HAST NOT KNOWN (Deu. 28:36)with reference to the Babylonian captivity, Jeremiah said, therefore will I [God] cast you forth out of this land into the land that ye have not known, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night . . . (Jer. 16:13). The Hebrew exiles, with some honourable exceptions, were seduced or compelled into idolatry in the Assyrian and Babylonish captivities (Jer. 44:17-19). Thus, the sin to which they had too often betrayed a perverse fondness, a deep-rooted propensity, became their punishment and their misery (J.F.B.).
The nation described in Deu. 28:49, on the other hand, was not only from far, but had a language foreign to the Hebrews. Compare Dan. 3:6-7. Babylon would fulfill the not known requirement, but their language was a kindred one to the Hebrews. See Deu. 28:49.
Note here too that Israels king was to be taken in this captivitywhich was true of the Chaldean conquest, not the Roman.
THEY SHALL GO INTO CAPTIVITY (Deu. 28:41)True of the Northern ten tribes to some degree (2Ki. 17:6; 2Ki. 18:11-12) but more literally fulfilled when Jerusalem was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar, 2Ki. 24:14; 2Ki. 25:11, 2Ch. 36:20, Jer. 22:24-28. Henry Cooke (N.S.I.B.L.) adds, Besides the captivities recorded in the Old Testament, the destruction of Jerusalem after [during] the Christian era was accompanied by the captivity of many thousands of all ages and sexes, and their exposure to sale and slavery.
THE SOJOURNER THAT IS IN THE MIDST OF THEE SHALL MOUNT UP HIGHER AND HIGHER (Deu. 28:43)Especially well illustrated in the case of the Assyrian infiltration, then domination, of the ten northern tribes (2Ki. 15:19; 2Ki. 15:29; 2Ki. 17:1-6). Perhaps the Seleucid domination even better depicts this description. The conquests of Alexander the great of Macedonia, at least as far as its immediate effect, was benign, in that it relieved the Jews of the galling yoke of the Persians. But upon Alexanders death Palestine became part of one of the five divisions of the empire, Ruled from Syria by the hated Seleucid dynasty even into Roman times, the Jews finally revolted under the leadership of the Macabees in 166 B.C.
HE SHALL LEND TO THEE (Deu. 28:44)Contrast Deu. 28:12, Deu. 15:6. And remember that borrowing often inferred subjection, Pro. 22:7.
AND THEY SHALL BE, etc. (Deu. 28:46)a better rendering is, They shall serve as signs and proofs against you and your offspring for all time. (The Torah)
47 Because thou servedst not Jehovah thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; 48 therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies that Jehovah shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 49 Jehovah will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; 50 a nation of fierce countenance, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young, 51 and shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy ground, until thou be destroyed; that also shall not leave thee grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of thy cattle, or the young of thy flock, until they have caused thee to perish. 52 And they shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fortified walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land; and they shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which Jehovah thy God hath given thee. 53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, whom Jehovah thy God hath given thee, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee. 54 The man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children whom he hath remaining; 55 so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he hath nothing left him, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in all thy gates. 56 The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, 57 and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(36) Thee, and thy king that thou shalt set over thee.Comp. Deu. 17:14. The former passage is not the only one in which Moses shows his fore knowledge that Israel would have a king. But could any later writer have concealed his knowledge that there were two kingdoms, or have avoided all allusion to the throne of David in passages like these?
Several kings went into captivity. Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt; Jeconiah and Zedekiah to Babylon. Hosheas fate is not recorded in Scripture; but he was taken (apparently) with Samaria by the Assyrians.
Shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.See Note on Deu. 4:28.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
36. The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king Comp. 2Ki 17:6, where it is recorded that Israel was carried away into Assyria, and 2Ch 32:11, where the account of the capture and captivity of Manasseh are given.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 36, 37. The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king, &c. This was partly fulfilled when Jehoiachim was carried captive to Babylon, 2Ki 24:15 and afterwards, Zedekiah, Deu 25:7. Jer 39:7; Jer 52:11. For the Assyrians were a people, though not quite unknown to the Jews in Moses’s time, yet with whom they had but little intercourse: but it was more especially accomplished in their last dispersion by the Romans. See on ver. 33. It is added, and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone; either sottishly following the example of the country to which they were carried, Jer 44:17-18 or compelled thereto by their cruel tyrants, Dan 3:6. Bishop Newton observes upon this passage, that it is too common for the Jews, in popish countries, to comply with the idolatrous worship of the church of Rome, and bow down to stocks and stones, rather than their effects should be seized and confiscated. “The Spanish and Portugal inquisitions,” says Basnage, “reduce them to the dilemma of being either hypocrites, or burnt. The number of these dissemblers is very considerable; and it ought not to be concluded that there are no Jews in Spain or Portugal, because they are not known: they are so much the more dangerous, as not only being very numerous, but confounded with the ecclesiasticks, and entering into all ecclesiastical dignities.””The most surprising thing is, that this religion of theirs spreads from generation to generation, and still subsists in the persons of dissemblers in a remote posterity. ‘In vain,’ as Limborch observes, ‘the great lords of Spain make alliances, change their names, and take ancient escutcheons; they are still known to be of Jewish race, and Jews themselves. The convents of monks and nuns are full of them. Most of the canons, inquisitors, and bishops, proceed from this nation.’ Collat. cum Jud. p. 102. Orobio, who relates the fact, knew these dissemblers; he was one of them, and bent the knee before the sacrament himself: and he brings proofs of his assertion, in maintaining that there are in the synagogue of Amsterdam brothers and sisters and near relations to good families of Spain and Portugal, and even franciscan monks, dominicans, and jesuits, who come to do penance, and make amends for the crimes they have committed in dissembling.” Hist. of the Jews, book 7: chap. 33: sect. 14 and chap. 21: sect. 26. In consequence of these misfortunes, the sacred writer adds, that they should become an astonishment, a proverb, &c. And do we not hear and see this prophesy fulfilled almost every day? Are not the avarice, usury, and hard-heartedness of a Jew, grown proverbial? And are not their persons generally odious among all sorts of people? Mahometans, Heathens, and Christians, however they may disagree in other points, yet generally agree in vilifying, abusing, and persecuting the Jews. In most places where they are tolerated, they are obliged to live in a separate manner by themselves, (as they used to do here, in the Old Jewry,) and to wear some badge of distinction. Their very countenances commonly distinguish them from the rest of mankind, and they are in all respects treated as if they were of another species. See Bishop Newton, and 1Ki 9:7-8. Jer 18:16; Jer 19:8. Lam 2:15-16.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Deu 28:36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
Ver. 36. Thee and thy king. ] As he did Joachim, Manasseh, Zedekiah, &c. Our Edward III had the king of Scots and the French king both prisoners together here in England.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
bring thee: 2Ki 17:4-6, 2Ki 24:12-15, 2Ki 25:6, 2Ki 25:7, 2Ki 25:11, 2Ch 33:11, 2Ch 36:6, 2Ch 36:17, 2Ch 36:20, Isa 39:7, Jer 22:11, Jer 22:12, Jer 22:24-27, Jer 24:8-10, Jer 39:5-7, Jer 52:8-11, Lam 4:20, Eze 12:12, Eze 12:13
there shalt thou: The Israelites, who were carried captive by the Assyrians, and many of the Jews in Chaldea, were finally incorporated with the nations among whom they lived, and were given up to their idolatry. It is probable, however, that this refers to Jews being compelled, in Popish countries, to conceal their religion, and profess that of the Romish church Deu 28:64, Deu 4:28, Jer 16:13, Eze 20:32, Eze 20:33, Eze 20:39
Reciprocal: Deu 29:28 – rooted them 1Sa 12:25 – ye and 1Ki 8:46 – unto the land 1Ki 14:15 – this good land 2Ki 17:6 – carried 2Ki 25:21 – So Judah 2Ch 6:36 – thou be angry 2Ch 7:19 – if ye turn away Jer 9:16 – scatter Jer 14:18 – yea Jer 15:14 – pass Jer 19:4 – burned Jer 52:27 – Thus Lam 2:9 – her king Eze 11:9 – and deliver Eze 20:25 – I gave
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 28:36. The Lord shall bring thee and thy king The calamity shall be universal; even thy king shall not be able to avoid it, much less his subjects, who have far less advantage and opportunity for escape; he who should protect or rescue them shall be lost with them. This was partly fulfilled when Jehoiachin was carried captive to Babylon, with his mother, wives, officers, and the mighty of the land, 2Ki 24:15; and afterward Zedekiah, 2Ki 25:7; Jer 52:11. For the Assyrians were a people, though not quite unknown to the Jews, in Mosess time, yet with whom they had but little intercourse. But it was more especially accomplished in their last dispersion by the Romans, a nation which neither they nor their fathers knew. There thou shalt serve other gods, wood and stone So that what formerly was their choice and delight should now become their plague and misery. And this, doubtless, was the condition of many Israelites under the Assyrian and Babylonish captivities, being either influenced by the example and counsels of their conquerors, or compelled by their tyranny to practise this idolatry. And Bishop Newton on this passage proves, by authentic testimonies, that it has been common for Jews in Popish countries to comply with the idolatrous worship of the Church of Rome, and to bow down to stocks and stones, rather than that their effects should be seized and confiscated.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
28:36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy {p} king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.
(p) As he did Manasseh, Joiakim, Zedekiah and others.