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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 6:8 and Proverbs 7:3

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Deuteronomy commands tying the commandments as signs on the hand and symbols on the forehead, instructions later interpreted both literally and figuratively. Proverbs echoes this, urging the binding of wisdom to fingers and writing it on the heart.

Passages

Deuteronomy 6:8

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

Proverbs 7:3

Hebrew Bible
1 My child, devote yourself to my words and store up my commands inside yourself. 2 Keep my commands so that you may live, and obey my instruction as your most prized possession. 3 Bind them on your forearm; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding a close relative 5 so that they may keep you from the adulterous woman, from the loose woman who has flattered you with her words.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

References

"... The terms “sign,” “reminder,” and “symbol” evoke some material object that serves to jog the memory, but they do not in themselves require a literal meaning for these verses. Rashbam actually considered the “deep, straightforward meaning” of the verses to be metaphorical. He adduced, in support, Song of Songs 8:6 ... Abraham Ibn Ezra mentions, but rejects, this figurative interpretation, which its proponents bolstered by citing additional biblical sources such as “For they are a graceful wreath upon your head, / A necklace about your throat” (Proverbs 1:9). “Let fidelity and steadfastness not leave you; / Bind them about your throat, / Write them on the tablet of your mind”. “Tie them over your heart always; / Bind them around your throat”. Other texts of the same order are Proverbs 7:3 as well as Jeremiah 17:1 and 31:32. Apparently, both the Samaritans and the medieval Jewish sect of Karaites also took the instructions of Exodus 13:9,16 metaphorically, for they do not have tefillin. Traditional rabbinic exegesis, however, interpreted Exodus 13:9,16 literally as enjoining the wearing of tefillin. This understanding is upheld by two other texts in the Torah that reiterate the precept. Deuteronomy 6:8, which is part of the section that has traditionally become known as the Shema, states: “Bind them [i.e., God’s teachings, v.6] as a sign on your hand, and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead.” A literal meaning is here favored by the immediately adjacent verse: “Inscribe them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates.” ..."
Nahum M. Sarna, Exodus: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991), 270.

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 6:8 and Proverbs 7:3

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