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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 10:18 and Pseudo Jonathan Genesis 18:20

Hebrew Bible · Targum

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Summary

Deuteronomy describes justice as a divine priority, emphasizing care for orphans, widows, and resident foreigners. The Aramaic translation in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan of Genesis 18 mirrors this emphasis in its interpretation of God’s response to Sodom.

Passages

Deuteronomy 10:18

Hebrew Bible
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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Pseudo Jonathan Genesis 18:20

Targum
19 For his piety is manifest before me, so that he will command his children and the members of his household after him to observe ways that are right before the Lord, doing what is just and right, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham the good things he has promised him.” 20 The Lord said to the ministering angels, “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah—because they oppress the poor and decree that whoever gives a morsel of bread to the needy shall be burned by fire—is indeed great, and their sin has indeed increased greatly. 21 I will now be revealed, and I will see whether they have really done according to the complaint of the maiden Peletith which has come before me. If so, they deserve total destruction, but if they do penance, shall they not be righteous before me as if I did not know, and I will not take revenge.
300–1200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Pseudo Jonathan Genesis

References

"... Justice is envisaged as a mighty, surging river, like the River Jordan in full flood. It illustrates that justice is not a static state (like the scales of Justicia) but an intervening power: it strikes and changes, restores and heals. It is dynamic, rushing onwards, bringing life to a parched land. Justice has transformative potential. Against this background, the treatment of the least favoured in society becomes the fundamental criterion for achieving justice. The triumvirate of ‘the alien, the fatherless and the widow’ are the object of God’s special concern (Deuteronomy 10:18). Accordingly, they are to be the people’s focus also ..."
Jonathan Burnside, “The Spirit of Biblical Law,” Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 1.1 (2012): 1–25.

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 10:18 and Pseudo Jonathan Genesis 18:20

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