Deuteronomy 4:7-8

Context
4:7 In fact, what other great nation has a god so near to them like the Lord our God whenever we call on him? 4:8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just¹ as this whole law² that I am about to share with³ you today?

Deuteronomy 4:34-36

Context
4:34 Or has God⁴ ever before tried to deliver⁵ a nation from the middle of another nation, accompanied by judgments,⁶ signs, wonders, war, strength, power,⁷ 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. 4:36 From heaven he spoke to you in order to teach you, and on earth he showed you his great fire from which you also heard his words.⁸

[4:8] ¹tn Or “pure”; or “fair”; Heb “righteous.”

[4:8] ²tn The Hebrew phrase הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (hattorah hazzo’t), in this context, refers specifically to the Book of Deuteronomy. That is, it is the collection of all the חֻקִּים (khuqqim, “statutes,” 4:1) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, “ordinances,” 4:1) to be included in the covenant text. In a full canonical sense, of course, it pertains to the entire Pentateuch or Torah.

[4:8] ³tn Heb “place before.”

[4:34] ⁴tn 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] ⁵tn Heb “tried to go to take for himself.”

[4:34] ⁶tn 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] ⁷tn Heb “by strong hand and by outstretched arm.”

[4:36] ⁸tn Heb “and his words you heard from the midst of the fire.”