Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 28:7
The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
7. smitten before thee ] See Deu 1:42.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 7. The Lord shall cause thine enemies, &c.] This is a promise of security from foreign invasion, or total discomfiture of the invaders, should they enter the land. They shall come against thee one way – in the firmest and most united manner. And flee seven ways – shall be utterly broken, confounded, and finally routed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
i.e. Many ways, as is usual when an army is totally overthrown and dissipated.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. flee before thee seven waysthatis, in various directions, as always happens in a rout.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face,…. As the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Edomites, and Ammonites were, especially in the times of David:
they shall come out against thee one way: in a body, all together, in large numbers, marching in great order, to give them battle:
and flee before thee seven ways; be entirely routed, and flee some one way, and some another, even every way they could take to make their escape. The phrase is expressive of an entire victory, and of a complete rout and dispersion of an enemy.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(7) And flee before thee seven ways.So is the custom of them that are terrified, to flee, scattering in every direction (Rashi). See the story of the flight of the Midianites (Jdg. 7:21-22), and of the Syrians (2Ki. 7:7).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7-14. The Lord shall cause thine enemies to be smitten In these verses the speaker describes the effect of the blessings upon the nation in all the various circumstances in which it may be placed.
Come out against thee one way, and flee seven ways That is, thy enemies will come against thee in solid, compact array, but will be discomfited and routed, so that they will flee in every direction.
The head, and not the tail An expression implying excellence and superiority. Comp. Isa 9:15.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 7. The Lord shall cause thine enemiesto be smitten before thy face “Upon any invasion from foreign enemies, be their numbers and valour ever so great, God himself will undertake your cause; and so order it, that you shall always come off at last with entire victory:” for, fleeing seven ways imports a total overthrow, which made every man shift for himself, and run straggling hither and thither, without any order or leader, as soldiers do when they are entirely routed.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Deu 28:7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
Ver. 7. The Lord shall cause thine enemies. ] Mr Fox observes, a that in King Edward VI’s time, the English put to flight their enemies in Musselburgh field, the selfsame day and hour wherein the reformation enjoined by parliament was put in execution at London, by burning of idolatrous images. Such a dependence hath our success upon our obedience.
And flee before thee seven ways.
a Act. and Mon.
b Life of Ed. VI., by Sir J. Heywood.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 28:7-14
7The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. 8The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. 9The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. 10So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you. 11The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. 12The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Deu 28:7 enemies This PARTICIPLE (BDB 33, KB 38 Qal PARTICIPLE) is used eight times in this chapter (cf. Deu 28:7; Deu 28:25; Deu 28:31; Deu 28:48; Deu 28:53; Deu 28:55; Deu 28:57; Deu 28:68). It refers to the active hostility of a person or group against a person or group. YHWH promised to be an enemy to Israel’s enemies (cf. Exo 23:22), but because of covenant disobedience He is now an enemy to Israel!
If Israel is obedient YHWH will fight her enemies (cf. Deu 30:7; Deu 33:27-29).
will flee before you seven ways This idiom refers to the fearful, unorganized retreat of Israel’s enemies (cf. Deu 28:20; Deu 28:25). See Special Topic: SYMBOLIC NUMBERS IN SCRIPTURE .
Deu 28:8 blessing upon. . .barns This refers to grain storehouses (cf. Pro 3:10). Later Judaism says this refers to YHWH blessing one in secret.
in the land which the LORD your God gives you This goes back to the promise to Abraham in Gen 12:1-3. The land was God’s special promise fulfilled in the Exodus/conquest.
Deu 28:9 the LORD will establish you This VERB (BDB 877, KB 1086, Hiphil IMPERFECT) basically means to raise up. It is used in several different senses in Deuteronomy in the Hiphil (i.e., [1] confirm a covenant, cf. Deu 8:18; [2] being on the scene, cf. Deu 18:15; Deu 18:18; [3] raise up fallen livestock, cf. Deu 22:4; and [4] to set up memorial stones, cf. Deu 27:3). Here it is used in the metaphorical sense of establish, as in Deu 25:7; Deu 29:13.
a holy people The word holy means set apart for God’s service (BDB 871 and 872, see Special Topic at Deu 5:12, cf. Exo 19:5-6). Israel was meant to be a kingdom of priests to bring all the nations to YHWH.
walk This is a biblical metaphor for lifestyle faith and obedience (cf. Deu 5:33; Deu 8:6; Deu 10:12; Deu 11:22; Deu 19:9; Deu 26:17; Deu 30:16).
Deu 28:10 So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD The phrase called by the name of the LORD (BDB 894, KB 1128, Niphal PERFECT) denotes YHWH’s ownership of Israel (cf. 2Sa 6:2; Isa 43:7; Jer 7:10-12; Jer 14:9; Jer 15:16; Jer 32:34; Dan 9:18-19; Amo 9:12).
YHWH wanted Israel to be a revelatory channel for all the world to come to know Him. He wanted to bless Israel to gain the attention of the nations and thereby to attract the nations unto Himself (cf. Deu 28:25; Deu 28:37). See Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan .
afraid of you The blessings of YHWH, both in domestic and military areas, will cause fear/reverence (BDB 431, KB 432, Qal PERFECT, cf. Deu 7:19; Deu 17:13) on the part of superstitious pagans of the surrounding nations.
Israel was not to fear (BDB 431, KB 432) because YHWH was with them, for them, and fought on their behalf (e.g., Deu 1:21; Deu 1:29; Deu 3:2; Deu 3:22; Deu 7:18; Deu 20:1; Deu 20:3; Deu 31:6; Deu 31:8).
Deu 28:11 This is a summary verse of God’s blessing to an obedient covenant people (e.g., Deu 11:14).
Deu 28:12 His good storehouse This (BDB 373 II and 69) was a symbol of heaven and rain (cf. Deu 28:23-24; Psa 85:12; Mal 3:10). It is possibly a sarcastic reference to Ba’al worship. Ba’al was the Canaanite god of prosperity (i.e., rain, cf. 1 Kings 17-18, see Special Topic: Fertility Worship of the Ancient Near East ). Yet, it was YHWH who provided all blessings to His people (cf. Deu 28:47; Deu 11:14; Lev 26:4).
to give rain to your land in its season This verb (BDB 678, KB 733) is used regularly in this chapter for YHWH’s covenant gifts of blessing (cf. Deu 28:1; Deu 28:7-8; Deu 28:11-13).
Not only will YHWH open the windows of heaven and send rain, but He will do it at the appropriate time (i.e., early and later rains, the time of planting and the time of maturing crops).
you shall lend to many nations but you shall not borrow This was another sign of God’s blessing that they had surplus to loan (cf. Deu 23:20)! The results of disobedience are sharply contrasted in Deu 28:44!
Deu 28:13 This verse has two idioms of prosperity and power:
1. the head and not the tail
2. you only shall be above, not be underneath
But note the conditional element. The same idiom was used in Deu 28:1, being careful to do (two INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTS). The reversal caused by disobedience is seen in Deu 28:44.
Deu 28:14 do not turn aside. . .to the right or to the left It is used literally in Num 20:17; Num 22:26; Deu 2:27, but usually it is a Hebrew idiom for any deviation from the standard or clearly marked path is sin (cf. Deu 5:32; Deu 17:11; Deu 17:20; Jos 1:7; Jos 23:6; 2Ki 22:2). Notice here, idolatry is specifically referenced (cf. Deu 5:7-9; Deu 27:15; Exo 20:23; Exo 34:17).
NASB, NRSVwhich I command you today
NKJVwhich I command you this day
TEV
NJBthe words which I am laying down for you today
This phrase seems to imply a special day of giving the law (cf. Deu 28:1; Deu 28:13-15). However, ‘olam can refer to a period of time. See Special Topic at Deu 4:40. The reason for the question is exactly to what does the book of Deu 28:58; Deu 28:61 refer?:
1. all of Deuteronomy
2. one of Moses’ sermons in Deuteronomy
3. larger body of legislation including parts of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
shall cause: Deu 28:25, Deu 32:30, Lev 26:7, Lev 26:8, 2Sa 22:38-41, Psa 89:23
flee before: Jos 8:22, Jos 10:10, Jos 10:11, Jos 10:42, 1Sa 7:3, 1Sa 7:4, 1Sa 7:10, 1Sa 7:11, 2Ch 14:2-6, 2Ch 14:9-15, 2Ch 19:4, 2Ch 20:22-25, 2Ch 31:20, 2Ch 31:21, 2Ch 32:21, 2Ch 32:22
Reciprocal: 1Sa 14:13 – fell 2Ki 7:5 – behold 2Ch 14:12 – General Psa 144:14 – no breaking in Pro 28:1 – wicked
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
28:7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee {f} seven ways.
(f) Meaning many ways.