Deuteronomy 4:32-35

The Uniqueness of Israel’s God

4:32 Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankind ¹  on the earth, and ask ²  from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it. 4:33 Have a people ever heard the voice of God speaking from the middle of fire, as you yourselves have, and lived to tell about it? 4:34 Or has God ³  ever before tried to deliver ⁴  a nation from the middle of another nation, accompanied by judgments, ⁵  signs, wonders, war, strength, power, ⁶  and other very terrifying things like the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 4:35 You have been taught that the Lord alone is God – there is no other besides him.

Deuteronomy 7:18-19

7:18 you must not fear them. You must carefully recall ⁷  what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt, 7:19 the great judgments ⁸  you saw, the signs and wonders, the strength and power ⁹  by which he ¹⁰  brought you out – thus the Lord your God will do to all the people you fear.

Nehemiah 9:9-11

9:9 “You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cry at the Red Sea. ¹¹  9:10 You performed awesome signs ¹²  against Pharaoh, against his servants, and against all the people of his land, for you knew that the Egyptians ¹³  had acted presumptuously ¹⁴  against them. You made for yourself a name that is celebrated to this day. 9:11 You split the sea before them, and they crossed through ¹⁵  the sea on dry ground! But you threw their pursuers ¹⁶  into the depths, like a stone into surging ¹⁷  waters.

[4:32]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term אָדָם (’adam) may refer either to Adam or, more likely, to “man” in the sense of the human race (“mankind,” “humankind”). The idea here seems more universal in scope than reference to Adam alone would suggest.

[4:32]  ² tn The verb is not present in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification. The challenge has both temporal and geographical dimensions. The people are challenged to (1) inquire about the entire scope of past history and (2) conduct their investigation on a worldwide scale.

[4:34]  ³ tn The translation assumes the reference is to Israel’s God in which case the point is this: God’s intervention in Israel’s experience is unique in the sense that he has never intervened in such power for any other people on earth. The focus is on the uniqueness of Israel’s experience. Some understand the divine name here in a generic sense, “a god,” or “any god.” In this case God’s incomparability is the focus (cf. v. 35, where this theme is expressed).

[4:34]  ⁴ tn Heb “tried to go to take for himself.”

[4:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “by testings.” The reference here is the judgments upon Pharaoh in the form of plagues. See Deut 7:19 (cf. v. 18) and 29:3 (cf. v. 2).

[4:34]  ⁶ tn Heb “by strong hand and by outstretched arm.”

[7:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “recalling, you must recall.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis. Cf. KJV, ASV “shalt well remember.”

[7:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “testings” (so NAB), a reference to the plagues. See note at 4:34.

[7:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “the strong hand and outstretched arm.” See 4:34.

[7:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[9:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Sea of Reeds.” Traditionally this is identified as the Red Sea, and the modern designation has been used in the translation for clarity.

[9:10]  ¹² tn Heb “signs and wonders.” This phrase is a hendiadys. The second noun functions adjectivally, while the first noun retains its full nominal sense: “awesome signs” or “miraculous signs.”

[9:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Egyptians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:10]  ¹⁴ tn Or “arrogantly” (so NASB); NRSV “insolently.”

[9:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the midst of.”

[9:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “those who pursued them.”

[9:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “mighty.”