Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 31:30
And Moses spoke in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.
30. Editor’s Title to the Song
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
30. all the assembly of Israel ] See on Deu 5:22.
the words finished ] See on Deu 31:24. This v. is no doubt from the hand of an editor; see below.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel,…. Not in the hearing of the whole body of the people, and every individual thereof; no man could be able to speak to such a numerous congregation, as that they should hear him; but in the hearing of their heads and representatives, the elders of their tribes and officers, ordered to be gathered together for this purpose, De 31:28;
the words of this song, until they were ended; which song is recorded in the following chapter, De 32:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Deu 31:30 forms the introduction to the rehearsal of the ode.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
C. THE SONG OF MOSES (Deu. 31:30 to Deu. 32:47)
The song is difficult to outline, but the main contents may be grouped as follows:
INTRODUCTION Deu. 31:30 to Deu. 32:2
1.
The greatness and faithfulness of God, in contrast with the faithlessness of Israel (Deu. 32:3-18)
2.
The chastisement and the need of its infliction by God (Deu. 32:19-33).
3.
Gods compassion upon his people in their low and humbled state (Deu. 32:34-42).
30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished.
1 Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain,
My speech shall distil as the dew;
As the small rain upon the tender grass,
And as the showers upon the herb:
GIVE EAR YE HEAVENS . . . LET THE EARTH HEAR (Deu. 31:1)another way of appealing to the witness of God. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall utterly perish from off the land . . . (Deu. 4:26). The whole universe is called to witness the procedure. Let all eyes and ears testify to the reading.
3
For I will proclaim the name of Jehovah;
Ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4
The Rock, his work is perfect; For all his ways are justice:
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
Just and right is he.
5
They have dealt corruptly with him, they are not his children, it is their blemish;
They are a perverse and crooked generation.
6
Do ye thus requite Jehovah,
O foolish people and unwise?
Is not he thy father that hath brought thee?
He hath made thee, and established thee.
7
Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations:
Ask thy father, and he will show thee;
Thine elders, and they will tell thee.
8
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
When he separated the children of men,
He set the bounds of the peoples
According to the number of the children of Israel.
9
For Jehovahs portion is his people;
Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
10
He found him in a desert land,
And in the waste howling wilderness;
He compassed him about, he cared for him,
He kept him as the apple of his eye.
11
As an eagle that stirreth up her nest,
That fluttereth over her young,
He spread abroad his wings, he took them,
He bare them on his pinions.
12
Jehovah alone did lead him,
And there was no foreign god with him.
13
He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
And he did eat the increase of the field;
And he made him to suck honey out of the rock,
And oil out of the flinty rock;
14
Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs,
And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the finest of the wheat;
And of the blood of the grape thou drankest wine.
15
But Jeshurun waxed far, and kicked:
Thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art become sleek;
Then he forsook God who made him,
And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
16
They moved him to jealousy with strange gods;
With abominations provoked they him to anger.
17
They sacrificed unto demons, which were no God,
To gods that they knew not,
To new gods that came up of late,
Which your fathers dreaded not.
18
Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful,
And hast forgotten God that gave thee birth.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 31:30-32:18
551.
Who is The Rock of Deu. 31:4? Why use this name?
552.
There are some very strong comparisons and contrasts between Jehovah and Israel. List three of them.
553.
Israel has endearing names. List three of them.
554.
There are several figurative descriptions of Israel that will describe the Israel of God today. Mention two.
555.
Sin, Servitude, Sorrow, Salvation; this is the vicious circle of Israels history. How can this circle be broken?
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 31:30-32:18
30 And Moses spoke in the hearing of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.
CHAPTER 32
Give ear, O heavens, and I [Moses] will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 My message shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the light rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.
3 For I will proclaim the name [and presence] of the Lord. Concede and ascribe greatness to our God.
4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are law and justice, a God of faithfulness, without breach or deviation, just and right is He.
5 They [Israel] have spoiled themselves. They are not sons to Him, that is their blemish. A, perverse and crooked generation!
6 Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not He your father Who acquired you for His own? Who made and established you [as a nation]?
7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of men, He set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the Israelites.
9 For the Lords portion is His people; Jacob [Israel] is the lot of His inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land, in the howling void of the wilderness; He kept circling around him, He scanned him (penetratingly), He kept him as the pupil of His eye.
11 As an eagle that stirs up her nest, that flutters over her young, He spread abroad His wings; He took them, He bore them on His pinions. [Luk. 13:34.]
12 So the Lord alone led him; there was no foreign god with Him.
13 He made Israel ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the increase of the field; and He made him to suck honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock;
14 Butter and curds of the herd and milk of the flock, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan and he-goats, with the finest of the wheat; and you drank wine of the blood of the grape.
15 But Jeshurun [Israel] grew fat and kicked. You became fat, you grew thick, you were gorged and sleek! Then he forsook God Who made him, and forsook and despised the Rock of his salvation.
16 They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods lately come up, whom your fathers never knew or feared.
18 Of the Rock that bore you you were unmindful; you forgot the God Who travailed in your birth.
COMMENT 31:30-32:18
THE ROCK (Deu. 32:4)A central figure of God in the song (Deu. 32:13; Deu. 32:15; Deu. 32:18; Deu. 32:30-31). And note in Deu. 32:37-38 Israel is rebuked for placing their confidence not in the Rock but in the rock of their own makingan idol. God is the essence of immutable and impregnable strengthtraits this figure of speech depicts. Cf. Gen. 49:24, 1Sa. 2:2, Psa. 18:2, Mat. 16:18, Joh. 1:42, etc.
THY FATHER THAT BROUGHT THEE (Deu. 31:6)Thus, they were a redeemed people (Exo. 6:6). HE HATH MADE THEE, AND ESTABLISHED THEE (Deu. 31:6)As David could say
He brought me up also out of a horrible pit,
out of the miry clay;
And he set my feet upon a rock,
and established my goings.
Psa. 40:2
JEHOVAH ALONE DID LEAD HIM, AND THERE WAS NO FOREIGN GOD WITH HIM (Deu. 31:12)A verse that at once sets forth the strength and independence of Gods power. HE it was that led Israel, supplied Israel, preserved Israel, protected IsraelHE and no other! It was not a multitude of heathen gods that did it, it was THE ALMIGHTY God! And he depends upon no other source of power. Note Deu. 8:3 and notes, Deu. 4:35-39. Yet there was ever the tendency to attribute Gods power to heathen dieties: These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt (Exo. 32:4, 1Ki. 12:28-29). And throughout much of Israels history Jehovah-worship and idolatry were mixed together in a confusing and contradictory hodge-podge! Note, for example, the story of Micah and his house of idols (Judges, Ch. 17). It was not a matter of totally leaving Godor totally leaving Jehovah-worship. Rather, They feared Jehovah, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away (2Ki. 17:33). It should hardly need saying that such luke-warm dedication to God and his word is a stench in the nostrils of the Almighty.
AND HE MADE HIM TO SUCK HONEY OUT OF THE ROCK (Deu. 31:13)This phrase, along with Deu. 31:14, has a parallel in Psa. 81:16, He would feed them also with the finest of the wheat; And with the honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee. Rocks or ledges, of course, are places for bees to construct their honeycombs and deposit honeyespecially under them, or in the crevices between them. And it was this metaphor of prosperity and Gods goodness that led the song writer F. A. Graves to pen the words of his well-known hymn:
Have you tasted that the Lord is gracious?
Do you walk in the way thats new?
Have you drunk from the living fountain?
Theres Honey in the Rock for you.
Oh, theres Honey in the Rock, my brother, . . .
Theres Honey in the Rock for you.
Leave your sins for the blood to cover,
Theres Honey in the Rock for you.
OIL OUT OF THE FLINTY ROCK (Deu. 31:13).That is, olive oil would be plentiful in this new land, and olive trees, because of Gods blessing, would grow even in the most obstinate soil. It would be a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey (Deu. 8:8). Olive oil was (and is) used widely for food in the near east.
BUT JESHURUN WAXED FAT AND KICKED (Deu. 31:15)Jeshurun is a symbolical or poetical name of endearment for Israel. Gesenius says it is a tender and loving appellation of the people of Israel. At the same time, he believes there is an allusion to the idea of rectitude or uprightness. He mentions the possibility of it being a diminutive form of Israel and meaning something like the righteous little people. Whatever its precise meaning, it is always used in place of Israel. It occurs only here, Deu. 33:5; Deu. 33:26, and Isa. 44:2.
THEN HE FORSOOK GOD (Deu. 31:15)i.e., the prosperity of Israel (though given by God) became their undoing. Cf. the warning of Deu. 8:11 ff.
19
And Jehovah saw it, and abhorred them,
Because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
20
And he said, I will hide my face from them,
I will see what their end shall be:
For they are a very perverse generation,
Children in whom is no faithfulness.
21
They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God;
They have provoked me to anger with their vanities:
And I will move them to jealousy with those that are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22
For a fire is kindled in mine anger,
And burneth unto the lowest Sheol,
And devoureth the earth with its increase,
And setteth on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23
I will heap evils upon them;
I will spend mine arrows upon them:
24
They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat And bitter destruction;
And the teeth of beasts will I send upon them,
With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
25
Without shall the sword bereave,
And in the chambers terror;
It shall destroy both young man and virgin,
The suckling with the man of gray hairs.
26
I said, I would scatter them afar,
I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men;
27
Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy,
Lest their adversaries should judge amiss,
Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted,
And Jehovah hath not done all this.
28
For they are a nation void of counsel,
And there is no understanding in them.
29
Oh that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they would consider their latter end!
30
How should one chase a thousand
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Except their Rock had sold them,
And Jehovah had delivered them up?
31
For their rock is not as our Rock,
Even our enemies themselves being judges.
32
For their vine is of the vine of Sodom,
And of the fields of Gomorrah:
Their grapes are grapes of gall,
Their clusters are bitter:
33
Their wine is the poison of serpents,
And the cruel venom of asps.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(30) And Moses spake . . . the words of this song.The exodus of Israel begins and ends with a song of Moses. The song of Exodus 15 is usually referred to as the Song of Moses, and is thought to be intended in Rev. 15:3-4. But there is a remarkable resemblance between Rev. 15:3 and Deu. 32:3-4, which see.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 32 The Song of Moses.
Having written the Complaint Document as a song to be sung by the children of Israel until its words were fulfilled and it could be called on as a witness against them, and also be seen as a promise of hope, Moses read out the song to the people.
Analysis.
a And Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished (Deu 31:30).
b The Song of Complaint and Promise (Deu 32:1-43).
a And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun, and Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel (Deu 32:44-45).
The Song of Complaint and Promise ( Deu 32:1-43 ).
Deu 31:30
‘ And Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished.’
As we have just previously been informed, this song was written for when Israel saw worse days, but it was read out (not sung) by Moses before all Israel so that they might begin to learn its contents. All would know that in the end they had to memorise it by heart. That was the way in which such things were done.
But the fact that it is called a song indicates that it was intended to be sung in future worship, and we have certainly no reason to doubt that that happened.
While there is material in it that could be described as ‘wisdom material’, or ‘prophetic material’, it is not of such a kind as to demand a late date. Wisdom literature was known in Egypt long before this time, and would have been known to Moses, and he was certainly a prophet. Nor is there reference to particular events, apart from what would have been in the past for Moses. There is no good reason for doubting that it is an ancient song, and in fact no good reason for doubting that Moses was its author under God.
It seems to follow to some extent the pattern of an ancient ‘lawsuit (Hebrew – rib) pattern’, a pattern which appears to date back at least to 18th century BC. This was a pattern followed by overlords when taking up a controversy against their subjects who had broken a treaty. First witnesses were called on to bear witness to his words, then the character of the Overlord was described, then the charge was made against the covenant breakers, then a series of questions were put to them, then the beneficence towards them of their Overlord was outlined, then the treacherous nature of their behaviour was described, and then finally the Overlord’s verdict was pronounced.
That is the pattern found here. Throughout the poem Yahweh as Israel’s great Overlord is seen to be the offended party. He is blameless and righteous in all His ways, while Israel are disobedient and rebellious. Their folly in rebelling against Yahweh is revealed, the judgment that will follow, in which Yahweh will make use of their enemies, is declared, but then, unlike the usual Complaint document, it finalises with a description of their vindication, not because of what they are but because of Yahweh’s gracious action. Yahweh will not allow His purposes to fail.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
REFLECTIONS
READER! pause over this Chapter, and behold in Moses the dying circumstances of all mankind. Both saints and sinners, ministers and people, even Moses, the highly favoured servant of the LORD, must go down to the grave, though as to the circumstances attending his death, he was peculiarly favoured in going up to the mount, to give forth his soul, as some have thought, upon the very mouth of GOD. Here again, dearest JESUS, let my soul, from the view of the universal condition of mankind, turn my thoughts to thee, who by thy precious death hast overcome death, and by thy triumph over death and the grave, hast opened to thy people everlasting life. Sweet and refreshing is the thought, amidst the humbling prospect, of dissolution, that JESUS ever liveth; and though all our circumstances around are perishing, and we ourselves involved in the same, yet the hour is hastening, when death shall be swallowed up in victory!
In the view of Israel’s perverseness, LORD, give me grace to behold the universal taint of all mankind. Am I better than they? No: in no wise. All are included under sin. Oh! thou precious sin-bearing LAMB of GOD! let everything and every view, both of the sin of others and my own, tend to endear thy person, and thy righteousness, to my heart, convinced, that there is salvation in no other, neither is there any other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 31:30
30Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete:
Deu 31:30 Then Moses spoke. . .the words of this song This verse should go with chapter 32 of Deuteronomy. Notice that NASB marks it as the beginning of a paragraph with a final colon, not a period (cf. JPSOA).
in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel One wonders how many people made up this assembly. It would have included men, women, and older children or the model of Deu 31:12. But this referred to a city or town. How many people would have been able to hear one man speak? Usually the leader spoke to:
1. the tribal leaders and they passed it on (cf. Deu 31:28)
2. the Levites and they passed it on
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Moses spake. Beginning of his eighth address.
this song. The fourth reference to it. It is the key to the Apocalypse, Rev 15:3. See note on Exo 15:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Moses Song: the Lords Favor upon Israel
Deu 31:30; Deu 32:1-14
The song of Moses, like the fabled song of the swan, was his last and sweetest. It is probably the noblest ode in the whole compass of the Bible, and is the source from which subsequent singers derived suggestions for their noblest outbursts. The marginal references prove how deeply it dyed the national sentiment.
It excels in the names and designations of the Almighty. He is the Rock: Deu 31:4; Deu 31:15; Deu 31:18; Deu 31:30; Jehovah: Deu 31:6; Father: Deu 31:6; the Most High: Deu 31:8; God: El, the strong, Deu 31:15, etc. What a study are the names of God, scattered through the Bible! Each was coined to meet some need of the human soul. What the rocks of the desert are to its shifting sands God is amid the changes of this mortal existence.
This earlier part of the song is very tender. We are Gods portion; the apple of His eye; as young eaglets, whom the mother-bird is carefully teaching to fly, the favored recipients of Gods richest gifts, Deu 31:13, etc.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Deu 4:5, Joh 12:49, Act 20:27, Heb 3:2, Heb 3:5
Reciprocal: Deu 31:19 – this song Deu 32:44 – spake Jer 23:20 – in the Rev 15:3 – sing the song
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
B. The Song of Moses 31:30-32:44
This is the song that Moses left with the people.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
1. The introduction to the song 31:30
Moses recited the song God had given him in the hearing of all the Israelites. The song follows the pattern of the Deuteronomic treaty.