1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.
6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;
8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;
9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
20 As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.
1 All the commandments H4687 which I command H6680 thee this day H3117 shall ye observe H8104 to do, H6213 that ye may live, H2421 and multiply, H7235 and go in H935 and possess H3423 the land H776 which the LORD H3068 sware H7650 unto your fathers. H1
2 And thou shalt remember H2142 all the way H1870 which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 led H3212 thee these forty H705 years H8141 in the wilderness, H4057 to humble H6031 thee, and to prove H5254 thee, to know H3045 what was in thine heart, H3824 whether thou wouldest keep H8104 his commandments, H4687 or no.
3 And he humbled H6031 thee, and suffered thee to hunger, H7456 and fed H398 thee with manna, H4478 which thou knewest H3045 not, neither did thy fathers H1 know; H3045 that he might make thee know H3045 that man H120 doth not live H2421 by bread H3899 only, H905 but by every word that proceedeth H4161 out of the mouth H6310 of the LORD H3068 doth man H120 live. H2421
4 Thy raiment H8071 waxed not old H1086 upon thee, neither did thy foot H7272 swell, H1216 these forty H705 years. H8141
5 Thou shalt also consider H3045 in H5973 thine heart, H3824 that, as a man H376 chasteneth H3256 his son, H1121 so the LORD H3068 thy God H430 chasteneth H3256 thee.
6 Therefore thou shalt keep H8104 the commandments H4687 of the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 to walk H3212 in his ways, H1870 and to fear H3372 him.
7 For the LORD H3068 thy God H430 bringeth H935 thee into a good H2896 land, H776 a land H776 of brooks H5158 of water, H4325 of fountains H5869 and depths H8415 that spring out H3318 of valleys H1237 and hills; H2022
8 A land H776 of wheat, H2406 and barley, H8184 and vines, H1612 and fig trees, H8384 and pomegranates; H7416 a land H776 of oil H8081 olive, H2132 and honey; H1706
9 A land H776 wherein H834 thou shalt eat H398 bread H3899 without H3808 scarceness, H4544 thou shalt not lack H2637 any thing in it; a land H776 whose stones H68 are iron, H1270 and out of whose hills H2042 thou mayest dig H2672 brass. H5178
10 When thou hast eaten H398 and art full, H7646 then thou shalt bless H1288 the LORD H3068 thy God H430 for the good H2896 land H776 which he hath given H5414 thee.
11 Beware H8104 that thou forget H7911 not the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 in not keeping H8104 his commandments, H4687 and his judgments, H4941 and his statutes, H2708 which I command H6680 thee this day: H3117
12 Lest when thou hast eaten H398 and art full, H7646 and hast built H1129 goodly H2896 houses, H1004 and dwelt H3427 therein;
13 And when thy herds H1241 and thy flocks H6629 multiply, H7235 and thy silver H3701 and thy gold H2091 is multiplied, H7235 and all that thou hast is multiplied; H7235
14 Then thine heart H3824 be lifted up, H7311 and thou forget H7911 the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 which brought thee forth H3318 out of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 from the house H1004 of bondage; H5650
15 Who led H3212 thee through that great H1419 and terrible H3372 wilderness, H4057 wherein were fiery H8314 serpents, H5175 and scorpions, H6137 and drought, H6774 where there was no water; H4325 who brought thee forth H3318 water H4325 out of the rock H6697 of flint; H2496
16 Who fed H398 thee in the wilderness H4057 with manna, H4478 which thy fathers H1 knew H3045 not, that he might humble H6031 thee, and that he might prove H5254 thee, to do thee good H3190 at thy latter end; H319
17 And thou say H559 in thine heart, H3824 My power H3581 and the might H6108 of mine hand H3027 hath gotten H6213 me this wealth. H2428
18 But thou shalt remember H2142 the LORD H3068 thy God: H430 for it is he that giveth H5414 thee power H3581 to get H6213 wealth, H2428 that he may establish H6965 his covenant H1285 which he sware H7650 unto thy fathers, H1 as it is this day. H3117
19 And it shall be, if thou do at all H7911 forget H7911 the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 and walk H1980 after H310 other H312 gods, H430 and serve H5647 them, and worship H7812 them, I testify H5749 against you this day H3117 that ye shall surely H6 perish. H6
20 As the nations H1471 which the LORD H3068 destroyeth H6 before your face, H6440 so shall ye perish; H6 because H6118 ye would not be obedient H8085 unto the voice H6963 of the LORD H3068 your God. H430
1 All the commandment which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers.
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live.
4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
5 And thou shalt consider in thy heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so Jehovah thy God chasteneth thee.
6 And thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
7 For Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills;
8 a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey;
9 a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig copper.
10 And thou shalt eat and be full, and thou shalt bless Jehovah thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
11 Beware lest thou forget Jehovah thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
12 lest, when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
13 and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
14 then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
15 who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, `wherein were' fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
16 who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not; that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end:
17 and `lest' thou say in thy heart, My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth.
18 But thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth; that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as at this day.
19 And it shall be, if thou shalt forget Jehovah thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
20 As the nations that Jehovah maketh to perish before you, so shall ye perish; because ye would not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah your God.
1 `All the command which I am commanding thee to-day ye observe to do, so that ye live, and have multiplied, and gone in, and possessed the land which Jehovah hath sworn to your fathers;
2 and thou hast remembered all the way which Jehovah thy God hath caused thee to go these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble thee to try thee, to know that which `is' in thy heart, whether thou dost keep His commands or not.
3 `And He doth humble thee, and cause thee to hunger and doth cause thee to eat the manna (which thou hast not known, even thy fathers have not known), in order to cause thee to know that not by bread alone doth man live, but by every produce of the mouth of Jehovah man doth live.
4 `Thy raiment hath not worn out from off thee, and thy foot hath not swelled these forty years,
5 and thou hast known, with thy heart, that as a man chastiseth his son Jehovah thy God is chastising thee,
6 and thou hast kept the commands of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him.
7 `For Jehovah thy God is bringing thee in unto a good land, a land of brooks of waters, of fountains, and of depths coming out in valley and in mountain:
8 a land of wheat, and barley, and vine, and fig, and pomegranate; a land of oil olive and honey;
9 a land in which without scarcity thou dost eat bread, thou dost not lack anything in it; a land whose stones `are' iron, and out of its mountains thou dost dig brass;
10 and thou hast eaten, and been satisfied, and hast blessed Jehovah thy God, on the good land which he hath given to thee.
11 `Take heed to thyself, lest thou forget Jehovah thy God so as not to keep His commands, and His judgments, and His statutes which I am commanding thee to-day;
12 lest thou eat, and hast been satisfied, and good houses dost build, and hast inhabited;
13 and thy herd and thy flock be multiplied, and silver and gold be multiplied to thee; and all that is thine be multiplied:
14 `And thy heart hath been high, and thou hast forgotten Jehovah thy God (who is bringing thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants;
15 who is causing thee to go in the great and the terrible wilderness -- burning serpent, and scorpion, and thirst -- where there is no water; who is bringing out to thee waters from the flinty rock;
16 who is causing thee to eat manna in the wilderness, which thy fathers have not known, in order to humble thee, and in order to try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end),
17 and thou hast said in thy heart, My power, and the might of my hand, hath made for me this wealth:
18 `And thou hast remembered Jehovah thy God, for He it `is' who is giving to thee power to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He hath sworn to thy fathers as `at' this day.
19 `And it hath been -- if thou really forget Jehovah thy God, and hast gone after other gods, and served them, and bowed thyself to them, I have testified against you to-day that ye do utterly perish;
20 as the nations whom Jehovah is destroying from your presence, so ye perish; because ye hearken not to the voice of Jehovah your God.
1 Every commandment which I command thee this day shall ye take heed to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and enter in and possess the land which Jehovah swore unto your fathers.
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or not.
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with the manna, which thou hadst not known, and which thy fathers knew not; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by everything that goeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live.
4 Thy clothing grew not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
5 And know in thy heart that, as a man chasteneth his son, so Jehovah thy God chasteneth thee;
6 and thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
7 For Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of water-brooks, of springs, and of deep waters, that gush forth in the valleys and hills;
8 a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey;
9 a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, where thou shalt lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains thou wilt dig copper.
10 And thou shalt eat and be filled, and shalt bless Jehovah thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
11 Beware that thou forget not Jehovah thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command thee this day;
12 lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built and inhabited fine houses,
13 and thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied,
14 then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
15 who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, [a wilderness of] fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there is no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
16 who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
17 -- and thou say in thy heart, My power and the might of my hand has procured me this wealth.
18 But thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God, that it is he who giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget Jehovah thy God, and go after other gods, and serve them, and bow down to them, I testify against you this day that ye shall utterly perish.
20 As the nations which Jehovah is causing to perish before you, so shall ye perish; because ye would not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah your God.
1 All the commandment which I command you this day shall you observe to do, that you may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers.
2 You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not.
3 He humbled you, and allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you didn't know, neither did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh does man live.
4 Your clothing didn't grow old on you, neither did your foot swell, these forty years.
5 You shall consider in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so Yahweh your God chastens you.
6 You shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
7 For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of springs and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills;
8 a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey;
9 a land in which you shall eat bread without scarceness, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.
10 You shall eat and be full, and you shall bless Yahweh your God for the good land which he has given you.
11 Beware lest you forget Yahweh your God, in not keeping his commandments, and his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command you this day:
12 lest, when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses, and lived therein;
13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied;
14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget Yahweh your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
15 who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, [in which were] fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought you forth water out of the rock of flint;
16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers didn't know; that he might humble you, and that he might prove you, to do you good at your latter end:
17 and [lest] you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.
18 But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth; that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as at this day.
19 It shall be, if you shall forget Yahweh your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.
20 As the nations that Yahweh makes to perish before you, so shall you perish; because you wouldn't listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.
1 Take care to keep all the orders which I give you today, so that you may have life and be increased and go in and take as a heritage the land which the Lord, by his oath to your fathers, undertook to give you.
2 And keep in mind the way by which the Lord your God has taken you through the waste land these forty years, so that he might make low your pride and put you to the test, to see what was in your heart and if you would keep his orders or not.
3 And he made low your pride and let you be without food and gave you manna for your food, a thing new to you, which your fathers never saw; so that he might make it clear to you that bread is not man's only need, but his life is in every word which comes out of the mouth of the Lord.
4 Through all these forty years your clothing did not get old or your feet become tired.
5 Keep in mind this thought, that as a son is trained by his father, so you have been trained by the Lord your God.
6 Then keep the orders of the Lord your God, fearing him and walking in his ways.
7 For the Lord your God is guiding you into a good land, a land of water-springs, of fountains, and deep streams flowing out from the valleys and the hills;
8 A land of grain and vines and fig-trees and fair fruits; a land of oil-giving olive-trees and honey;
9 Where there will be bread for you in full measure and you will be in need of nothing; a land where the very stones are iron and from whose hills you may get copper.
10 And you will have food enough and be full, praising the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
11 Then take care that you are not turned away from the Lord your God and from keeping his orders and decisions and laws which I give you this day:
12 And when you have taken food and are full, and have made fair houses for yourselves and are living in them;
13 And when your herds and your flocks are increased, and your stores of silver and gold, and you have wealth of every sort;
14 Take care that your hearts are not lifted up in pride, giving no thought to the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house;
15 Who was your guide through that great and cruel waste, where there were poison-snakes and scorpions and a dry land without water; who made water come out of the hard rock for you;
16 Who gave you manna for your food in the waste land, a food which your fathers had never seen; so that your pride might be broken and your hearts tested for your good in the end;
17 Say not then, in your hearts, My power and the strength of my hands have got me this wealth.
18 But keep in mind the Lord your God: for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth, so that he may give effect to the agreement which he made by his oath with your fathers, as at this day.
19 And it is certain that if at any time you are turned away from the Lord your God, and go after other gods, to be their servants and to give them worship, destruction will overtake you.
20 Like the nations which the Lord is cutting off before you, so you will be cut off; because you would not give ear to the voice of the Lord your God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Deuteronomy 8
Commentary on Deuteronomy 8 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
In addition to the danger of being drawn aside to transgress the covenant, by sparing the Canaanites and their idols out of pusillanimous compassion and false tolerance, the Israelites would be especially in danger, after their settlement in Canaan, of falling into pride and forgetfulness of God, when enjoying the abundant productions of that land. To guard against this danger, Moses set before them how the Lord had sought to lead and train them to obedience by temptations and humiliations during their journey through the desert. In order that his purpose in doing this might be clearly seen, he commenced (Deuteronomy 8:1) with the renewed admonition to keep the whole law which he commanded them that day, that they might live and multiply and attain to the possession of the promised land (cf. Deuteronomy 4:1; Deuteronomy 6:3).
Deuteronomy 8:2
To this end they were to remember the forty years' guidance through the wilderness (Deuteronomy 1:31; Deuteronomy 2:7), by which God desired to humble them, and to prove the state of their heart and their obedience. Humiliation was the way to prove their attitude towards God. ענּה , to humble , i.e., to bring them by means of distress and privations to feel their need of help and their dependence upon God. נסּה , to prove , by placing them in such positions in life as would drive them to reveal what was in their heart, viz., whether they believed in the omnipotence, love, and righteousness of God, or not.
Deuteronomy 8:3
The humiliation in the desert consisted not merely in the fact that God let the people hunger, i.e., be in want of bread and their ordinary food, but also in the fact that He fed them with manna, which was unknown to them and their fathers (cf. Exodus 16:16.). Feeding with manna is called a humiliation, inasmuch as God intended to show to the people through this food, which had previously been altogether unknown to them, that man does not live by bread alone, that the power to sustain life does not rest upon bread only (Isaiah 38:16; Genesis 27:40), or belong simply to it, but to all that goeth forth out of the mouth of Jehovah. That which “ proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah ” is not the word of the law, as the Rabbins suppose, but, as the word כּל (all, every) shows, “ the word ” generally, the revealed will of God to preserve the life of man in whatever way ( Schultz ): hence all means designed and appointed by the Lord for the sustenance of life. In this sense Christ quotes these words in reply to the tempter (Matthew 4:4), not to say to him, The Messiah lives not by (material) bread only, but by the fulfilment of the will of God ( Usteri, Ullmann ), or by trusting in the sustaining word of God ( Olshausen ); but that He left it to God to care for the sustenance of His life, as God could sustain His life in extraordinary ways, even without the common supplies of food, by the power of His almighty word and will.
Deuteronomy 8:4
As the Lord provided for their nourishment, so did He also in a marvellous way for the clothing of His people during these forty years. “ Thy garment did not fall of thee through age, and thy foot did not swell .” בּלה with מן , to fall off from age. בּצק only occurs again in Nehemiah 9:21, where this passage is repeated. The meaning is doubtful. The word is certainly connected with בּצק (dough), and probably signifies to become soft or to swell, although בּצק is also used for unleavened dough. The Septuagint rendering here is ו̓פץכש́טחףבם , to get hard skin; on the other hand, in Nehemiah 9:21, we find the rendering ὑποδήματα αὐτῶν ου ' διεῤῥάγησαν , “their sandals were not worn out,” from the parallel passage in Deuteronomy 29:5. These words affirm something more than “clothes and shoes never failed you,” inasmuch as ye always had wool, hides, leather, and other kinds of material in sufficient quantities for clothes and shoes, as not only J. D. Michaelis and others suppose, but Calmet , and even Kurtz . Knobel is quite correct in observing, that “this would be altogether too trivial a matter by the side of the miraculous supply of manna, and moreover that it is not involved in the expression itself, which rather affirms that their clothes did not wear out upon them, or fall in tatters from their backs, because God gave them a miraculous durability” ( Luther, Calvin, Baumgarten, Schultz, etc.). At the same time, there is no necessity to follow some of the Rabbins and Justin Martyr ( dial . c. Tryph. c. 131), who so magnify the miracle of divine providence, as to maintain not only that the clothes of the Israelites did not get old, but that as the younger generation grew up their clothes also grew upon their backs, like the shells of snails. Nor is it necessary to shut out the different natural resources which the people had at their command for providing clothes and sandals, any more than the gift of manna precluded the use of such ordinary provisions as they were able to procure.
Deuteronomy 8:5
In this way Jehovah humbled and tempted His people, that they might learn in their heart, i.e., convince themselves by experience, that their God was educating them as a father does his son. יסּר , to admonish, chasten, educate; like παιδεύειν . “It includes everything belonging to a proper education” ( Calvin ).
Deuteronomy 8:6
The design of this education was to train them to keep His commandments, that they might walk in His ways and fear Him ( Deuteronomy 6:24).
The Israelites were to continue mindful of this paternal discipline on the part of their God, when the Lord should bring them into the good land of Canaan. This land Moses describes in Deuteronomy 8:8, Deuteronomy 8:9, in contrast with the dry unfruitful desert, as a well-watered and very fruitful land, which yielded abundance of support to its inhabitants; a land of water-brooks, fountains, and floods ( תּהומות , see Genesis 1:2), which had their source (took their rise) in valleys and on mountains; a land of wheat and barley, of the vine, fig, and pomegranate, and full of oil and honey (see at Exodus 3:8); lastly, a land “ in which thou shalt not eat (support thyself) in scarcity, and shalt not be in want of anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains thou hewest brass .” The stones are iron, i.e., ferruginous. This statement is confirmed by modern travellers, although the Israelites did not carry on mining, and do not appear to have obtained either iron or brass from their own land. The iron and brass of which David collected such quantities for the building of the temple (1 Chronicles 22:3, 1 Chronicles 22:14), he procured from Betach and Berotai (2 Samuel 8:8), or Tibchat and Kun (1 Chronicles 18:8), towns of Hadadezer, that is to say, from Syria. According to Ezekiel 27:19, however, the Danites brought iron-work to the market of Tyre. Not only do the springs near Tiberias contain iron ( v. Schubert , R. iii. p. 239), whilst the soil at Hasbeya and the springs in the neighbourhood are also strongly impregnated with iron ( Burckhardt , Syrien , p. 83), but in the southern mountains as well there are probably strata of iron between Jerusalem and Jericho ( Russegger , R. iii. p. 250). But Lebanon especially abounds in iron-stone; iron mines and smelting furnaces being found there in many places ( Volney, Travels; Burckhardt, p. 73; Seetzen , i. pp. 145, 187ff., 237ff.). The basalt also, which occurs in great masses in northern Canaan by the side of the limestone, from the plain of Jezreel onwards (Robinson, iii. p. 313), and is very predominant in Bashan, is a ferruginous stone. Traces of extinct copper-works are also found upon Lebanon ( Volney , Travels; Ritter's Erdkunde , xvii. p. 1063).
But if the Israelites were to eat there and be satisfied, i.e., to live in the midst of plenty, they were to beware of forgetting their God; that when their prosperity - their possessions, in the form of lofty houses, cattle, gold and silver, and other good things - increased, their heart might not be lifted up, i.e., they might not become proud, and, forgetting their deliverance from Egypt and their miraculous preservation and guidance in the desert, ascribe the property they had acquired to their own strength and the work of their own hands. To keep the people from this danger of forgetting God, which follows so easily from the pride of wealth, Moses once more enumerates in Deuteronomy 8:14-16 the manifestations of divine grace, their deliverance from Egypt the slave-house, their being led through the great and terrible desert, whose terrors he depicts by mentioning a series of noxious and even fatal things, such as snakes, burning snakes ( saraph , see at Num 21; 6), scorpions, and the thirsty land where there was no water. The words from נחשׁ , onwards, are attached rhetorically to what precedes by simple apposition, without any logically connecting particle; though it will not do to overlook entirely the rhetorical form of the enumeration, and supply the preposition בּ before נחשׁ and the words which follow, to say nothing of the fact that it would be quite out of character before these nouns in the singular, as a whole people could not go through one serpent, etc. In this parched land the Lord brought he people water out of the flinty rock, the hardest stone, and fed them with manna, to humble them and tempt them (cf. Deuteronomy 8:2), in order (this was the ultimate intention of all the humiliation and trial) “ to do thee good at thy latter end .” The “latter end” of any one is “the time which follows some distinct point in his life, particularly an important epoch-making point, and which may be regarded as the end by contrast, the time before that epoch being considered as the beginning” ( Schultz ). In this instance Moses refers to the period of their life in Canaan, in contrast with which the period of their sojourn in Egypt and their wandering in the desert is recorded as the beginning; consequently the expression does not relate to death as the end of life, as in Numbers 23:10, although this allusion is not to be altogether excluded, as a blessed death is only the completion of a blessed life. - Like all the guidance of Israel by the Lord, what is stated here is applicable to all believers. It is through humiliations and trials that the Lord leads His people to blessedness. Through the desert of tribulation, anxiety, distress, and merciful interposition, He conducts them to Canaan, into the land of rest, where they are refreshed and satisfied in the full enjoyment of the blessings of His grace and salvation; but those alone who continue humble, not attributing the good fortune and prosperity to which they attain at last, to their own exertion, strength, perseverance, and wisdom, but gratefully enjoying this good as a gift of the grace of God. חיל עשׂה , to create property, to prosper in wealth (as in Numbers 24:18). God gave strength for this (Deuteronomy 8:18), not because of Israel's merit and worthiness, but to fulfil His promises which He had made on oath to the patriarchs. “As this day,” as was quite evident then, when the establishment of the covenant had already commenced, and Israel had come through the desert to the border of Canaan (see Deuteronomy 4:20).
To strengthen his admonition, Moses pointed again in conclusion, as he had already done in Deuteronomy 6:14 (cf. Deuteronomy 4:25.), to the destruction which would come upon Israel through apostasy from its God.