Deuteronomy 7:6-8

7:6 For you are a people holy ¹  to the Lord your God. He ²  has chosen you to be his people, prized ³  above all others on the face of the earth.

The Basis of Israel’s Election

7:7 It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you – for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. 7:8 Rather it is because of his ⁴  love ⁵  for you and his faithfulness to the promise ⁶  he solemnly vowed ⁷  to your ancestors ⁸  that the Lord brought you out with great power, ⁹  redeeming ¹⁰  you from the place of slavery, from the power ¹¹  of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 10:15

10:15 However, only to your ancestors did he ¹²  show his loving favor, ¹³  and he chose you, their descendants, ¹⁴  from all peoples – as is apparent today.

Deuteronomy 32:8-14

32:8 When the Most High ¹⁵  gave the nations their inheritance,

when he divided up humankind, ¹⁶ 

he set the boundaries of the peoples,

according to the number of the heavenly assembly. ¹⁷ 

32:9 For the Lord’s allotment is his people,

Jacob is his special possession. ¹⁸ 

32:10 The Lord ¹⁹  found him ²⁰  in a desolate land,

in an empty wasteland where animals howl. ²¹ 

He continually guarded him ²²  and taught him; ²³ 

he continually protected him ²⁴  like the pupil ²⁵  of his eye.

32:11 Like an eagle that stirs up ²⁶  its nest,

that hovers over its young,

so the Lord ²⁷  spread out his wings and took him, ²⁸ 

he lifted him up on his pinions.

32:12 The Lord alone was guiding him, ²⁹ 

no foreign god was with him.

32:13 He enabled him ³⁰  to travel over the high terrain of the land,

and he ate of the produce of the fields.

He provided honey for him from the cliffs, ³¹ 

and olive oil ³²  from the hardest of ³³  rocks, ³⁴ 

32:14 butter from the herd

and milk from the flock,

along with the fat of lambs,

rams and goats of Bashan,

along with the best of the kernels of wheat;

and from the juice of grapes you drank wine.

Isaiah 41:8-9

The Lord Encourages His People

41:8 “You, my servant Israel,

Jacob whom I have chosen,

offspring of Abraham my friend, ³⁵ 

41:9 you whom I am bringing back ³⁶  from the earth’s extremities,

and have summoned from the remote regions –

I told you, “You are my servant.”

I have chosen you and not rejected you.

Isaiah 43:4

43:4 Since you are precious and special in my sight, ³⁷ 

and I love you,

I will hand over people in place of you,

nations in place of your life.

Jeremiah 31:3

31:3 In a far-off land the Lord will manifest himself to them.

He will say to them, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love.

That is why I have continued to be faithful to you. ³⁸ 

Romans 11:28-29

11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 11:29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

[7:6]  ¹ tn That is, “set apart.”

[7:6]  ² tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[7:6]  ³ tn Or “treasured” (so NIV, NRSV); NLT “his own special treasure.” The Hebrew term סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah) describes Israel as God’s choice people, those whom he elected and who are most precious to him (cf. Exod 19:4-6; Deut 14:2; 26:18; 1 Chr 29:3; Ps 135:4; Eccl 2:8 Mal 3:17). See E. Carpenter, NIDOTTE 3:224.

[7:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on “He” in 7:6.

[7:8]  ⁵ tn For the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.

[7:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).

[7:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “swore on oath.”

[7:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).

[7:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “by a strong hand” (NAB similar); NLT “with such amazing power.”

[7:8]  ¹⁰ sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root פָּדָה, padah) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the Lord as ransom in exchange for deliverance from bondage and death (Exod 12:1-14). Later, the firstborn sons of Israel, represented by the Levites, became the ransom (Num 3:11-13). These were all types of the redemption effected by the death of Christ who described his atoning work as “a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; cf. 1 Pet 1:18).

[7:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NRSV), a metaphor for power or domination.

[10:15]  ¹² tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 10:4.

[10:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “take delight to love.” Here again the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “love”), juxtaposed with בָחַר (bakhar, “choose”), is a term in covenant contexts that describes the Lord’s initiative in calling the patriarchal ancestors to be the founders of a people special to him (cf. the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37).

[10:15]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text includes “after them,” but it is redundant in English style and has not been included in the translation.

[32:8]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term עֶליוֹן (’elyon) is an abbreviated form of the divine name El Elyon, frequently translated “God Most High” (so here NCV, CEV) or something similar. This full name (or epithet) occurs only in Gen 14, though the two elements are parallel in Ps 73:11; 107:11; etc. Here it is clear that Elyon has to do with the nations in general whereas in v. 9, by contrast, Yahweh relates specifically to Israel. See T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:400-401. The title depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world, who is enthroned high above his dominion.

[32:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the sons of man” (so NASB); or “the sons of Adam” (so KJV).

[32:8]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “the sons of Israel.” The idea, perhaps, is that Israel was central to Yahweh’s purposes and all other nations were arranged and distributed according to how they related to Israel. See S. R. Driver, Deuteronomy (ICC), 355-56. For the MT יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי (bÿney yisra’el, “sons of Israel”) a Qumran fragment has “sons of God,” while the LXX reads ἀγγέλων θεοῦ (angelwn qeou, “angels of God”), presupposing בְּנֵי אֵל (bÿney ’el) or בְּנֵי אֵלִים (beney ’elim). “Sons of God” is undoubtedly the original reading; the MT and LXX have each interpreted it differently. MT assumes that the expression “sons of God” refers to Israel (cf. Hos. 1:10), while LXX has assumed that the phrase refers to the angelic heavenly assembly (Pss 29:1; 89:6; cf. as well Ps 82). The phrase is also attested in Ugaritic, where it refers to the high god El’s divine assembly. According to the latter view, which is reflected in the translation, the Lord delegated jurisdiction over the nations to his angelic host (cf. Dan. 10:13-21), while reserving for himself Israel, over whom he rules directly. For a defense of the view taken here, see M. S. Heiser, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” BSac 158 (2001): 52-74.

[32:9]  ¹⁸ tc Heb “the portion of his inheritance.” The LXX and Smr add “Israel” and BHS suggests the reconstruction: “The Lord’s allotment is Jacob, the portion of his inheritance is Israel” (cf. NAB). While providing good parallelism, it destroys a fine chiastic structure: “allotment” (a), “his people” (b), “Jacob (b’), and “inheritance” (a’).

[32:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:10]  ²⁰ tn The reference is to “his people/Jacob” (cf. v. 9), that is, Israel (using a collective singular). The singular pronouns are replaced by plural ones throughout vv. 10-14 by some English versions as an aid to the modern reader (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT).

[32:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “in an empty, howling wasteland.” The word “howling” is derived from a verbal root that typically refers to the wailing of mourners. Here it likely refers to the howling of desert animals, or perhaps to the howling wind, in which case one may translate, “in an empty, windy wasteland.”

[32:10]  ²² tn Heb “was surrounding him.” 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 care during the period in view. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.

[32:10]  ²³ tn Heb “he gave him understanding.” The form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.

[32:10]  ²⁴ 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 protection during the period in view. See A. F. Rainey, “The Ancient Hebrew Prefix Conjugation in the Light of Amarnah Canaanite,” Hebrew Studies 27 (1986): 15-16.

[32:10]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the little man.” The term אִישׁוֹן (’ishon) means literally “little man,” perhaps because when one looks into another’s eyes he sees himself reflected there in miniature. See A. Harman, NIDOTTE 1:391.

[32:11]  ²⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form is an imperfect, indicating habitual or typical behavior. The parallel verb (cf. “hovers” in the next line) is used in the same manner.

[32:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:11]  ²⁸ tn The form of the suffix on this and the following verb forms (cf. “lifted him up”) indicates that the verbs are preterites, not imperfects. As such they simply state the action factually. The use of the preterite here suggests that the preceding verb (cf. “spread out”) is preterite as well.

[32:12]  ²⁹ 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.

[32:13]  ³⁰ tn The form of the suffix on this verbal form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. Note as well the preterites with vav (ו) consecutive that follow in the verse.

[32:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “he made him suck honey from the rock.”

[32:13]  ³² tn Heb “oil,” but this probably refers to olive oil; see note on the word “rock” at the end of this verse.

[32:13]  ³³ tn Heb “flinty.”

[32:13]  ³⁴ sn Olive oil from rock probably suggests olive trees growing on rocky ledges and yet doing so productively. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 415; cf. TEV “their olive trees flourished in stony ground.”

[41:8]  ³⁵ tn Or perhaps, “covenantal partner” (see 1 Kgs 5:15 HT [5:1 ET]; 2 Chr 20:7).

[41:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “whom I have taken hold of [i.e., to lead back].”

[43:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Since you are precious in my eyes and you are honored.”

[31:3]  ³⁸ tn Or “The people of Israel who survived the onslaughts of Egypt and Amalek found favor in the wilderness as they journeyed to find rest. At that time long ago the Lord manifested himself to them. He said, ‘I have…That is why I have drawn you to myself through my unfailing kindness.’” For the basis for each of these translations see the translator’s note. There is debate whether the reference here is to God’s preservation of Israel during their wandering in the Sinai desert or his promise to protect and preserve them on their return through the Arabian desert on the way back from Assyria and Babylon (see e.g., Isa 42:14-16; 43:16-21; Jer 16:14-15; 23:7-8). The only finite verbs in vv. 2-3a before the introduction of the quote are perfects which can denote either a past act or a future act viewed as certain of fulfillment (the prophetic perfect; see GKC 312-13 §106.n and see examples in Jer 11:16; 13:17; 25:14; 28:4). The phrase at the beginning of v. 3 can either refer to temporal (cf. BDB 935 s.v. רָחוֹק 2.b and Isa 22:11) or spatial distance (cf. BDB 935 s.v. רָחוֹק 2.a[2] and Isa 5:29; 59:14). The verb in the final clause in v. 3 can refer to either the continuance of God’s love as in Ps 36:10 (cf. BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ Qal.5) or drawing someone to him in electing, caring love as in Hos 11:4 (cf. BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ Qal.1). The translation has opted for the prophetic reference to future deliverance because of the preceding context, the use of מֵרָחוֹק (merakhoq) to refer to the far off land of exile in Jer 30:10; 46:27; 51:50, and the reference to survivors from the sword being called on to remember the Lord in that far off land in 51:50.