Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Exhortation to Teach the Covenant Principles

6:6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 6:7 and you must teach ¹  them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, ²  as you lie down, and as you get up. 6:8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm ³  and fasten them as symbols ⁴  on your forehead. 6:9 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates. ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 32:46

32:46 he said to them, “Keep in mind all the words I am solemnly proclaiming to you today; you must command your children to observe carefully all the words of this law.

Exodus 13:9

13:9 ⁶  It ⁷  will be a sign ⁸  for you on your hand and a memorial ⁹  on your forehead, ¹⁰  so that the law of the Lord may be ¹¹  in your mouth, ¹²  for ¹³  with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

Exodus 13:16

13:16 It will be for a sign on your hand and for frontlets ¹⁴  on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” ¹⁵ 

Psalms 119:11

119:11 In my heart I store up ¹⁶  your words, ¹⁷ 

so I might not sin against you.

Proverbs 3:1

Exhortations to Seek Wisdom and Walk with the Lord ¹⁸ 

3:1 My child, ¹⁹  do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep ²⁰  my commandments,

Proverbs 6:20-23

6:20 My child, guard the commands of your father

and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.

6:21 Bind them ²¹  on your heart continually;

fasten them around your neck.

6:22 When you walk about, ²²  they ²³  will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

when you wake up, ²⁴  they will talk ²⁵  to you.

6:23 For the commandments ²⁶  are like ²⁷  a lamp, ²⁸ 

instruction is like a light,

and rebukes of discipline are like ²⁹  the road leading to life, ³⁰ 

Proverbs 7:2-3

7:2 Keep my commands ³¹  so that you may live, ³² 

and obey ³³  my instruction as your most prized possession. ³⁴ 

7:3 Bind them on your forearm; ³⁵ 

write them on the tablet of your heart. ³⁶ 

Colossians 3:16

3:16 Let the word of Christ ³⁷  dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace ³⁸  in your hearts to God.

Hebrews 2:1-2

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2:2 For if the message spoken through angels ³⁹  proved to be so firm that every violation ⁴⁰  or disobedience received its just penalty,

Hebrews 1:12

1:12 and like a robe you will fold them up

and like a garment ⁴¹  they will be changed,

but you are the same and your years will never run out.” ⁴² 

Hebrews 3:1-2

Jesus and Moses

3:1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, ⁴³  partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess, ⁴⁴  3:2 who is faithful to the one who appointed him, as Moses was also in God’s ⁴⁵  house. ⁴⁶ 

[6:7]  ¹ tn Heb “repeat” (so NLT). If from the root I שָׁנַן (shanan), the verb means essentially to “engrave,” that is, “to teach incisively” (Piel); note NAB “Drill them into your children.” Cf. BDB 1041-42 s.v.

[6:7]  ² tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”

[6:8]  ³ sn Tie them as a sign on your forearm. Later Jewish tradition referred to the little leather containers tied to the forearms and foreheads as tefillin. They were to contain the following passages from the Torah: Exod 13:1-10, 11-16; Deut 6:5-9; 11:13-21. The purpose was to serve as a “sign” of covenant relationship and obedience.

[6:8]  ⁴ sn Fasten them as symbols on your forehead. These were also known later as tefillin (see previous note) or phylacteries (from the Greek term). These box-like containers, like those on the forearms, held the same scraps of the Torah. It was the hypocritical practice of wearing these without heartfelt sincerity that caused Jesus to speak scathingly about them (cf. Matt 23:5).

[6:9]  ⁵ sn The Hebrew term מְזוּזֹת (mÿzuzot) refers both to the door frames and to small cases attached on them containing scripture texts (always Deut 6:4-9 and 11:13-21; and sometimes the decalogue; Exod 13:1-10, 11-16; and Num 10:35-36). See J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy (JPSTC), 443-44.

[13:9]  ⁶ sn This passage has, of course, been taken literally by many devout Jews, and portions of the text have been encased in phylacteries and bound on the arm and forehead. B. Jacob (Exodus, 368), weighing the pros and cons of the literal or the figurative meaning, says that those who took it literally should not be looked down on for their symbolic work. In many cases, he continues, it is the spirit that kills and the letter makes alive – because people who argue against a literal usage do so to excuse lack of action. This is a rather interesting twist in the discussion. The point of the teaching was obviously meant to keep the Law of Yahweh in the minds of the people, to remind them of their duties.

[13:9]  ⁷ tn That is, this ceremony.

[13:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “for a sign.”

[13:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “for a memorial.”

[13:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “between your eyes” (KJV and ASV both similar); the same expression occurs in v. 16.

[13:9]  ¹¹ tn The purpose of using this ceremony as a sign and a memorial is that the Law might be in their mouth. The imperfect tense, then, receives the classification of final imperfect in the purpose clause.

[13:9]  ¹² sn “Mouth” is a metonymy of cause; the point is that they should be ever talking about the Law as their guide as they go about their duties (see Deut 6:7; 11:19; Josh 1:8).

[13:9]  ¹³ tn This causal clause gives the reason for what has just been instructed. Because Yahweh delivered them from bondage, he has the strongest claims on their life.

[13:16]  ¹⁴ tn The word is טוֹטָפֹת (totafot, “frontlets”). The etymology is uncertain, but the word denotes a sign or an object placed on the forehead (see m. Shabbat 6:1). The Gemara interprets it as a band that goes from ear to ear. In the Targum to 2 Sam 1:10 it is an armlet worn by Saul (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). These bands may have resembled the Egyptian practice of wearing as amulets “forms of words written on folds of papyrus tightly rolled up and sewn in linen” (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:384).

[13:16]  ¹⁵ sn The pattern of the passage now emerges more clearly; it concerns the grateful debt of the redeemed. In the first part eating the unleavened bread recalls the night of deliverance in Egypt, and it calls for purity. In the second part the dedication of the firstborn was an acknowledgment of the deliverance of the firstborn from bondage. They were to remember the deliverance and choose purity; they were to remember the deliverance and choose dedication. The NT will also say, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price, therefore, glorify God” (1 Cor 6:20). Here too the truths of God’s great redemption must be learned well and retained well from generation to generation.

[119:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “hide.”

[119:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your word.” Some medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural, “your words.”

[3:1]  ¹⁸ sn The chapter begins with an introductory exhortation (1-4), followed by an admonition to be faithful to the Lord (5-12). Wisdom is commended as the most valuable possession (13-18), essential to creation (19-20), and the way to a long and safe life (21-26). There then follows a warning to avoid unneighborliness (27-30) and emulating the wicked (31-35).

[3:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 11, 21).

[3:1]  ²⁰ tn The verb יִצֹּר (yitsor) is a Qal jussive and the noun לִבֶּךָ (libbekha, “your heart”) functions as the subject: “let your heart keep my commandments.”

[6:21]  ²¹ sn The figures used here are hypocatastases (implied comparisons). There may also be an allusion to Deut 6 where the people were told to bind the law on their foreheads and arms. The point here is that the disciple will never be without these instructions. See further, P. W. Skehan, Studies in Israelite Poetry and Wisdom (CBQMS), 1-8.

[6:22]  ²² tn The verbal form is the Hitpael infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffixed subjective genitive to form a temporal clause. The term הָלַךְ (halakh) in this verbal stem means “to go about; to go to and fro.” The use of these terms in v. 22 also alludes to Deut 6:7.

[6:22]  ²³ tn Heb “it will guide you.” The verb is singular and the instruction is the subject.

[6:22]  ²⁴ tn In both of the preceding cola an infinitive construct was used for the temporal clauses; now the construction uses a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. The verb would then be equivalent to an imperfect tense, but subordinated as a temporal clause here.

[6:22]  ²⁵ sn The Hebrew verb means “talk” in the sense of “to muse; to complain; to meditate”; cf. TEV, NLT “advise you.” Instruction bound to the heart will speak to the disciple on awaking.

[6:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the commandment” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[6:23]  ²⁷ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[6:23]  ²⁸ sn The terms “lamp,” “light,” and “way” are all metaphors. The positive teachings and commandments will illumine or reveal to the disciple the way to life; the disciplinary correctives will provide guidance into fullness of life.

[6:23]  ²⁹ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[6:23]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the way of life” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NLT “the way to life.” The noun “life” is a genitive following the construct “way.” It could be an attributive genitive modifying the kind of way/course of life that instruction provides, but it could also be objective in that the course of life followed would produce and lead to life.

[7:2]  ³¹ tc Before v. 2 the LXX inserts: “My son, fear the Lord and you will be strong, and besides him, fear no other.” Although this addition has the precedent of 3:7 and 9 and harmonizes with 14:26, it does not fit here; the advice is to listen to the teacher.

[7:2]  ³² tn The construction of an imperative with the vav (ו) of sequence after another imperative denotes a logical sequence of purpose or result: “that you may live,” or “and you will live.”

[7:2]  ³³ tn The term “obey” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied for the sake of clarity and smoothness. Some English versions, in light of the second line of v. 1, supply “guard” (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT).

[7:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the little man in your eye.” Traditionally this Hebrew idiom is translated into English as “the apple of your eye” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); a more contemporary rendering would be “as your most prized possession.” The word for “man” has the diminutive ending on it. It refers to the pupil, where the object focused on – a man – is reflected in miniature. The point is that the teaching must be the central focus of the disciple’s vision and attention.

[7:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “fingers” (so KJV and many other English versions). In light of Deut 6:8, “fingers” appears to be a metonymy for the lower part of the arm.

[7:3]  ³⁶ sn This is an allusion to Deut 6:8. Binding the teachings on the fingers and writing them on the tablets here are implied comparisons for preserving the teaching in memory so that it can be recalled and used with ease.

[3:16]  ³⁷ tc Since “the word of Christ” occurs nowhere else in the NT, two predictable variants arose: “word of God” and “word of the Lord.” Even though some of the witnesses for these variants are impressive (κυρίου [kuriou, “of the Lord”] in א* I 1175 pc bo; θεοῦ [qeou, “of God”] in A C* 33 104 323 945 al), the reading Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “of Christ”) is read by an excellent cross-section of witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א² B C² D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï lat sa). On both internal and external grounds, Χριστοῦ is strongly preferred.

[3:16]  ³⁸ tn Grk “with grace”; “all” is supplied as it is implicitly related to all the previous instructions in the verse.

[2:2]  ³⁹ sn The message spoken through angels refers to the OT law, which according to Jewish tradition was mediated to Moses through angels (cf. Deut 33:2; Ps 68:17-18; Acts 7:38, 53; Gal 3:19; and Jub. 1:27, 29; Josephus, Ant. 15.5.3 [15.136]).

[2:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “through angels became valid and every violation.”

[1:12]  ⁴¹ tc The words “like a garment” (ὡς ἱμάτιον, Jw" Jimation) are found in excellent and early mss (Ì⁴⁶ א A B D* 1739) though absent in a majority of witnesses (D¹ Ψ 0243 0278 33 1881 Ï lat sy bo). Although it is possible that longer reading was produced by overzealous scribes who wanted to underscore the frailty of creation, it is much more likely that the shorter reading was produced by scribes who wanted to conform the wording to that of Ps 102:26 (101:27 LXX), which here lacks the second “like a garment.” Both external and internal considerations decidedly favor the longer reading, and point to the author of Hebrews as the one underscoring the difference between the Son and creation.

[1:12]  ⁴² sn A quotation from Ps 102:25-27.

[3:1]  ⁴³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[3:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “of our confession.”

[3:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “his”; in the translation the referent (God) has been specified for clarity.

[3:2]  ⁴⁶ tc ‡ The reading adopted by the translation follows a few early mss and some versions (Ì^13,46vid B vg^ms co Ambr). The majority of mss (א A C D Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy) insert “all” (“in all his house”), apparently in anticipation of Heb 3:5 which quotes directly from Num 12:7. On balance, the omission better explains the rise of ὅλῳ ({olw, “all”) than vice versa. NA²⁷ puts ὅλῳ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.