Albert Barnes Commentary Deuteronomy 31
Albert Barnes Commentary
Deuteronomy 31
Albert Barnes Commentary
Deuteronomy 31
"And he said unto them, I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: and Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan." — Deuteronomy 31:2 (ASV)
I am one hundred and twenty years old - The 40 years of the wandering had passed since Moses, then 80 years old, spoke to Pharaoh (Exodus 7:7).
I can, no more go out and come in - This means I will no longer be able to go out and come in: that is, discharge my duties among you. There is no inconsistency with (Deuteronomy 34:7). Moses here refers to his own age as likely to make him in the future unequal to the active discharge of his office as leader of the people: the writer of (Deuteronomy 34:1–12), one of Moses’ contemporaries, remarks of him that up to the close of life his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated (Deuteronomy 31:7); that is, that he was to the last, in the judgment of others, in full possession of faculties and strength.
"And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of good courage: for thou shalt go with this people into the land which Jehovah hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And Jehovah, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed." — Deuteronomy 31:7-8 (ASV)
Moses hands over to Joshua that office as leader of the people, to which he had already been designated (Deuteronomy 1:38; Numbers 27:23). He assigns also to the Levitical priests and the elders, as the ecclesiastical and civil heads of the nation, the responsibility of teaching the law and enforcing its observance (Deuteronomy 31:10–13). Both these were symbolic acts, designed to mark the responsibility of the parties concerned after the death of Moses.
"when all Israel is come to appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing." — Deuteronomy 31:11 (ASV)
Compare the marginal references.
It should not be supposed that the whole of the Pentateuch was read, nor does the letter of the command require that it should be so. This reading could not be primarily designed for the information and instruction of the people, since it only took place once in seven years; but was evidently a symbolic transaction, intended, like so many others, to impress upon the people the conditions on which they held possession of their privileges and blessings.
"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. And Jehovah appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud: and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and play the harlot after the strange gods of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods. Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach thou it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxed fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant. And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they frame this day, before I have brought them into the land which I sware. So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel. And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee." — Deuteronomy 31:14-23 (ASV)
The transaction recorded in these verses may be regarded as the solemn inauguration of Joshua to the office to which he had some time before been called (Numbers 27:22), and his recognition in it by God. These were manifested by his being summoned into the tabernacle with Moses while the Lord appeared in the pillar of cloud (Numbers 12:5).
The future apostasy of the people is announced in Joshua's presence so that he might be fully aware of the danger and strive in his day to avert it. This he faithfully did ; but we find him in his own last address to Israel repeating the very same prediction and warning (Joshua 23:15–16).
A witness for me against them—that is, an attestation from their own mouths of God’s benefits, their own duties, and their deserts when they should fall away. Being in verse, it would be more easily learned and kept in memory. The use of songs for such didactic purposes was not unknown to the legislators of antiquity. Compare also the advice of Paul, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16).
He gave—that is, the Lord gave.
"And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against Jehovah; and how much more after my death? Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them. For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands." — Deuteronomy 31:24-29 (ASV)
Moses completes the writing of the Book of the Law, and directs that it be placed by the ark of the covenant.
The “book” referred to here would contain the whole Pentateuch up to this verse, and be “the Book of Moses,” called generally by the Jews “the Law” (Galatians 4:21) (Deuteronomy 31:24).
The Levites, who bore the ark—that is, as in Deuteronomy 31:9, “the priests the sons of Levi.” The non-priestly Levites could not even enter the sanctuary or touch the ark . Though in the journeys through the wilderness the ark was borne by the non-priestly Kohathites, yet on occasions of a more solemn and public character it was carried by the priests themselves (Joshua 3:3 and following; Joshua 4:9–10; Joshua 6:6, 12; Joshua 8:33; 1 Kings 8:3) (Deuteronomy 31:25).
Put it in the side of the ark—Rather, by the side of the ark. The two tablets of the Decalogue were in the ark (1 Kings 8:9); the Book of the Law was to be placed in the Holy of Holies near the ark of the covenant, probably in a chest (compare to 2 Kings 22:8) (Deuteronomy 31:26).
How much more after my death—Therefore, Deuteronomy 31:24 and the rest of the book (with the exception of the song, Deuteronomy 31:19) must be regarded as a kind of appendix added by another hand after Moses’ death; though the Blessing (Deuteronomy 33) is, of course, to be regarded as a composition of Moses (Deuteronomy 31:27).
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