Deuteronomy 1:32

1:32 However, through all this you did not have confidence in the Lord your God,

Deuteronomy 5:2

5:2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

Deuteronomy 6:4

The Essence of the Covenant Principles

6:4 Listen, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! ¹ 

Deuteronomy 32:3

32:3 For I will proclaim the name ²  of the Lord;

you must acknowledge the greatness of our God.

Deuteronomy 32:12

32:12 The Lord alone was guiding him, ³ 

no foreign god was with him.

¹ tn Heb “the Lord, our God, the Lord, one.” (1) One option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT). This would be an affirmation that the Lord was the sole object of their devotion. This interpretation finds support from the appeals to loyalty that follow (vv. 5, 14). (2) Another option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is unique.” In this case the text would be affirming the people’s allegiance to the Lord, as well as the Lord’s superiority to all other gods. It would also imply that he is the only one worthy of their worship. Support for this view comes from parallel texts such as Deut 7:9 and 10:17, as well as the use of “one” in Song 6:8-9, where the starstruck lover declares that his beloved is unique (literally, “one,” that is, “one of a kind”) when compared to all other women.

¹ tc Smr and Tg read “in the name.”

¹ tn The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing guidance during the period in view.