Deuteronomy 4:44

The Setting and Introduction of the Covenant

4:44 This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites. ¹ 

Deuteronomy 5:7

5:7 You must not have any other gods ²  besides me. ³ 

Deuteronomy 6:19

6:19 and that you may drive out all your enemies just as the Lord said.

Deuteronomy 11:26

Anticipation of a Blessing and Cursing Ceremony

11:26 Take note – I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 27:7

27:7 Also you must offer fellowship offerings and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God.

[4:44]  ¹ tn Heb “the sons of Israel” (likewise in the following verse).

[5:7]  ² tn Heb “there must not be for you other gods.” The expression “for you” indicates possession.

[5:7]  ³ tn Heb “upon my face,” or “before me” (עַל־פָּנָיַ, ’al-panaya). Some understand this in a locative sense: “in my sight.” The translation assumes that the phrase indicates exclusion. The idea is that of placing any other god before the Lord in the sense of taking his place. Contrary to the view of some, this does not leave the door open for a henotheistic system where the Lord is the primary god among others. In its literary context the statement must be taken in a monotheistic sense. See, e.g., 4:39; 6:13-15.

[11:26]  ³ sn A blessing and a curse. Every extant treaty text of the late Bronze Age attests to a section known as the “blessings and curses,” the former for covenant loyalty and the latter for covenant breach. Blessings were promised rewards for obedience; curses were threatened judgments for disobedience. In the Book of Deuteronomy these are fully developed in 27:1–28:68. Here Moses adumbrates the whole by way of anticipation.