Go to Related Reading
About this book

Deuteronomy

About this book
Chapter 6

1 Now these are the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed 2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments that I am giving you—you, your children, and your grandchildren—all your lives, to prolong your days. 3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number—as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey.⁠ 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!⁠ 5 You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.⁠ 6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.⁠ 8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead.⁠ 9 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.⁠ 10 Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you—a land with large, fine cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with choice things you did not accumulate, hewn-out cisterns you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—and you eat your fill, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery. 13 You must revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name. 14 You must not go after other gods, those of the surrounding peoples, 15 for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a jealous God—his anger will erupt against you and remove you from the land. 16 You must not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.⁠ 17 Keep his commandments very carefully, as well as the stipulations and statutes he commanded you to observe. 18 Do whatever is proper and good before the Lord so that it may go well with you and that you may enter and occupy the good land that he promised your ancestors, 19 and that you may drive out all your enemies just as the Lord said. 20 When your children ask you later on,⁠ “What are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord our God commanded you?”⁠ 21 you must say to them, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt in a powerful way. 22 And he brought signs and great, devastating wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on his whole family before our very eyes. 23 He delivered us from there so that he could give us the land he had promised our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these statutes and to revere him so that it may always go well for us and he may preserve us, as he has to this day. 25 We will be innocent if we carefully keep all these commandments before the Lord our God, just as he demands.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 6:5 and The Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon §24

Hebrew Bible · Ancient Near East, Assyrian

Share:

Summary

The command in Deuteronomy to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and strength is based on Neo-Assyrian vassal treaties, such as the Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon, which required subjects to show complete loyalty and love to the Assyrian prince.

Passages

Deuteronomy 6:5

Hebrew Bible
3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number—as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. 6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

The Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon §24

Ancient Near East, Assyrian · Esarhaddon's Succession Treaty (SAA 2 6)
259 You shall not give Assurbanipal, the great crown prince designate, son of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, your lord, a deadly drug to eat or to drink, nor anoint him with it, nor practice witchcraft against him, nor make gods and goddesses angry with him. 266 You shall love Assurbanipal, the great crown prince designate, son of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, your lord, like yourselves. 269 You shall not slander his brothers, his mother's sons, before Assurbanipal, the great crown prince designate, nor speak anything evil about them, nor lift your hands against their houses or commit a crime against them, nor take anything away from the gift which their father has given them, or the acquisitions which they themselves have made.
672 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in The Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon

References

"... The well-known “Shema Yisrael” in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ... A present-day reader may wonder why the text does not state: “The LORD our God is the only God.” This would align with other monotheistic statements in the Hebrew Bible. It seems self-evident that Yahweh, “the LORD,” is one God and not multiple gods. Knowing the Hebrew inscriptions of the eighth-century Kuntillet Ajrud, which mention “Yahweh of Teman,” “Yahweh of Samaria,” and “Yahweh and his Asherah,” provides insight into Deuteronomy 6:4’s emphasis on the unity of Yahweh, who is to be worshipped in only one sanctuary. The call to “love” Yahweh wholeheartedly and exclusively gains new significance when viewed in the context of Neo-Assyrian vassal treaties, which demanded undivided “love” for the Assyrian overlord from his subjects and vassals. This demonstrates how understanding the historical realities in which and for which a biblical text was written can enhance comprehension of its theological statements ..."
Thomas Krüger, “Recent Developments in the History of Ancient Israel and Their Consequences for a Theology of the Hebrew Bible,” BN 144 (2010): 5–13.

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

Tags

Your feedback

Deuteronomy 6:5 and The Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon §24

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library