Texts in Conversation
In John 10, Jesus uses language of being held his hand that echoes Deuteronomy 33:3, based on an ancient Near Eastern tradition where a patron deity holds and protects their chosen or assigned people.
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Deuteronomy 33:3
Hebrew Bible
1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death. 2 He said: “The Lord came from Sinai and revealed himself to Israel from Seir. He appeared in splendor from Mount Paran, and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. With his right hand he gave a fiery law to them. 3 Surely he loves the people; all your holy ones are in your hand8. And they sit at your feet, each receiving your words. 4 Moses delivered to us a law, an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
John 10:28
New Testament
25 Jesus replied, “I told you and you do not believe. The deeds I do in my Father’s name testify about me. 26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
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Notes and References
"... lying somewhere between the literal and figurative senses of “location” is a looming sense of alienation from treasured places in both books. Deuteronomy — at least in its final form — includes especially toward its end a number of threats that point to exile from the land of promise as a consequence of violation of the covenant (e.g., 28,36.41.63-68; 29,27). For its part, as many scholars have observed, John’s Gospel appears to reflect a time in the late first century when members of at least one community within the “Jesus movement” were in active danger of expulsion from the Jewish synagogue ..."
Heider, George C.
The Gospel according to John: The New Testament’s Deutero-Deuteronomy
(pp. 68-85) Biblica, Vol. 93, 2012
* 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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