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Deuteronomy

About this book
Chapter 10

1 At that same time the Lord said to me, “Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark. 2 I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the first tablets you broke, and you must put them into the ark.” 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood and carved out two stone tablets just like the first ones. Then I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hands. 4 The Lord then wrote on the tablets the same words, the Ten Commandments, which he had spoken to you at the mountain from the middle of the fire at the time of that assembly, and he gave them to me. 5 Then I turned, went down the mountain, and placed the tablets into the ark I had made—they are still there, just as the Lord commanded me. 6 During those days the Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene Jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar became priest in his place. 7 From there they traveled to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a place of flowing streams. 8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi⁠ to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings in his name, as they do to this very day. 9 Therefore Levi has no allotment or inheritance among his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance just as the Lord your God told him. 10 As for me, I stayed at the mountain as I did the first time, 40 days and nights. The Lord listened to me that time as well and decided not to destroy you. 11 Then he said to me, “Get up, set out leading the people so they may go and possess the land I promised to give to their ancestors.” 12 Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to revere him, to obey all his commandments, to love him, to serve him with all your mind and being,⁠ 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and statutes that I am giving you today for your own good? 14 The heavens—indeed the highest heavens—belong to the Lord your God, as does the earth and everything in it. 15 However, only to your ancestors did he show his loving favor, and he chose you, their descendants, from all peoples—as is apparent today. 16 Therefore, circumcise your hearts and stop being so stubborn!⁠ 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords,⁠ the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,⁠ 18 who justly treats the orphan and widow,⁠ and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing.⁠ 19 So you must love the resident foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. 20 Revere the Lord your God, serve him, be loyal to him, and take oaths only in his name.⁠ 21 He is the one you should praise; he is your God, the one who has done these great and awesome things for you⁠ that you have seen. 22 When your ancestors went down to Egypt, they numbered only seventy, but now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky.

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 10:12 and Joshua 22:5

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Joshua 22 repeats Deuteronomy 10 that calls for devotion to God with all one’s heart and soul, language introduced in Deuteronomy and also used in Kings and Chronicles. By incorporating this language, Joshua presents itself as an extension of the Torah.

Passages

Deuteronomy 10:12

Hebrew Bible
10 As for me, I stayed at the mountain as I did the first time, 40 days and nights. The Lord listened to me that time as well and decided not to destroy you. 11 Then he said to me, “Get up, set out leading the people so they may go and possess the land I promised to give to their ancestors.” 12 Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to revere him, to obey all his commandments, to love him, to serve him with all your mind and being, 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and statutes that I am giving you today for your own good? 14 The heavens—indeed the highest heavens—belong to the Lord your God, as does the earth and everything in it.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Joshua 22:5

Hebrew Bible
3 You have not abandoned your fellow Israelites this entire time, right up to this very day. You have completed the task given you by the Lord your God. 4 Now the Lord your God has made your fellow Israelites secure, just as he promised them. So now you may turn around and go to your homes in your own land that Moses the Lord’s servant assigned to you east of the Jordan. 5 But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord’s servant gave you. Love the Lord your God, follow all his instructions, obey his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and being!” 6 Joshua rewarded them and sent them on their way; they returned to their homes. 7 (Now to one half-tribe of Manasseh, Moses had assigned land in Bashan; and to the other half Joshua had assigned land on the west side of the Jordan with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, he rewarded them,
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joshua

References

"... The first occurrence of the “with all your heart and soul” formula is in Deuteronomy 4:29, “you will find [the Lord your God] if you search after him with all your heart and soul”. This levav + nefesh formula is not found in the Hebrew Bible prior to Deuteronomy 4:29. Among the nine occurrences of this formula in Deuteronomy, only 6:5 has a third body part, and the protasis of the faith statement varies quite a bit. The formula in Deuteronomy is attached to various calls to faithfulness including three charges to love (אָהַב), two to serve (עבד), one to search (דרשׁ), one to observe (עשׂה), one to obey (שׁמע), and one to turn (שׁוב). Deuteronomy contains one additional use of “heart and soul” in Deuteronomy 11:18, “Put these words of mine in your heart and soul,” which is less so a test of faithfulness. Outside of Deuteronomy, there are just seven instances in the Hebrew Bible of the precise wording of the Deuteronomic formula – two in Joshua, three in Kings and two in Chronicles ... In Joshua 22:5, faithfulness means to serve God “with all your heart and with all your soul ..."
Joseph A. Weaks, “Fearing the Lord God: The Reception of Deuteronomic and Deuteronomistic Torah Tropes in Tobit,” in The Early Reception of the Torah, ed. Kristin De Troyer et al. (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2020), 81–92.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Deuteronomy 10:12 and Joshua 22:5

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