Deuteronomy 10:8

10:8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi ¹  to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings ²  in his name, as they do to this very day.

Deuteronomy 10:1

The Opportunity to Begin Again

10:1 At that same time the Lord said to me, “Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark. ³ 

Deuteronomy 16:21-22

Examples of Legal Cases

16:21 You must not plant any kind of tree as a sacred Asherah pole ⁴  near the altar of the Lord your God which you build for yourself. 16:22 You must not erect a sacred pillar, ⁵  a thing the Lord your God detests.

Deuteronomy 16:2

16:2 You must sacrifice the Passover animal ⁶  (from the flock or the herd) to the Lord your God in the place where he ⁷  chooses to locate his name.

Deuteronomy 29:11

29:11 your infants, your wives, and the ⁸  foreigners living in your encampment, those who chop wood and those who carry water –

[10:8]  ¹ sn The Lord set apart the tribe of Levi. This was not the initial commissioning of the tribe of Levi to this ministry (cf. Num 3:11-13; 8:12-26), but with Aaron’s death it seemed appropriate to Moses to reiterate Levi’s responsibilities. There is no reference in the Book of Numbers to this having been done, but the account of Eleazar’s succession to the priesthood there (Num 20:25-28) would provide a setting for this to have occurred.

[10:8]  ² sn To formulate blessings. The most famous example of this is the priestly “blessing formula” of Num 6:24-26.

[10:1]  ³ tn Or “chest” (so NIV, CEV); NLT “sacred chest”; TEV “wooden box.” This chest was made of acacia wood; it is later known as the ark of the covenant.

[16:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “an Asherah, any tree.”

[16:22]  ⁵ sn Sacred pillar. This refers to the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5.

[16:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “sacrifice the Passover” (so NASB). The word “animal” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in the previous verse.

[29:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “your.”