Texts in Conversation
Deuteronomy 32:9 portrays Israel as the chosen people of their patron deity, marking them as a special possession distinct from the other nations. Malachi 3:17 echoes this same language by applying the image of treasured possession to the faithful, drawing on the vocabulary used in Deuteronomy.
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Deuteronomy 32:9
Hebrew Bible
7 Remember the ancient days; bear in mind the years of past generations. Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you. 8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. 9 For the Lord’s allotment is his people, Jacob is his special possession. 10 The Lord found him in a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl. He continually guarded him and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye. 11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, so the Lord spread out his wings and took him, he lifted him up on his pinions.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Malachi 3:17
Hebrew Bible
15 So now we consider the arrogant to be blessed; indeed, those who practice evil are successful. In fact, those who challenge God escape!’” 16 Then those who respected the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice. A scroll was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name. 17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... By YHWH’s election, Israel is placed in a special relation to Him (positively) and as a consequence of this, in a special relation to other nations, in particular the Canaanites (negatively). Thus, Israel’s relation toward YHWH and toward the nations of Canaan is closely connected. In verse 6, dealing with the relation between YHWH and Israel, the relation to YHWH has priority when Israel is called a “holy nation”. This also becomes clear from the fact that עםקדוש is always followed by ליהוהאלהיך (Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2,21; 26:19; compare 28:9). The contrast with the other nations is reflected in the fronted and therefore emphasized בך and “out of all the nations” at the end. “Out of all the nations on the earth” is a universal horizon, which, however, is at the service of the particularity of Israel. Besides, this underlines the greatness of YHWH, who has the power to choose out of all the nations. YHWH has chosen Israel to be for Him a עםסגלה. The word סגלה occurs only eight times in the Old Testament, six of which refer to the people of Israel (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Psalm 135:4; Malachi 3:17). The other two texts make clear that the word denotes possessions ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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