Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 12:32
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
32. (Deu 13:1 in Heb.) is remarkable here; and would seem more in place at the beginning of the section before 29. The text is not certain; LXX A harmonises to Sg. throughout, but other versions confirm the Heb., though variously (LXX B you and the rest Sg., but Sam. thee and the rest Pl.), in a change of address. This and the use of common formulas mark the verse as editorial. It may have been thought necessary, after the removal from here of Deu 16:21 to Deu 17:7 (see above), as an introduction to Deu 13:1 ff. (Deu 13:2 ff. in Heb.).
command you ] Sam., LXX add to-day.
observe to do ] See on Deu 5:1.
thou shall not add, etc.] See on Deu 4:2.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it,…. In the manner it is commanded and directed to; the laws of God, both as to matter and manner, were to be obeyed just as they were delivered: thou shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it; neither add any customs and rites of the Heathens to them, nor neglect anything enjoined on them, see Pr 30:6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The admonition to observe the whole law, without adding to it or taking from it (cf. Deu 4:2), is regarded by many commentators as the conclusion of the previous chapter. But it is more correct to understand it as an intermediate link, closing what goes before, and introductory to what follows. Strictly speaking, the warning against inclining to the idolatry of the Canaanites (Deu 12:29-31) forms a transition from the enforcement of the true mode of worshipping Jehovah to the laws relating to tempters to idolatry and worshippers of idols (ch. 13). The Israelites were to cut off not only the tempters to idolatry, but those who had been led astray to idolatry also. Three different cases are mentioned.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
32. What thing soever I command. In this brief clause he teaches that no other service of God is lawful, except that of which He has testified His approval in His word, and that obedience is as it were the mother of piety; as if he had said that all modes of devotion are absurd and infected with superstition, which are not directed by this rule. Hence we gather, that in order to the keeping of the First Commandment, a knowledge of the true God is required, derived from His word, and mixed with faith. By forbidding the addition, or diminishing of anything, he plainly condemns as illegitimate whatever men invent of their own imagination; whence it follows that they, who in worshipping God are guided by any rule save that which He Himself has prescribed, make to themselves false gods; and, therefore, horrible vengeance is denounced by Him against those who are guilty of this temerity, through Isaiah,
“
Forasmuch as this people draw near me, etc., by the precept of men; therefore, behold I will proceed to do a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,” etc. (Isa 29:13.)
Now, since all the ceremonies of the Papal worship are a mass of superstitions, no wonder that all her chief rulers and ministers should be blinded with that stupidity wherewith God has threatened them. (307)
(307) Addition in French, “avoit menace les anciens Sacrificateurs.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(32) What thing soever I command you.No later writer could put these words into the mouth of Moses, if he had altered the precepts of Moses to any appreciable extent.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Ver. 32. Thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it See on chap. Deu 4:2. One would wonder, says Bishop Patrick, that so learned a man as Maimonides should have laboured to prove from this the immutability of the law of Moses. It is strange that he could not see, what some of his brethren have seen, that though God did not permit the Israelites to alter these laws, he bound not up Himself from changing them; this another Jewish writer very well illustrates: “A physician prescribes a diet to his patient for such a time as he judges convenient, which he does not declare to the sick man; but when the time comes that the physician hath obtained his end, he changes the diet, permits the patient what he formerly forbade, and prohibits that which he formerly permitted.” This exactly agrees with what our Blessed Saviour has done.
REFLECTIONS.As nothing would preserve them more effectually from idolatry than forbidding all sacrifices and public offerings, except in one place under the immediate eye of God’s ministers, we have this again and again inculcated. 1. God’s promises, when they were in quiet possession of the land, to choose the place where he would put his name, erect his tabernacle, and manifest his presence in the divine Shechinah. He left not the place to their option, lest they should dispute about the choice; nor mentions it as yet, because it was enough for them to know his pleasure now, and they should have farther direction when it was needful. Blessed be God! all distinctions of place in Christ Jesus are now destroyed; every where we may have access to a throne of grace, and find our services accepted in the Redeemer. 2. When the place was fixed, they must there offer their sacrifices; and all their holy things must be eaten there, before the Lord, with joy and gladness of heart, by them and their families. God’s service is delightful: to be melancholy, is to dishonour it. Religion was designed to be our pleasure, not our burden. 3. Though all their devoted things might only be eaten before the Lord, no restraint is said upon them respecting common and allowed meats: they might kill and eat without reserve, and both the unclean and the clean might eat them alike; with this proviso, that they lived according to the blessing of God upon them, neither luxuriously extravagant, nor penuriously saving. Excess and covetousness are alike dishonourable to God. He gives us his blessings richly to enjoy; and whilst he would have us eat our bread and drink our wine with a cheerful heart, he wills that we should use his gifts with that sobriety and temperance, which may satisfy our natural appetite, without making provision for our sinful lusts.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Deu 12:32 to Deu 13:18
Deu 12:32 What thing soever [The whole word] I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Deu 13:1. If there arise [stand up] among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2And the sign or [and] the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods [follow other gods] which thou hast not known, and let us serve them: 3Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that [this] prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4Ye shall walk [go] after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away [spoken, revolt against] from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage [servants] to thrust thee [seduce] out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou [And thou shalt] put the evil away from the midst of thee. 6If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, 7which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers: Namely [om. namely] of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 8Thou shalt not consent [yield] unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9But thou shalt surely [by all means, utterly] kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10And thou shalt stone him with stones that he die; because he has sought to thrust thee away [to seduce thee]1 from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage [bondmen], 11And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is [such evil word] among you. 12If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, 13Certain men, the children of Belial,2 are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which 14ye have not known; Then [And] shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently [well]; and behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain [truth is it, certain the word] that such abomination is wrought among you; 15Thou shalt surely smite [sternly, without mercy] the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly [laying it under a bann] and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. 16And thou shalt gather all the spoil [made in it] of it into the midst of the street [gate, plaza]3 thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit,4 for the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heap [heap of ruins] forever; it shall not be built again. 17And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing [banned thing] to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew [give] thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers; 18When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep all his commandments [commandment] which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Deu 13:1-5. The closing verse of the last chapter serves as an introduction to what follows. Comp. 4:1, 2. In the exposition of the third command hitherto, the confession to Jehovah was determined with respect to the one place in opposition to the wide dispersion of Israel in Canaan. Now the same confession is confirmed against every seducing influence, 1) however it may come, and 2) from whatever source, and 3) whatever extent or progress it may have won. [Tempters to false worship are not to be spared even though (Deu 13:1-5) their teaching be confirmed by miracles; or (Deu 13:6-12) they be nearly allied by kindred or friendship; or (Deu 13:13-18) be supported in their apostacy by a whole city. Bib. Com.A. G.].
The first case, Deu 13:1-5. Among you, out of Israel itself, while hitherto the attacks came from without. For see Doct. and Eth. 1. The phrase dreamer of dreams does not precisely describe the character of the false prophet, for Num 12:6 the dream form is expressly assigned to the prophet of Jehovah; the prophet here may be explained by the vision there. Moses also, chap. 18, designates himself as a prophet. The discourse, in the very manner of the pentateuch, is indefinite and comprehensive of the whole prophetic function or being. Givethi.e., announces or makes known to thee, Deu 13:3, (1Ki 13:3) sign or wonder, (4:34) are to be distinguished as and , signum and prodigium, the former more objective and the latter subjective effect [the subjective effect of wonder or astonishment being transferred to that which produces it.A. G.] equally whether is from () to shine, something striking, brilliant, or from , to turn (the kindred Arabic word being to turn away) that which is strangely turned, or more naturally that which excites aversion, amazement, (Psa 71:7), unless we should think of (from , ,) instantly, what is sudden, unexpected. (Used specially of a thing or person who draws astonished attention to himself as typifying and presaging the future. HengstenbergChristol., 2 Ed., Vol. III., I., p. 281). Deu 13:2. And () even both, thus the most extraordinary appearance which could legitimate a discourse, does not depend upon the principal verb (Deu 13:1), but upon , as soon as he gave the sign he spake. Comp. 6:14; 11:28; 5:9. Deu 13:3. For the Lord your God proveth (is proving) you. The participle here, as 8:5, designates the constant method of Jehovah with His people. Comp. 4:34; 8:2. Ye are loving. Since the love must be enduring, the proving also must be lasting or constant, 6:5. Deu 13:4. Comp. 4:3; 8:6; 10:20; 4:4. Deu 13:5. At first, as continually in the first law-giving, simply the death sentence, then in a deuteronomic way the reasons, and the practical hortatory application. The death-sentence () suggests the usual procedure in the courts (17:47; 21:20). For the reasons. Comp. 7:4, 8; 4:19; 9:12, 16. The application refers the act of executing the death sentence, probably by stoning (Deu 13:11) to the character of Israel as a holy people of Jehovah (7:6) which they must confess in every case, but which in this case must be especially sanctified out of the opposition to the name of Jehovah.
2. Deu 13:6-11. The second case proceeds from the peculiarly enticing aspect which the addition of brother, wife, friend, (Deu 13:6) makes clear. In the first case it was that which is above nature, now it is nature truly, flesh and blood with which they should not parley; not to one born of the same mother, then to thine own flesh and blood, nor further, to those bound in the ties of love, nor lastly, to those bound by the still higher tie of friendship (2Sa 1:26; 1Sa 18:1; 1Sa 18:3). For the rest similar to Deu 13:2. Deu 13:7. Only the God of Israel, no other. Deu 13:8. Thou shalt not once listen to him. In other points, comp. 7:16. Since the enticement was in secret, so the proving extends to the concealing (Mat 10:37). Deu 13:9. Comp. 17:7, (2:15). Deu 13:10. Comp. Deu 13:6; Deu 4:19. This energetic, real counter-confession to Jehovah, against ones own flesh and blood, (the neighbor, the confidant, should become accuser, witness, and even the first avenger), Israel should thoroughly fulfil, and indeed with sacred awe before the holy majesty of the one God (comp. Deu 13:5) that the case might never occur again. The purpose of the given death penalty as such is not to terrify. But the prescribed stoning with many stones made it possible that others than those at first related, that the rest of the people even, might share in the confession to the holy name of Jehovah, and perhaps make ready the eternal heap, Deu 13:16. Comp. Jos 7:25-26.
3. Deu 13:12-18. In the third case it is the extent of the sin which is the peculiar object of thought. Deu 13:12. not among, nor of, but, that in one, sq., there are gone out, sq., Deu 13:13. The case is clearly stated at the outset, in the construction, but becomes more prominent through the obligation to the giver Jehovah, placed over against it. introduces the report, what had occurred. [The clause which the Lord thy God giveth thee serves to aggravate the sin, and at the same time to remind the innocent city of the obligation to watch over that which had involved itself in apostacy. The city was the Lords. They held it as stewards. It was entrusted to them. Hence they were to watch over it with the greatest jealousy, and hence the erring city was misusing and perverting the Lords property.A. G.]. Deu 13:13. , who are conceived, born of perf. from above, or imperf. from () to ascend, and thus with that which amounts to nothingworthlessness, both religious and moral, as if we should say, vain, profitless people, as their gods are nonentities, (2Co 6:15). Out from among you. Israel viewed as a whole, hence the obligation against the criminal part. Deu 13:1; Deu 13:5; Deu 13:11, which comp. But the comprehensive punishment, corresponding to the extent of the sin, should follow only Deu 13:14 upon the most thorough investigation. Comp. 9:21. Deu 13:15. so that they fall to the sword. Destroying, sq., banned are they, sq. Comp. chap. 7. Deu 13:16. The street designates the broad, open place in the gates; the place of concourse, of the courts. the whole, what was entirely offered, borders upon and as a whole offering for Jehovah. Deu 13:17. Comp. 7:25 sq. Holiness, as it makes its demand through righteousness, must receive satisfaction, and therewith mercy can follow. The enlargement should counterbalance the loss occasioned by the punishment.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Delitzsch, upon Gen 20:7, explains by one addressed by God, or speaking for Him, i.e., a receiver or interpreter of divine revelation, and thus as equivalent to . Both ideas lie in the primitive word which is common to all dialects. The primordial of the idea is not the utterance as such, or indeed the statement in clear word (C. Meier); is not the name of a ready, fluent worker, peculiarly speaker, (Ewald) or an interpreter (Gesenius); but as , related to , to boil, bubble up, thus as , transferred to human speech, points out the flowing announcement, hence presupposes an extraordinary endowment and inspirationa concealed fountain breaking forth in humanityso the form asserts its usual passive significance (Hengst.) as frequently in words in which suffering, reception, and activity are connected (, ), not precisely equal to inspiratus but nearly so (Hupfeld) i.e., one who receives the secret communications or suggestions. Therefore not so much as the confidant of God; for the prophet not merely preserves these communications, but has to communicate them, which indeed was the case with the patriarchs (Psa 105:10-11), not to speak of the prophetic sayings of Isaac and Jacob, otherwise we should know nothing of their visions and dreams. , = to hum, murmur, of secret trusted communication, as: to whisper, has notwithstanding Hupfelds repeated assertion, no etymological connection with . Even Exo 7:1 can only be viewed as a decisive passage sage for the idea of the prophet, when the two there designedly separated sides: the suggesting God and the uttering prophet are taken together (comp. upon 18:18. A prophet therefore is one who utters, communicates, that which is hidden, flowing forth from secret sources, either higher (divine) or lower, (demonic). The contents make the distinction between the true and false prophet, as to the form, even signs and wonders, do not fail the latter.
2. As to the biblical idea of a wonder or miracle, it is to be observed that signs precede wonders even in the New Testament connection: , the latter never occurring alone. In the sign it is the objective import of the thing upon which it depends, in the wonder it is the subjective perception. Thus remarks Havernick, it appears here from the standpoint of revelation, it is not the wonder in and by itself, but that which is significant in it, the higher to which it points, which is the peculiar essential kernel and characteristic of the true miracle. Above all in the biblical miracle there is an exalted sacred conformity to, or connection with the great educating purpose of God. The fact announced in this chap., that signs and wonders may be used in the service of falsehood, is not less important for the biblical idea of the miracle (Mat 24:24; 2Th 2:9; Rev 13:13) since thus with the signs and wonders we must take the doctrine, and in connection with this the life, and conduct of the wonder-worker. Comp. Mat 7:15 sq.; 22 sq. It is clear that however great the importance attributed to signs and wonders, they were never regarded as of supreme moment, were never in themselves decisive, but that there was in Israel a certainty which was so much more sure and firm than any demonstration of the wonder, that it could be placed in the most decided opposition to it. This certainty was the knowledge of God; for when they were warned against the service of idols, the opposition between Jehovah and the gods was for the most part thus stated; that Israel had known Jehovah as his God, but had not known the gods of the heathen, and could not therefore trust itself to them, etc. (Baumgarten).
[The point here is not as to the nature and force of the true miracle, but whether these signs and wonders are to be regarded as true miracles. The Scriptures use these terms in a very wide sense, and there is ground for the usage in the very nature of the case. It could not well be otherwise. If we hold, with some, that the prophet here is a true prophet, and the wonder a real miracle; that God for the purpose of proving and testing His people, permitted this use of His power, we involve ourselves in inextricable difficulties. It will be hard to reconcile this view with the character of God, as true and good, or to justify such a misleading test to His people. We shall be driven to degrade the miracle as a proper evidence of a divine commission, or withdraw it altogether from the field of the evidences. We may meet the case here by the supposition that Moses is putting a hypothetical but impossible case, as Paul in Gal 1:6. But the whole statement as to the sin, and the manner in which it should be dealt with, implies that it was not only a supposable case, but one which would actually occur. Such prophets would arise, and such wonders be wrought.
The only satisfactory solution is that those wonders were not real miracles. They were supernatural events, i.e., events not traceable to any human agency, or to any natural power or process, but not due to the immediate agency of God, or to any other permissible use of His power in any other sense than that in which He permits whatever is. They were not tricks or impostures. They were real wonders so far as the physical events are concerned. They were true occurrences in the external world, wonders to men, lying above and beyond their power, but due to Satanic or demonic agency. Such agency is recognized in the Scriptures everywhere. It would be likely to manifest itself, for precisely the ends in view by these prophets or dreamers. They had the semblance of true miracles, and herein lay the test. It was only the semblance, and they should have distinguished the real from the apparent. The physical wonder, however striking or awe-inspiring, or unexpected it may have been, was not the miracle. The material wonder coincides with some express announcement, some express claim upon the part of him who works it. The nature of the wonder itself, the truth or announcement connected with it, and the character of the agent, all go to make the miracle. Our Lord Himself appeals to the design with which His miracles were wrought. No wonder or sign therefore could justify them in listening for a moment to one who would turn them from the love and service of Jehovah. God would never coperate to alienate His own people. See the able article on miracles in Smiths Bib. Dict., Am. Ed. Trench on Miracles, Introduction. Mozley, Lecture on Miracles, London, 1865, and the authors referred to in Smiths Bib. Dict.A.. G.].
3. When the peculiar doctrine and practice of the Romish Church, in whose system not only Calvin, but even Melancthon, were entangled, is based as to the punishment of heretics, schismatics, and sects upon our chapter, it is due to a confusion of ideas; of the theocracy with the Byzantine or medival State Church, and involves a mistake as to the nature both of the State and the Church. In the Israelitish theocracy, apostacy from Jehovah, and the institution of a heathen confession and service, was intelligibly treason, rebellion, a civil offence, which must meet with civil punishment. The State, even the Christian state, has the sphere of law and justice for its province, rules in the relations of men to men; can thus only be appealed to in regard to faith, the relation to God, when danger or injury from that side, as to its legal relations, threatens it. And the Church will generally have to decline the means of violence as repugnant to the very nature of religion, as especially considering the religious development, it cannot work with the Old Testament against the New Testament injuries, the more refined and cultivated forms of evil. Against Augustines compelle intrare (Luk 14:23), Luke himself, 9:54 sq., should be heard. But the sword of the Spirit which the Church bears, the word of God, it uses not merely through philosophic demonstration, but the Spirit is the Spirit of testimony, of strength, and of discipline, (1Co 5:13). Comp. Lange, Christian Dogmatics, III., 52, and for the history, Herzogs Realencycl., V., p. 459 sq.
4. The end of the punishment, as it is more expressly declared in the three clauses (Deu 13:5; Deu 13:11; Deu 13:17), is the putting away of the sin from the midst of Israel by an actual manifestation of the violated law, hence as opposed to the sinful confession which had come into Israel, to make an energetic counter-confession to Jehovah, not-withstanding signs and wonders, bands of blood, and of choice, and even prudence on account of the greatness of the evil. Thus the jus talionis. Deu 13:5 declares the negative element of the punishment by Which the sin was restrained in its course, and limited to the doer. Its positive destination, through which the transgression was atoned, and the guilt of the transgressor expiated, appear in Deu 13:11, since the divine righteousness, in its fearful majesty, enters threateningly over against the whole people. The negative and positive elements are both embraced or pre-supposed, Deu 13:17-18, so that the reconciliation of God to Israel, and of Israel to God, can now have room. The subordinate or derived ends of punishment, says Nitzsch, can only be sought and attained, as they are made good through the consciousness of eternal righteousness.
5. [The Jews applied, Deu 13:2-5, to Christ as though He would have allured them, from their allegiance to God and the law, utterly and blindly perverting His whole teaching; which our Saviour took pains to present, as in its whole nature and tendency completing and not destroying the law. Wordsworth closes his long and elaborate note here with the remark that the conduct of the Jews here shows the vast importance of a correct interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. They had the Scripture, but failed to understand it, and incurred its fearful denunciations by condemning Him to whom they bare witness. A. G.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Deu 12:32 sq. Luther: We should depend entirely upon the word, and do all which it enjoins heartily; for if the word is lost, God is lost. But it is better that one should lose friend, brother, saints and nobles, and all, than God. Calvin: There is a certainty in the heavenly doctrine which does not permit our faith to waver or to be overthrown, Eph 4:14. Cramer: There must be heresies among you, that the upright may appear, 1Co 11:19. Berl. Bib.: One such prophet is our reason. Deu 13:2. Tub. Bib.: Truth is more than all wonders, and no wonder avails against the truth. Deu 13:3. Luther: Dost thou see here that the right is given to every one to judge the doctrine? Mat 7:18. The silent power of love. Calvin: God searches the heart, not to learn what was unknown to Him, but to reveal what was concealed. Thus the true saints are separated from the hypocrites. Schultz: He knows from the beginning; but there must be some fitting experience through which His conduct may stand justified before men, angels and Himself even, Job 1:8. Berl. Bib.: It is noticeable, that there is no example in the Old Testament in which Israel as such has so treated one of the many false prophets, but many examples in which they wrested the law against true prophets, and against Christ Himself. Mat 21:33 sq.; 23:34 sq.; Act 7:52; Joh 19:7. Deu 13:7. Richter: The evil one tempts at all times, but most easily through those we love; Adam through Eve, Christ through Peter, Mat 16:23. Deu 13:16. Richter: Since Israel never carried out this sentence upon godless places, God has done it Himself, especially through the Chaldeans. Schultz: If the Church neglects the extermination, the Lord will complete it through the spirit of judgment and the spirit of destruction even, Isa 4:4.Faith in temptation, however dazzling the temptation is to it, follows the Lord; however alluring, the Lord is all to it and more; however violent, it is satisfied with the grace whose strength is mighty in the weak.
Footnotes:
[1][Deu 13:10. Here as above the does not precisely correspond with our word thrust, which carries with it the idea of external force. Better when followed by , to draw from.A. G.].
[2][Deu 13:13. Margin, naughty men: lit. sons of worthlessness.A. G.].
[3][Deu 13:16. Street, the broad, open market-place, at the gate; Gesenius.A. G.].
[4][Deu 13:16. Schroeder adopts the rendering of our version, making an adverb. See however Exeget. notes. Others, Keil, Knobel, Bib. Com., render it as in 33:10, a whole offering.A. G.].
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
REFLECTIONS
HOLY and Eternal SPIRIT! be graciously pleased of thine infinite mercy so to write thy statutes and judgments upon my mind and in my heart, that I may live to JESUS in the enjoyment of them all the days of my pilgrimage upon the earth. Thou, dearest LORD, art both the lawgiver and the law-fulfiller of thine own sacred will. Oh! may I behold thee as the end of the law for righteousness to me, and to everyone that believeth; and while, through the influences of the blessed SPIRIT, I live a life of faith to GOD and upon GOD, may I feel an holy jealousy to throw down all the idols of the heart wherever I find them.
Dearest LORD! make that place peculiarly sacred to my soul, which hath JESUS for its object. Here would I dwell, forever dwell, under the shining of thy divine countenance! Here would I bring my poor offerings, and here alone present my sacrifices, seeking the acceptance both of my person and offering in him and his precious righteousness, who is the altar, the offering, and the high priest of all His people. And as I am not yet come to that rest which is thyself, blessed JESUS, in glory, and only behold thee now by faith; LORD, help me until the vail be removed, to walk more by faith and less by sight, that I may not do according to what the world is doing, whatsoever seemeth right in a man’s own eyes; but that forgetting things that are behind, and reaching forth to those which are before, I may press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of GOD in CHRIST JESUS. Return to thy rest, to thy JESUS, O my soul, for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Deu 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Ver. 32. Thou shalt not add thereto. ] To add anything to the Word of God, saith Theodoret, is bold madness; but to open those things by the Word, that in the Word are more darkly delivered, is both lawful and laudable.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 12:32
32Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
Deu 12:32 you shall not add nor take away from it God is serious about obedience to His word (see note at Deu 4:2). However, Deuteronomy shows some adaptation of the laws of the desert period. We must apply the truths of the Bible for every new age and culture. God revealed Himself to a particular culture at a particular time. Some of it is related only to that time and people (e.g., holy war, polygamy, slavery, subjugation of women), but much of it is timeless truth to be applied to every age (for a discussion of how to distinguish between the eternal and the cultural, see Fee and Stuart, How To Read the Bible For All Its Worth, pp. 149-164 and Gordon Fee, Gospel and Spirit, pp. 1-36).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. Why is there so much emphasis on a central worship site?
2. Why did some of the laws change?
3. Why is the blood so important to the Hebrews?
4. Why are these rules so detailed?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
What, &c. Close of third address. See note on Deu 1:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
thou shalt not: Deu 4:2, Deu 13:18, Jos 1:7, Pro 30:6, Mat 28:20, Rev 22:18, Rev 22:19
Reciprocal: Gen 6:22 – General Gen 21:4 – General Exo 12:50 – as the Lord Exo 34:11 – Observe Exo 35:29 – the Lord Exo 39:32 – according Exo 39:42 – according Exo 40:16 – according Lev 8:4 – General Lev 8:36 – Aaron Lev 10:1 – which Lev 18:26 – keep Num 1:54 – General Deu 1:18 – General Deu 5:32 – ye shall not Deu 11:32 – General Deu 17:20 – he turn Deu 19:9 – If thou shalt Deu 26:16 – This day Jos 11:15 – he left nothing Jos 23:6 – that ye Jdg 13:14 – all that I 2Ki 17:37 – the statutes 2Ch 30:5 – for they Psa 119:4 – General Pro 4:27 – Turn Jer 11:7 – in the Jer 26:2 – diminish Eze 20:19 – walk Eze 44:5 – concerning Mat 5:19 – these Mat 15:9 – teaching Mar 7:7 – the commandments Luk 2:39 – performed Gal 1:9 – than 1Jo 5:17 – all
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 12:29 to Deu 13:1. Yahwism must be kept free from all taint of Canaanite heathenism when Israel has entered Canaan. The danger would arise from the ancient belief that everyone should worship the god of the country in which he resides. D is an uncompromising Yahwist.
Deu 12:32 to Deu 13:18. Three classes of seducers to idolatry to be put to death. (a) The false prophet (Deu 12:32 to Deu 13:5). (b) The friend or relative (Deu 13:5-11). (c) Worthless Israelites (Deu 13:12-18). In the last case the seducers and the city seduced shall be devoted (Deu 2:34*) In the Heb. Deu 12:32 rightly begins Deuteronomy 13.
Deu 13:1. Dreams are one medium of prophetic inspiration, especially in E (Num 12:6, Joe 2:28); but it is not of the highest kind (Jer 23:28).
Deu 13:2. A false prophet may foretell what really comes to pass. In Deu 18:22 he is known by the fact that what he foretells does not come to pass. On the other hand, the word of the true prophet is fulfilled (Jer 28:9). What stamps the prophet as false in the present context is the doctrine.
Deu 13:6. Read (with LXX Sam.) If thy brother the son of thy father (=a half-brother) or the son of thy mother (=a full brother), see Gen 27:29, Psa 50:20. In a polygamous (non-polyandrous) state of society (see Deu 21:15) the same man has often two or more wives. In the East the woman never marries a second time.
Deu 13:9. The convicting witness, however nearly related to the culprit, must begin the punishment.
Deu 13:10. See Exo 8:26. Stoning is the only form of capital punishment recognised in Heb. law. Perhaps it originated in the desire of avoiding blood-shedding (see Deu 12:23-25, Deu 21:22*, Gen 4:10*).
Deu 13:13. base fellows: lit. sons of worthlessness; sons of in Heb. means persons possessing the quality of (see Oent. B on Psa 79:11). Even if the Heb. word for the latter (Belial) is a proper name for the Babylonian Pluto (so Cheyne, Hommel, see Pro 6:12*) the phrase bears the same sense (see Cent. B on Psa 10:15).
Deu 13:15. See Deu 23:4.
Deu 13:16. every whit: better, as a whole offering, (cf. mg.). The Heb. word is used in Deu 33:10; it does not occur in Deu 13:6.a heap: Heb. tel (cf. Tel el-kebir = the great hill); see Jos 8:28 (Ai), Jer 49:2 (Rabbah). cf. Isa 17:1; Isa 25:2, Jer 30:18.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
2. Laws arising from the second commandment 12:32-13:18
The second commandment is, "You shall not make for yourself an image or any likeness . . . [to] worship them or serve them . . ." (Deu 5:8-10). The writer mentioned three different cases in this section.
"In the ancient suzerainty treaties it was required of the vassal that he must not connive at evil words spoken against the suzerain, whether they amounted to an affront or to a conspiracy. The vassal must report the insult or the fomenting of revolt. In case of active rebellion, he must undertake military measures against the offenders. Moreover, he must manifest fidelity to his lord in such cases no matter who the rebel might be, whether prince or nearest relative. All of this finds its formal counterpart in Deuteronomy 13." [Note: Kline, "Deuteronomy," p. 172.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The prophet or receiver of a dream 12:32-13:5
The last verse of chapter 12 in the English Bible is the first verse of chapter 13 in the Hebrew Bible. It introduces what follows.
God permitted some prophets (people who claimed to have direct revelation from God, or to speak for God, or who praised God) to arise in Israel and perform miracles (Deu 12:1), even though they advocated apostasy from Yahweh. The primary meaning of "prophet" (Heb. nabi’) is "proclaimer" or "forth-teller" (cf. Exo 4:15-16; Exo 7:1) [Note: J. Blenkinsopp, A History of Prophecy in Israel, pp. 36-38.] A prophet was, then, a spokesman for God who represented Him before other people. [Note: Merrill, Deuteronomy, p. 230.] God permitted prophets to utter false prophecies to test His people’s love (Deu 12:3), specifically, to see if they would remain loyal to Him. The acid test of a false prophet was his or her fidelity to the Mosaic Covenant. If he led the people away from God, the civil authorities were to put him to death (Deu 12:5). Some false prophets would foretell the future since they received this information from the evil spirit world (e.g., diviners, soothsayers, etc.). Some of them could even perform signs and wonders (supernatural acts), which would appear to substantiate their claim that their power came from God. Enticement to idolatry was a very serious crime in Israel. [Note: See Leon J. Wood, The Prophets of Israel, ch. 7: "False Prophecy in Israel," for a good discussion of this subject.]