The+Importance+of+Shema

= toc ** TOPIC ONE: ** The importance of the Shema, in the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) =

INTRODUCTION
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5 known as The Shema, is one of the most influential and well-known passages in the Old Testament. “These words sum up the purpose of worship, and of life itself, which was set before the citizens of Israel”. It affirms the unity and supremacy of God, and therefore the dedication that the Israelites owe Him. The Jews hang it on the doorpost of their homes, recite it daily and incorporate it in congregational worship. This passage constitutes the core of the Old Testament Law and the basis upon which all the other laws and theological ideas are based upon. Consequently, it is a passage worth studying, and digging into in order to gain a fuller understanding of the meaning found in these two verses.

DIVISION OF THE SHEMA: ATTENTIVENESS TO GOD
The Shema has three parts: a call for Israel to heed the words of God, a claim of absolute supremacy by God, and then a challenge to love the Lord. The first, is a call to “Hear, O Israel:” They are standing in the same place their fathers stood 40 years previously and now have the chance to obey the God of their fathers. The previous generation failed to hear the call of the Lord, now they have a second chance. However, this is not just a call to hear, it is a command to obey. If the Israelites hear this commandment and do not heed it, then they may as well have not heard in the first place. They must listen and then they must obey the Lord’s instruction.

UNIQUE SINGULARITY OF THE LORD
“The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” There is some debate over the precise wording of this phrase concerning the nature of Yahweh. Directly translated from the Hebrew, it states ‘Yahweh our God Yahweh one’ which could be translated a few different ways each containing a slightly different emphasis on a specific characteristic of the Lord. The most widely accepted translation is ‘The Lord our God, the Lord is one’ which points to the absolute unity and supremacy of Yahweh in contrast to the many other false gods acknowledged amongst the nations. Israel’s relationship with Yahweh “was to be dominated by the knowledge that Yahweh the God is Israel was unique. He was distinct from every other form of god worshipped by men, and was not to be confused with such non-Israelite deities. Under no circumstances could he be set alongside them, to share with them the devotion of men’s hearts, nor could he himself be divided up into a number of forms, or manifestations, of the one God.” The fact that Yahweh is one proclaims to the Israelites that he is not simply the most powerful of all the gods; He is the only God. He does not compete for the most powerful position, He has the only position. This truth had both practical and theological implications for the Israelites. Pragmatically speaking the people of Israel had already witnessed the Lords supreme power over other gods. During the 10 plagues preceding the Exodus, the Lord had specifically targeted and proved himself supreme over the Egyptian gods. From a theological stance, this points to the omnipotent nature of God. “Thus the primary reference is not to the metaphysical Oneness of the deity, but to Yahweh’s claim to total and undivided loyalty”. This loyalty is expounded upon in the Lord’s challenge to Israel to love him with every part of their life.

SHEMA EXPANDED IN DEUTERONOMY
The theme of loving Yahweh is central to the entire book of Deuteronomy, and the themes found in The Shema are expounded on in other specific passages of Deuteronomy. Even before the Shema is introduced we find passages which make the unique divinity of God absolutely clear. Deuteronomy 4:35 establishes the fact that Yahweh is the only God. He is not the most powerful god in existence; He is the only God who exists. This idea is cemented in verse 39, where all the people of Israel are called to devote themselves entirely to Him since He is the only one worthy of their praise. Thus one cannot have any doubt as to the meaning of the Shema when it says that the Lord is God alone. After the Shema is pronounced in Deuteronomy 6, and established as the center of the Law, it is reiterated in chapters 10, 11, and 30. In 10:12 God states the command to love Him with all of one’s heart and soul which is the essence of circumcising one’s heart, yet Moses has also made it clear that Israel does not have the ability to circumcise their own hearts; Deuteronomy 11:13 promises blessing to the people of Israel if they fulfill the commandment of the Shema to love the Lord their God with all their heart and soul. But once again, Israel is faced with the contrasting reality that they cannot fulfill the command of the Lord. This tension is released in chapter 30:6. The Lord proclaims that He will circumcise the heart of the nation of Israel for them thus enabling them to love the Lord with all their heart and soul. Here is found hope for the nation of Israel, and the glorification of their God; they cannot fulfill the most central and critical commandment of the Law, and thus they will fail to keep the entire Law. However, by the grace of God He will change the heart of the people of Israel, and thus enable them to fulfill the Law and receive the blessings He has promised them.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">CONNECTION BETWEEN LOVE AND OBEDIENCE
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The rest of the commands and calls to obedience will never be fulfilled if a deep and sincere love for the Lord is not in place first. Loving the Lord is dependent on obedience and belief in Him; it is all connected. If they do not obey it means that they do not believe and if they do not believe it means they do not love him. Love is at the center of the entire law, and the Israelites are commanded to love Yahweh. But //how// are they to love Him? “The idea of commanding a feeling is not foreign to the Torah, which assumes that people can cultivate proper attitude of love for God in Deuteronomy is not only an emotional attachment to Him, but something that expresses itself in action.”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The Israelites are charged to love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, and might. Three words, which when properly understood give a comprehensive understanding of what was expected of the Israelites. The word “heart” (lebab) refers not only to the physical heart, but to the inner core of one’s personality. So to “love Yahweh with the whole heart means to open to God all the processes of thinking, feeling, and deciding, to be shaped and honed as instruments aligned to God’s purposes”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. “Soul” (nephesh) does not refer to the immortal part of humans, but to that principle of life common to humans and animals; it is relation to emotions and desires. To love God with one’s soul means that we place all of our feelings and desires at the feet of God and conform them to His will. Finally, the word “might” (me’od) literally translates “muchness, exceeding-ness”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. So loving God with “all your might” is a whole-hearted, intense unwavering determination to understand and fulfill the will of God regardless of the cost. This gives one a much deeper understanding of the challenge the Israelites were faced with to love the Lord with an unsurpassed, incomparable love. It reflects the nature of God that he deserves such love and devotion. Yet this command is not limited to these verses, other passages in Deuteronomy and the Gospels give further credence to the importance of this concept.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">CONCLUSION: ALL YOUR HEART
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">All your heart – Several places in Deuteronomy, the command regarding obedience to the Lord are said to be carried out with all of one’s heart and soul and might. Deuteronomy 4:29 says that when Israel seeks the Lord they will find Him, but that they must search “with all your heart and with all your soul.” In Deuteronomy 10:12 Moses tells the people that nothing is expected of them “but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” In the JPS Torah Commentary it is noted that “In all these exhortations the emphasis is on the word “all”: Since Yahweh //alone// is Israel’s God, Israel must love and serve Him with //undivided// devotion”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. This theme is carried into the Gospels in the New Testament. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus reiterates the Shema as the “most important commandment”, which proclaims that Yahweh alone is God, and He must be loved more than any other. In Matthew 22:37 and Mark 12:29-30 Jesus Christ affirms that the most important commandment is to love the Lord with all ones heart, soul, and mind. In Luke 10:27, he affirms a young man who places this as the most important commandment. This well-known and influential passage of the Old Testament has been incorporated into the entire Bible, and remains applicable to believers throughout history. The Lord is God and there is no other and His children owe Him a love and devotion that permeates every aspect of their lives and beings. = **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">TOPIC TWO: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “Purging the Evil from Israel’s midst” =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">INTRODUCTION
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the book of Deuteronomy, there are many instances of severe capital punishment that seem overly severe and harsh considering that Yahweh is a God who prizes life and has put laws in place that protect life whenever possible. It seems as though there is a disconnect between the merciful and forgiving God in the New Testament and parts of the Old Testament and the God who demands absolute, harsh and unforgiving justice for crimes which do not seem so heinous to the modern mind. But there is a deeper meaning behind these laws the transgression of which leads to death. Following the sentence of death, the phrase “purge the evil from your (Israel’s) midst” appears consistently; this is the key to understanding these difficult passages.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">WHERE THE PUNISHMENT OCCURS
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">This phrase occurs nine times through the book of Deuteronomy; found in Deuteronomy 13:5, 17:7, 17:12, 19:19, 21:21, 22:21, 22:22, 22:24, 24:7. Through these chapters, different case studies are presented the final verdict being death. It is always repeated precisely either “purge the evil from your midst” or “purge the evil from Israel’s midst”. From the initial reading, one easily gathers that this severe punishment is meant to deter the rest of the people from committing the same crime. “The severity of the penalty for disobedience was intended to ‘purge the evil from Israel.’ When godly discipline is exercised, whether in Moses’ time or our own, all the people shall hear and they shall fear, and they shall not act presumptuously again.”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> When they see the severity of the punishment they will think twice before breaking the same law. The question now is which laws demand such severe punishment if broken? The crimes outlined in the nine passages include false prophecy, idolatry, disobedience to priests, giving false witness, rebellion against parents, sexual immorality, adultery, and theft.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">REASON FOR SEVERITY: PURITY
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ensuring future obedience is not the only purpose behind the phrase. It is also referring to the maintaining of the covenant relationship between Yahweh and the nation of Israel. “The object of the severe penalty was not only the punishment of the evildoer, but also the preservation of the community”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. One of the characteristics of God is that He is absolutely pure. There is no blemish or imperfection about Him; therefore, there can be no blemish among the people of Israel no matter how insignificant. “Deuteronomy therefore stands out as a last great attempt to call Israel to national reform, including everyone in its appeal to repentance and renewal. The basic conviction that underlies this appeal is that Israel is a holy nation.”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The punishment is not the main focus; the emphasis is on maintaining the unconditional purity of the nation of Israel.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">SCOPE OF CONTAMINATION
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Just as one particle of dirt in a glass of pure water contaminates it; one sin can contaminate the purity of the entire nation. “The concluding formula or purgation…indicates the purpose of such judicial activity is the protection of the community from distortion.” <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Thus the punishment was not simply directed toward the offender, but as a reminder to the entire nation of the high standard of purity God calls for. “Keeping close to our own sacred duty will keep us out of harm’s way; for God never leaves us until we first leave him. Moreover, we are not to spare the tempter: “that prophet or that dreamer of dreams he shall be put to death”, both as punishment and as preemption to further mischief. Apostasy is serious business, a matter of life and death”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Though not everyone necessarily engaged in the sinful act, they all suffer the consequences of it; they all feel the break in relationship that follows such an impurity. The law is focused on the heart, because one’s obedience or disobedience stems from whether one believes in one’s heart that the Lord is worthy of worship and service or not. When someone defiles the covenant relationship, they prove that their heart is defiled and that they do not believe in the Lord. Capital punishment reminds the others to carefully consider the state of their own heart, and to always be reaffirming their belief and dedication to their Lord God.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">CONCLUSION
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Therefore, while at first glance, it seems that these punishments are unwarranted, purposeless and cruel, one finds that they are a very intentional picture of the purity of God, the high standard found in the covenant relationship between God and Israel, and the consequential maintenance of the purity of Israel since they reflect the nature of God to the surrounding nations. “The concluding formula, ‘purge the evil,’ is a harsh formula of excommunication. This community committed to radical obedience cannot have in its midst advocates of an alternative. Thus the maintenance of singular loyalty to Yahweh depends upon and justifies harsh treatment of such seductive advocates”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. This nation of Israel is held to a high standard because they are in a covenant relationship with the perfect God who cannot be portrayed as anything less than absolutely pristinely perfect. = **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">TOPIC THREE: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Contrast between the faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of the first generation in Deuteronomy 1-4 =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">INTRODUCTION
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Through the first four chapters of the book of Deuteronomy there is a stark contrast in the history of Israel when considering the enduring faithfulness of the Lord, and the consistent unfaithfulness of the people of Israel. It is a theme “that though God was faithful, the Israelites tended constantly toward unfaithfulness. Though the success in the past was cause for hope in the events that lay beyond the Jordan, the failures of the past provided a warning. The recital of history thus gave strength and warning to the people: the address of Moses solemnly prepares the people for the call to commitment and obedience that would be laid upon them”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Though Yahweh shows the people of Israel grace time and time again, they repeatedly accept it without gratitude, forget it almost immediately, and pick up their complaining and unfaithful way of life once again. And as Moses recounts the history of the past generation of Israel and calls this current generation to obedience one is struck with the consistent grace that God shows to Israel.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">GOD’S FAITHFULNESS
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Beginning in the opening verses of chapter one Moses reminds the people of Israel that as they are standing on the plains of Moab, they are facing the Promised Land that the Lord promised to their fore-father Abraham hundreds of years earlier (Deuteronomy 1:8). “With infinite patience God has in Moses’ day brought a five hundred-year process to maturity. Did God not undertake a binding oath of faithfulness? The generation seven hundred years after Moses may take comfort from the long perspective”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Not only are they about to enter to Promised Land, but Moses says that they have become “as numerous as the stars in the sky” (Deuteronomy 1:10). This alludes back to God’s promise to Abraham again that he would bless his descendants and multiply them. “Moses reminds his audience that God has already fulfilled part of the ancient promise and implies that He will fulfill the rest as well”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. He brought them out of exile in order to give them the Promised Land, and while they wandered in the wilderness the text says that he fought for them (Deuteronomy 1:4). This should give them the faith to trust in his faithfulness to fight for them again when going up into the Promised Land. While in the wilderness, where they surely would have been destroyed, He protected them and shielded them from harm. We find out in Nehemiah 9:21 that throughout their entire time in the wilderness, their shoes and clothes had never worn out, and that He always provided them with what they needed to survive. He gave them a pillar of fire that acted as a shield and guide. He helped them conquer their enemies King Og and Sihon, allowing them victory and striking fear into the hearts of the remaining Canaanite nations (Deuteronomy 2:26 – 3:17). Not only was He faithful to bless the Israelites, but He was also faithful to punish them if necessary. When the people of Israel refused to enter the Land, he swore that no one over twenty would enter the Promised Land but rather would wander in the wilderness for forty years till they all died off (Deuteronomy 1:34-35). Even Moses, the leader of the nation was not exempt from the sentence, but died only having looked upon the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:37); God proactively weeded out the rebellious generation. The text literally states that God rooted out every person over twenty in the camp. No one escaped (Deuteronomy 2:15-16). The faithful nature of God applies to other nations as well. When the Israelites passed by the lands of Seir and Moab they were not allowed to bring them any harm (Deuteronomy 2:4-10). This was because “Their land, given to them by the Lord, was inviolable and could not be trespassed by Israel without Moabite permission”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. This shows the absolute and unwavering faithful nature of God which is apparent within all space and time. In stark contrast, is the reliably unfaithful nature of the nation of Israel.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">ISRAEL’S UNFAITHFULNESS
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Israel is rarely faithful to the Lord. They will swear to be faithful, but they never actually succeed very well at living those oaths out. Throughout their time in the wilderness, the Israelites complained and grumbled against the Lord countless times. (Deuteronomy 1:27) They doubted his faithfulness in taking care of them, “The people ignore the evidence of God’s care and guidance, although it is never out of their sight. The cloud and fire have been constant, visible signs of God’s presence since the day they left Egypt”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. This proved that they held no stock in the many promises he had made to them over the years. When they finally reached the Promised Land they had been looking forward to for hundreds of years, they refused to enter at the command of the Lord because they though the inhabitants too strong for them (Deuteronomy 1:26-28). They even went so far as claiming that the Lord’s great act of love in delivering them from slavery in Egypt was actually an act of hatred and cruelty on the Lord’s part (Deuteronomy 1:27). Their insurgence clouded their judgment so they could not see things as they were. “The people’s rebellion completely perverted their understanding of the nature of their God. They said //the Lord hates us,// and yet the essence of the covenant was the //love// of God. They said their God had only brought them out of Egypt to deliver //them into the power of the Amorites//: the truth of the Exodus was that the Lord had brought them out of Egypt and would deliver the Amorites into their hands. They said that God would //exterminate// them; the purpose of God was to give them life”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. They should have known from experience that the Lord would help them overcome the overwhelming circumstances, just as he had many times in the past. For example, they walked across a sea on dry land (Exodus 14:15-22)! They defeated the Egyptians who were far more numerous and powerful than they (Exodus 14:23-31); as well as the Amalekites though they were not trained for war (Exodus 17:8-13). They should have known at that point that if the Lord promised them victory, they had nothing to fear. Unfaithfulness again reared its head once the Lord banned them from entering the land; they insisted that they would enter (Deuteronomy 1:41-43). They could not even accept their punishment. “The perversity of the people continued. Moses warned them, but they failed to heed the warning; they rebelled against this command just as they had rebelled against the first command”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. They do not repent, but rather push head first into more trouble because of their unfaithfulness, and were soundly defeated. Before the Lord had pronounced his final judgment, Moses pleaded with the people of Israel not to be afraid, but to have faith in their God and his constancy. Yahweh had proven himself in the past and He would do so again. However, they did not believe and thus were sentenced to forty years in the wilderness and then death ((Deuteronomy 1:34). The historical rerun laid out in chapters 1-3 creates a stark disparity between the faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of Israel. Chapter 4 is a warning to the Israelites.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">CONCLUSION
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Their forefathers (as shown in the previous chapters) had forgotten the lessons that the Lord taught them. They forgot the faithfulness of the Lord, and the results had been catastrophic. “It is forgetfulness that opens the door to tragic failure on the part of the community of faith”<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">. They must remember the lesson taught here. They must beware lest they forget and suffer the consequences which will be severe. This is the introduction to the Law, it needs to be taken very seriously, something not to be treated lightly. God is faithful, and if Israel is faithful to follow the Law, they will be blessed. If not, they will suffer the wrath of God and the curses that follow disobedience.

<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Clements, R E. //God's Chosen People: A Theological Interpretation of the Book of Deuteronomy//. London: S.C.M. Press, 1968. Print. (p. 70) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Merrill, Eugene H. //The New American Commentary Volume 4 - Deuteronomy//. Nashville: B & H Pub. Group, 1994. Internet resource. (look for volumes on the Gospels) (p. 162) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Clements 70. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Craigie, Peter. //The New International Commentary on the Old Testament//. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (p. ???) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cairns, Ian. //Deuteronomy Word and Prescence//. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992. Print. (p. 83) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">JPS,. //Jps Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy//. Philadelphia, PN: JPS, 1996. Print. (p. 77) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cairns 84. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cairns 85. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">JPS 77. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Christensen, Duane L.. //Word Biblical Commentary//. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001. Print. (p. 377) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Craigie, Peter. //The New International Commentary on the Old Testament//. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (p. 224) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Clements, R E. //God's Chosen People: A Theological Interpretation of the Book of Deuteronomy//. London: S.C.M. Press, 1968. Print. (p. 37) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Brueggemann, Walter. //Deuteronomy//. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001. Prints. (p. 181) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Christensen 273. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Brueggemann 150. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Craigie, Peter. //The New International Commentary on the Old Testament//. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (p. 94) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cairns, Ian. //Deuteronomy Word and Prescence//. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992. Print. (p. 33) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">JPS,. //Jps Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy//. Philadelphia, PN: JPS, 1996. Print. (p. 10) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Merrill, Eugene H. //The New American Commentary Volume 4 - Deuteronomy//. Nashville: B & H Pub. Group, 1994. Internet resource. (p. 92) <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">JPS 18. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Craigie 102. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Craigie 106. <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Christensen, Duane L.. //Word Biblical Commentary//. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001. Print. (p. 82)

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