Deuteronomy 11 Study Notes
General
According to 11:26-28, what specific act of disobedience would bring the curse?
Answer: Following other gods Israel had not known
Moses sets two outcomes before Israel that day: a blessing if they obeyed the LORD's commands, and a curse if they disobeyed and turned from His path to follow other gods they had never known (11:26-28). The choice was real and urgent, and Moses presses it again later, calling them to choose life (30:19). Yet Deuteronomy also admits that God had not yet given them the ability to understand (29:4) and promises that He Himself will circumcise their hearts, that is, change them from within, so that they will love Him (30:6). Both are true: people are responsible for their choice, and a heart that truly loves God is His gift. For believers, Christ bore the curse the law pronounced on disobedience (Galatians 3:13).
- Deuteronomy 11:26-28 (BSB)“See, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse— a blessing if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, but a curse if you disobey the commandments of the LORD your God and turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”Moses sets a blessing and a curse before Israel, the curse tied to following unknown gods.
- Deuteronomy 30:19 (BSB)“I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,”Moses later calls Israel to choose life when life and death are set before them.
- Deuteronomy 29:4 (BSB)“Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.”Moses admits that the LORD had not yet given Israel a mind to understand.
- Deuteronomy 30:6 (BSB)“The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”God promises He will circumcise their hearts so that they will love Him.
- Galatians 3:13 (BSB)“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.””Paul says Christ redeemed His people from the law's curse by becoming a curse for them.
Theological
In 11:26-28, which transgression is specified as bringing the curse?
Answer: Following other gods Israel had not known
Moses sets before Israel a blessing conditioned on obedience and a curse conditioned on disobedience, specified as turning from the commanded way to follow other gods they had not known (11:26-28). The appeal is genuine and the people are accountable, as in the later call to choose life (30:19). Deuteronomy holds this together with Israel's inability, since the LORD had not yet given them understanding (29:4), and with the promise that He will circumcise their hearts so they love Him (30:6). Human choice is real and responsible, while saving love for God is His effectual gift. The curse finally falls on Christ, who redeems His people by bearing it in their place (Galatians 3:13).
- Deuteronomy 11:26-28 (BSB)“See, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse— a blessing if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, but a curse if you disobey the commandments of the LORD your God and turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”Moses sets a blessing and a curse before Israel, the curse tied to following unknown gods.
- Deuteronomy 30:19 (BSB)“I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,”Moses later calls Israel to choose life when life and death are set before them.
- Deuteronomy 29:4 (BSB)“Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.”Moses admits that the LORD had not yet given Israel a mind to understand.
- Deuteronomy 30:6 (BSB)“The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”God promises He will circumcise their hearts so that they will love Him.
- Galatians 3:13 (BSB)“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.””Paul says Christ redeemed His people from the law's curse by becoming a curse for them.
General
What boundaries of Israel's territory does 11:24 describe?
Answer: The desert to Lebanon, and the Euphrates west to the sea
Moses promises that every place Israel set foot would be theirs, from the southern wilderness up to Lebanon, and westward from the Euphrates all the way to the Mediterranean (11:24). God had promised Abram territory stretching to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18), and He repeated these borders to Joshua (Joshua 1:3-4). Israel's rule reached this far in Solomon's reign, when his rule stretched from the Euphrates down to Egypt's border (1 Kings 4:21). The promise shows that God keeps the oath He swore to the patriarchs.
- Deuteronomy 11:24 (BSB)“Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.”Moses describes the full extent of the territory God promised.
- Genesis 15:18 (BSB)“On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—”God's covenant with Abram promised land reaching to the Euphrates.
- Joshua 1:3-4 (BSB)“I have given you every place where the sole of your foot will tread, just as I promised to Moses. Your territory shall extend from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great River Euphrates—all the land of the Hittites—and west as far as the Great Sea.”God repeats the same promise and boundaries to Joshua.
- 1 Kings 4:21 (BSB)“And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.”Under Solomon, Israel's rule reached from the Euphrates to the border of Egypt.
Theological
Which territorial boundaries are given for the promised land in 11:24?
Answer: The desert to Lebanon, and the Euphrates west to the sea
The promised territory stretches from the southern desert north to Lebanon, with the Euphrates as its eastern limit and the Mediterranean as its western, with the land claimed wherever Israel treads (11:24). The Euphrates limit echoes the Abrahamic covenant grant (Genesis 15:18), and the boundaries are reaffirmed to Joshua (Joshua 1:3-4). The fullest historical realization came under Solomon, whose dominion spanned the region between the Euphrates and Egypt's frontier (1 Kings 4:21), demonstrating the LORD's fidelity to His sworn promise.
- Deuteronomy 11:24 (BSB)“Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.”Moses describes the full extent of the territory God promised.
- Genesis 15:18 (BSB)“On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—”God's covenant with Abram promised land reaching to the Euphrates.
- Joshua 1:3-4 (BSB)“I have given you every place where the sole of your foot will tread, just as I promised to Moses. Your territory shall extend from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great River Euphrates—all the land of the Hittites—and west as far as the Great Sea.”God repeats the same promise and boundaries to Joshua.
- 1 Kings 4:21 (BSB)“And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.”Under Solomon, Israel's rule reached from the Euphrates to the border of Egypt.
General
How does Moses contrast Canaan with Egypt in 11:10-11?
Answer: Egypt was watered by labor, but Canaan by God's rain
In Egypt, Moses says, the Israelites planted seed and watered it on foot, as someone waters a vegetable garden (11:10). Canaan would be different: a land of hills and valleys that soaks up the rain that falls from the sky (11:11), with brooks and springs (8:7). The contrast is more than farming. In Egypt water seemed to come by human effort; in Canaan Israel would depend each season on the rain God sends (Psalm 147:8). The land belonged to the LORD, and Israel would live on it as His tenants (Leviticus 25:23), so its fruitfulness would always point them back to Him.
- Deuteronomy 11:10-11 (BSB)“For the land that you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated on foot, like a vegetable garden. But the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks in the rain from heaven.”Moses contrasts Egypt, watered by human effort, with Canaan, a hilly land watered by rain.
- Deuteronomy 8:7 (BSB)“For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks and fountains and springs that flow through the valleys and hills;”Moses has already described the land as full of brooks, springs, and valleys.
- Psalm 147:8 (BSB)“who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the hills.”The psalmist praises God as the one who covers the sky with clouds and prepares rain for the earth.
- Leviticus 25:23 (BSB)“The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.”God declares that the land belongs to Him and Israel lives on it as His tenants.
Theological
What contrast between Egypt and Canaan does Moses draw in 11:10-11?
Answer: Egypt was watered by labor, but Canaan by God's rain
Egypt is pictured as irrigated land, where seed was watered by foot like a garden plot (11:10); Canaan is hill country with valleys drinking in rain from the sky (11:11), rich in springs and streams (8:7). The theological point is dependence: Egypt's water appeared to be managed by human labor, while Canaan's fruitfulness would come directly from the Creator who supplies the earth with rain (Psalm 147:8). Since the land was the LORD's and Israel held it as tenants (Leviticus 25:23), every season would call them to trust and covenant faithfulness, which prepares for the rain promises and warnings that follow in 11:13-17.
- Deuteronomy 11:10-11 (BSB)“For the land that you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated on foot, like a vegetable garden. But the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks in the rain from heaven.”Moses contrasts Egypt, watered by human effort, with Canaan, a hilly land watered by rain.
- Deuteronomy 8:7 (BSB)“For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks and fountains and springs that flow through the valleys and hills;”Moses has already described the land as full of brooks, springs, and valleys.
- Psalm 147:8 (BSB)“who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the hills.”The psalmist praises God as the one who covers the sky with clouds and prepares rain for the earth.
- Leviticus 25:23 (BSB)“The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.”God declares that the land belongs to Him and Israel lives on it as His tenants.
General
Which wilderness judgment does Moses single out by name in Deuteronomy 11:6?
Answer: The earth swallowing Dathan and Abiram with all they had
Among the works Moses lists, the one he names specifically is the judgment on Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab from the tribe of Reuben, when the ground opened beneath them and engulfed them together with their families and tents, down to every living creature they owned (11:6). Numbers tells the story: these men joined Korah's followers in revolt against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, and the earth swallowed them (Numbers 16:31-33). Numbers 26:9-10 says they became a warning sign, and Psalm 106:17 recalls the event by name. Moses uses it the same way here, as a sober reminder that the God who rescued Israel also judged rebellion among His own people.
- Deuteronomy 11:6 (BSB)“and what He did in the midst of all the Israelites to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that belonged to them.”Moses recalls the judgment on Dathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuben.
- Numbers 26:9-10 (BSB)“and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the congregation, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron with the followers of Korah who rebelled against the LORD. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign.”The census record identifies Dathan and Abiram as rebels against Moses and Aaron with Korah's followers, swallowed by the earth as a warning sign.
- Numbers 16:31-33 (BSB)“As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.”The original account describes the ground splitting open and swallowing the rebels with their households and possessions.
- Psalm 106:17 (BSB)“The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram.”The psalmist remembers the same judgment by name when recounting Israel's rebellions.
Theological
Which specific act of judgment does Moses name in 11:6 as part of what Israel had witnessed?
Answer: The earth swallowing Dathan and Abiram with all they had
In his catalogue of God's works, Moses names one wilderness judgment explicitly: the ground opening to swallow the Reubenite brothers Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, together with their households, tents, and all their living property (11:6). The episode belongs to the rebellion with Korah's company against the leadership of Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:31-33), which Numbers 26:9-10 calls a warning sign and Psalm 106:17 recalls in Israel's history of rebellion. Placed beside the Exodus deliverance, it shows that the LORD's discipline (11:2) includes both rescue of His people and judgment on rebellion within the covenant community.
- Deuteronomy 11:6 (BSB)“and what He did in the midst of all the Israelites to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that belonged to them.”Moses recalls the judgment on Dathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuben.
- Numbers 26:9-10 (BSB)“and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the congregation, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron with the followers of Korah who rebelled against the LORD. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire consumed 250 men. They serve as a warning sign.”The census record identifies Dathan and Abiram as rebels against Moses and Aaron with Korah's followers, swallowed by the earth as a warning sign.
- Numbers 16:31-33 (BSB)“As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households—all Korah’s men and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.”The original account describes the ground splitting open and swallowing the rebels with their households and possessions.
- Psalm 106:17 (BSB)“The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it covered the assembly of Abiram.”The psalmist remembers the same judgment by name when recounting Israel's rebellions.
General
In 11:2-7, why does Moses stress that his listeners, and not their children, had seen the LORD's mighty acts?
Answer: They had witnessed His works firsthand and must respond
Moses reminds his audience that they themselves, not their children who had not yet seen these things, knew the LORD's discipline, greatness, and power (11:2). He lists what they had witnessed: the signs in Egypt, the drowning of Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea (11:3-4; Exodus 14:28), God's care for them in the wilderness, and the judgment on Dathan and Abiram (11:5-6). Then he says it again: they had witnessed all His mighty deeds with their own eyes (11:7), and so they must keep His commands (11:8). Seeing God's works firsthand made them responsible to answer with obedience and to pass the memory on, as he had urged earlier (4:9). Moses speaks the same way about the covenant, God's binding agreement with Israel, as made with those alive that day (5:3).
- Deuteronomy 11:2 (BSB)“Know this day that it is not your children who have known and seen the discipline of the LORD your God: His greatness, His mighty hand, and His outstretched arm;”Moses tells his hearers that it was they, not their children, who had seen the LORD's discipline and might.
- Deuteronomy 11:7 (BSB)“For it is your own eyes that have seen every great work that the LORD has done.”He repeats that their own eyes had seen all of the LORD's great works.
- Deuteronomy 4:9 (BSB)“Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.”Moses had already warned them not to forget what their eyes had seen and to pass it on to their children.
- Deuteronomy 5:3 (BSB)“He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today.”Moses likewise insists that the covenant was made with those alive and listening that day.
- Exodus 14:28 (BSB)“The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.”The Exodus account confirms the destruction of Pharaoh's army in the sea, one of the works listed in 11:4.
Theological
What is the rhetorical point of Moses' insistence in 11:2-7 that his hearers, not their children, had seen the LORD's acts?
Answer: They had witnessed His works firsthand and must respond
Moses sets his hearers apart from their children, who had not seen the LORD's discipline and might (11:2), and rehearses the evidence: the signs against Pharaoh, the overthrow of the Egyptian army in the sea (11:3-4; Exodus 14:28), the wilderness provision, and the judgment on Dathan and Abiram (11:5-6). The repetition in 11:7 makes the point: eyewitness knowledge of God's works lays a direct obligation on them to obey (11:8) and to transmit the memory (4:9). As in 5:3, Moses addresses the living assembly as the covenant partner, pressing present responsibility rather than leaving the covenant as their fathers' affair.
- Deuteronomy 11:2 (BSB)“Know this day that it is not your children who have known and seen the discipline of the LORD your God: His greatness, His mighty hand, and His outstretched arm;”Moses tells his hearers that it was they, not their children, who had seen the LORD's discipline and might.
- Deuteronomy 11:7 (BSB)“For it is your own eyes that have seen every great work that the LORD has done.”He repeats that their own eyes had seen all of the LORD's great works.
- Deuteronomy 4:9 (BSB)“Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.”Moses had already warned them not to forget what their eyes had seen and to pass it on to their children.
- Deuteronomy 5:3 (BSB)“He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today.”Moses likewise insists that the covenant was made with those alive and listening that day.
- Exodus 14:28 (BSB)“The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.”The Exodus account confirms the destruction of Pharaoh's army in the sea, one of the works listed in 11:4.
General
What are the Israelites told to do with Moses' words in 11:18-21?
Answer: Keep them in their hearts and teach them in daily life
Moses tells Israel to set his words deep in their hearts and minds, to wear them as signs on hand and forehead, to teach them to their children in every part of the day, at home, on the road, at bedtime and on rising, and to write them on doorposts and gates (11:18-20). This repeats, almost word for word, the instructions after the Shema, the great call to love the one LORD (6:6-9). The motive follows: that their days and their children's days would be many in the land (11:21). God's word was to shape the whole of family life, so that each generation would learn to trust Him (Psalm 78:5-7), much as Paul later tells fathers to raise children in the Lord's instruction (Ephesians 6:4).
- Deuteronomy 11:18-19 (BSB)“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”Moses tells Israel to take his words to heart, bind them as reminders, and teach them to their children in daily life.
- Deuteronomy 11:20-21 (BSB)“Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers.”They are to write the words on doorposts and gates, so their days in the land may be multiplied.
- Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (BSB)“These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.”The same instructions follow the Shema almost word for word.
- Psalm 78:5-7 (BSB)“For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the coming generation would know them—even children yet to be born—to arise and tell their own children that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments.”The psalmist describes God's command to teach each generation so that the next would trust Him.
- Ephesians 6:4 (BSB)“Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”Paul tells fathers to bring up their children in the Lord's discipline and instruction.
Theological
What does 11:18-21 require Israel to do with Moses' words?
Answer: Keep them in their hearts and teach them in daily life
The instructions internalize the word (heart and mind), mark daily life with it (hand, forehead, doorposts, gates), and transmit it to the next generation in every setting of the day (11:18-20), deliberately recapitulating 6:6-9 shortly before the blessing and curse are set out. The motive is multiplied days in the land for parents and children (11:21). Covenant faithfulness is to be passed on through the household, as Psalm 78:5-7 describes, with the aim that each generation put its hope in God; Paul carries the same household responsibility into the new covenant (Ephesians 6:4).
- Deuteronomy 11:18-19 (BSB)“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”Moses tells Israel to take his words to heart, bind them as reminders, and teach them to their children in daily life.
- Deuteronomy 11:20-21 (BSB)“Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers.”They are to write the words on doorposts and gates, so their days in the land may be multiplied.
- Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (BSB)“These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.”The same instructions follow the Shema almost word for word.
- Psalm 78:5-7 (BSB)“For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the coming generation would know them—even children yet to be born—to arise and tell their own children that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments.”The psalmist describes God's command to teach each generation so that the next would trust Him.
- Ephesians 6:4 (BSB)“Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”Paul tells fathers to bring up their children in the Lord's discipline and instruction.
General
On which mountain was the blessing to be proclaimed after Israel entered the land (11:29)?
Answer: Mount Gerizim
Moses commands that once Israel entered the land, the blessing was to be announced from Gerizim, with the curse from Ebal (11:29). Moses places both peaks on the far, western side of the Jordan, in Canaanite territory, where Canaanites dwelt in the Arabah (the Jordan valley), opposite Gilgal and close to the Oak of Moreh (11:30). Genesis also mentions an Oak of Moreh, located by Shechem, where God showed Himself to Abram and promised the land to his offspring (Genesis 12:6-7). Moses later gives the details, naming six tribes to stand on each mountain (27:12-13), and Joshua carried it out, reading all the blessings and curses of the law with the people facing the two mountains (Joshua 8:33-34). The ceremony would set the choice of 11:26-28 in the land itself.
- Deuteronomy 11:29-30 (BSB)“When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. Are not these mountains across the Jordan, west of the road toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal near the Oak of Moreh?”Moses assigns the blessing to Mount Gerizim and the curse to Mount Ebal, near the Oak of Moreh.
- Deuteronomy 27:12-13 (BSB)““When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.”Moses later names which tribes are to stand on each mountain.
- Joshua 8:33-34 (BSB)“All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel. Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.”Joshua carries out the command, with the people facing the two mountains while the law is read.
- Genesis 12:6-7 (BSB)“Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.”Genesis names an Oak of Moreh at Shechem, where the LORD appeared to Abram and promised the land to his offspring.
Theological
According to 11:29, where was the blessing to be pronounced once Israel was in the land?
Answer: Mount Gerizim
The blessing belongs to Gerizim, while the curse belongs to Ebal (11:29), two mountains west of the Jordan, in Canaanite territory among those dwelling in the Arabah, facing Gilgal and close to the Oak of Moreh (11:30); Genesis also mentions an Oak of Moreh, located by Shechem, where God showed Himself to Abram and promised the land to his offspring (Genesis 12:6-7). The ceremony is elaborated with tribal assignments in 27:12-13 and enacted under Joshua, who read the blessings and curses before the people arrayed before both mountains (Joshua 8:33-34). The covenant alternatives of 11:26-28 are thus given a geographical and liturgical form near where the land was first promised to Abram.
- Deuteronomy 11:29-30 (BSB)“When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. Are not these mountains across the Jordan, west of the road toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal near the Oak of Moreh?”Moses assigns the blessing to Mount Gerizim and the curse to Mount Ebal, near the Oak of Moreh.
- Deuteronomy 27:12-13 (BSB)““When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.”Moses later names which tribes are to stand on each mountain.
- Joshua 8:33-34 (BSB)“All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel. Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.”Joshua carries out the command, with the people facing the two mountains while the law is read.
- Genesis 12:6-7 (BSB)“Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.”Genesis names an Oak of Moreh at Shechem, where the LORD appeared to Abram and promised the land to his offspring.
General
True or False: According to 11:16-17, if Israel turned to other gods, the LORD would withhold rain so the land would not produce.
Answer: True
This is true. Moses warns Israel to be careful not to be lured into worshiping other gods. If they were, the LORD's anger would burn, He would close up the sky so no rain fell, the ground would give no crops, and they would soon be destroyed and lose the land (11:16-17). Israel's history shows this happening: in Ahab's day Elijah announced a drought (1 Kings 17:1), and he told Ahab the cause was that his family had abandoned the LORD's commands to follow the Baals (1 Kings 18:18). Solomon's prayer had already asked God to forgive and send rain again when a people suffering such a drought turned back to Him (1 Kings 8:35-36).
- Deuteronomy 11:16-17 (BSB)“But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods, or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon perish from the good land that the LORD is giving you.”Moses warns that turning to other gods would bring God's anger, drought, and loss of the land.
- 1 Kings 17:1 (BSB)“Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!””Elijah announces a drought to Ahab, whose reign was marked by Baal worship.
- 1 Kings 18:18 (BSB)““I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.”Elijah names the cause: Ahab's house had forsaken the LORD's commands and followed the Baals.
- 1 Kings 8:35-36 (BSB)“When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.”Solomon's prayer anticipates skies shut for sin and asks God to forgive and send rain when the people turn back.
Theological
True or False: Deuteronomy 11:16-17 threatens drought and crop failure as the LORD's response to Israel turning to other gods.
Answer: True
This is true. The negative sanction mirrors the blessing: enticement to idolatry would kindle the LORD's anger, the heavens would be shut, the land would yield nothing, and Israel would swiftly be destroyed from its inheritance (11:16-17). The Elijah narrative is the clearest historical instance, a drought under Ahab (1 Kings 17:1) traced explicitly to forsaking the LORD's commands for the Baals (1 Kings 18:18). Solomon's dedication prayer builds on this covenant logic, asking that repentance for such sin be met with forgiveness and renewed rain (1 Kings 8:35-36). Mercy for the repentant is part of the same covenant.
- Deuteronomy 11:16-17 (BSB)“But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods, or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon perish from the good land that the LORD is giving you.”Moses warns that turning to other gods would bring God's anger, drought, and loss of the land.
- 1 Kings 17:1 (BSB)“Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!””Elijah announces a drought to Ahab, whose reign was marked by Baal worship.
- 1 Kings 18:18 (BSB)““I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.”Elijah names the cause: Ahab's house had forsaken the LORD's commands and followed the Baals.
- 1 Kings 8:35-36 (BSB)“When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.”Solomon's prayer anticipates skies shut for sin and asks God to forgive and send rain when the people turn back.
General
What does 11:12 say about the LORD's attention to Canaan?
Answer: His eyes are on it continually, all through the year
Moses says the land Israel was about to enter was one the LORD Himself cares for, watching over it without pause from the year's first day to its last (11:12). Israel would not be farming an unwatched land. The psalmist praises God for this same kind of care, watering the earth and preparing grain (Psalm 65:9-10), and crowning the year with His goodness (Psalm 65:11). This verse sets up what follows: because the land was under God's constant care, whether the rain came would depend on Israel's faithfulness to Him (11:13-17).
- Deuteronomy 11:12 (BSB)“It is a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning to the end of the year.”Moses describes the land as one the LORD cares for and watches over all year long.
- Psalm 65:9-10 (BSB)“You attend to the earth and water it; with abundance You enrich it. The streams of God are full of water, for You prepare our grain by providing for the earth. You soak its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its growth.”The psalmist praises God for attending to the earth, watering it, and preparing its grain.
- Psalm 65:11 (BSB)“You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your paths overflow with plenty.”God is said to crown the year with His bounty, His care spanning the whole year.
Theological
How does 11:12 characterize the LORD's relationship to the land Israel is entering?
Answer: His eyes are on it continually, all through the year
The land is described as the object of the LORD's continual care, His gaze never leaving it through the whole cycle of the year (11:12). This is providence over a particular land: seasons, rain, and harvest are under His personal oversight, as the psalmist confesses (Psalm 65:9-10) in praising the God who crowns the year with bounty (Psalm 65:11). The verse is the hinge of the section: because the land is under God's watchful care rather than self-sustaining, its rain becomes the instrument of covenant blessing and discipline in 11:13-17.
- Deuteronomy 11:12 (BSB)“It is a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning to the end of the year.”Moses describes the land as one the LORD cares for and watches over all year long.
- Psalm 65:9-10 (BSB)“You attend to the earth and water it; with abundance You enrich it. The streams of God are full of water, for You prepare our grain by providing for the earth. You soak its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its growth.”The psalmist praises God for attending to the earth, watering it, and preparing its grain.
- Psalm 65:11 (BSB)“You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your paths overflow with plenty.”God is said to crown the year with His bounty, His care spanning the whole year.
General
What does 11:22-23 say the LORD would do if Israel loved Him, walked in His ways, and held fast to Him?
Answer: Drive out nations larger and mightier than Israel
Moses promises that if Israel kept the commands, loving the LORD, walking in His ways, and clinging to Him, the LORD would drive out nations bigger and stronger than Israel (11:22-23). The victory would be God's, not a result of Israel's size. He would also make the peoples of the land afraid of them, as He had promised (11:25; Exodus 23:27). Rahab later confirms that this fear had fallen on Jericho (Joshua 2:9), and at the end of his life Joshua reminds Israel that the LORD had driven out great nations because He fought for them (Joshua 23:9-10).
- Deuteronomy 11:22-23 (BSB)“For if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him— then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.”If Israel loves the LORD, walks in His ways, and holds fast to Him, He will drive out mightier nations.
- Deuteronomy 11:25 (BSB)“No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.”No one would stand against Israel, because the LORD would put fear of them on the land.
- Exodus 23:27 (BSB)“I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.”God had promised at Sinai to send His terror ahead of Israel.
- Joshua 2:9 (BSB)“and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you.”Rahab testifies that the fear of Israel had already fallen on Jericho.
- Joshua 23:9-10 (BSB)“The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and to this day no one can stand against you. One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.”Joshua later confirms that the LORD had driven out great nations because He fought for Israel.
Theological
What promise does 11:22-23 attach to Israel's loving, walking in, and cleaving to the LORD?
Answer: Drive out nations larger and mightier than Israel
The condition gathers up covenant loyalty: love, walking in His ways, and holding fast to Him (11:22). The promise is that the LORD will dispossess peoples mightier and more numerous than Israel (11:23), so the conquest is presented as divine action rather than Israelite might. The dread of Israel falling on the land (11:25) fulfills the Sinai promise of God's terror going ahead (Exodus 23:27), is confessed by Rahab (Joshua 2:9), and is summarized by Joshua as the LORD fighting for His people (Joshua 23:9-10).
- Deuteronomy 11:22-23 (BSB)“For if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him— then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.”If Israel loves the LORD, walks in His ways, and holds fast to Him, He will drive out mightier nations.
- Deuteronomy 11:25 (BSB)“No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.”No one would stand against Israel, because the LORD would put fear of them on the land.
- Exodus 23:27 (BSB)“I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.”God had promised at Sinai to send His terror ahead of Israel.
- Joshua 2:9 (BSB)“and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you.”Rahab testifies that the fear of Israel had already fallen on Jericho.
- Joshua 23:9-10 (BSB)“The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and to this day no one can stand against you. One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.”Joshua later confirms that the LORD had driven out great nations because He fought for Israel.
General
According to Deuteronomy 11:1, how was Israel's love for the LORD to show itself?
Answer: By faithfully observing all that He required of them
Chapter 11 opens with a therefore that looks back to what Moses has just said: God had done mighty and fearsome deeds before their eyes and had turned seventy people who had gone into Egypt into a nation as countless as the stars (10:21-22). The response called for is love, expressed by always keeping His charge, statutes, ordinances, and commandments, that is, the duties, standing laws, and rulings He gave them (11:1). Love comes first, and obedience is how that love shows itself, just as Moses had summed up the LORD's requirement as fearing, walking, loving, and serving Him (10:12). Jesus makes the same connection for His followers (John 14:15), and John says that loving God means keeping His commandments, which are not a burden (1 John 5:3). The order matters: God first acted for Israel, and their obedience answers His grace.
- Deuteronomy 11:1 (BSB)“You shall therefore love the LORD your God and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.”Moses draws a conclusion from all God has done: love Him and keep what He requires.
- Deuteronomy 10:21-22 (BSB)“He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome wonders that your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.”The verses just before 11:1 recall the wonders Israel had seen and how God multiplied them, which is what the therefore builds on.
- Deuteronomy 10:12 (BSB)“And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,”Moses has already summed up what God asks as fearing, walking in His ways, loving, and serving Him.
- John 14:15 (BSB)“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”Jesus ties love for Him to keeping His commandments in the same way.
- 1 John 5:3 (BSB)“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,”John defines love for God as keeping His commandments, and says they are not burdensome.
Theological
In Deuteronomy 11:1, what form is Israel's love for the LORD to take?
Answer: By faithfully observing all that He required of them
The therefore of 11:1 grounds the command in the preceding recital of God's saving acts and His multiplication of Abraham's family (10:21-22). Love is the root; constant observance of His charge, statutes, ordinances, and commandments is its fruit (11:1), matching the earlier summary of covenant duty in 10:12. The New Testament keeps the same structure: love for Christ issues in keeping His commandments (John 14:15), and love for God is defined as obedience to commands that are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). Grace precedes law here; obedience is the grateful answer of a people already redeemed, not the means of becoming His people.
- Deuteronomy 11:1 (BSB)“You shall therefore love the LORD your God and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.”Moses draws a conclusion from all God has done: love Him and keep what He requires.
- Deuteronomy 10:21-22 (BSB)“He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome wonders that your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.”The verses just before 11:1 recall the wonders Israel had seen and how God multiplied them, which is what the therefore builds on.
- Deuteronomy 10:12 (BSB)“And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,”Moses has already summed up what God asks as fearing, walking in His ways, loving, and serving Him.
- John 14:15 (BSB)“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”Jesus ties love for Him to keeping His commandments in the same way.
- 1 John 5:3 (BSB)“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,”John defines love for God as keeping His commandments, and says they are not burdensome.
General
True or False: In 11:8-9, Moses says keeping the commands would give Israel strength to take the land and a long life in it.
Answer: True
This is true. Moses gives a motive for obedience with two results: keeping every command would give Israel the power to enter and conquer the country, and it would give them long life there, in the place promised to their fathers, rich in milk and honey (11:8-9). The same link appears earlier in the book (4:1; 6:2), and Joshua is told the same thing just before crossing the Jordan (Joshua 1:7). This is not how Israel became God's people; they were already rescued from Egypt. Obedience was the way a redeemed people would enjoy and remain in the gift God was giving.
- Deuteronomy 11:8-9 (BSB)“You shall therefore keep every commandment I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and possess the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.”Moses gives two reasons for keeping the commands: strength to take the land and long life in it.
- Deuteronomy 4:1 (BSB)“Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.”Moses had earlier tied following the statutes to living and entering the land.
- Deuteronomy 6:2 (BSB)“so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that your days may be prolonged.”Keeping God's statutes is again linked with fearing Him and having one's days prolonged.
- Joshua 1:7 (BSB)“Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.”Joshua is told the same thing on the brink of the conquest: careful obedience to Moses' law is the path of success.
Theological
True or False: Deuteronomy 11:8-9 grounds obedience in two outcomes: strength to possess the land and prolonged life in it.
Answer: True
This is true. The motive clause names both strength for the conquest and length of days in the sworn land of milk and honey (11:8-9), repeating a pattern already stated in 4:1 and 6:2 and pressed again on Joshua at the Jordan (Joshua 1:7). These are covenant blessings attached to Israel's tenure in the land. They follow redemption rather than produce it: Israel is addressed as a people already brought out of Egypt, and obedience is the path by which they enjoy what grace has given.
- Deuteronomy 11:8-9 (BSB)“You shall therefore keep every commandment I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and possess the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.”Moses gives two reasons for keeping the commands: strength to take the land and long life in it.
- Deuteronomy 4:1 (BSB)“Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.”Moses had earlier tied following the statutes to living and entering the land.
- Deuteronomy 6:2 (BSB)“so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that your days may be prolonged.”Keeping God's statutes is again linked with fearing Him and having one's days prolonged.
- Joshua 1:7 (BSB)“Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.”Joshua is told the same thing on the brink of the conquest: careful obedience to Moses' law is the path of success.
General
In 11:13-15, what is the promise of rain in its season tied to?
Answer: Israel's wholehearted love for the LORD and service of Him
God promises that if Israel carefully obeys, loving Him and serving Him with all their heart and soul, He will send the rains of autumn and spring at the right times, so there would be grain, wine, oil, grass for the cattle, and plenty to eat (11:13-15). This is a covenant blessing, a reward God attached to His binding agreement with Israel, the same kind Leviticus promises (Leviticus 26:3-4). The promise was made to Israel as a nation living in the land. Later prophets explained that the nation's sins held back these rains (Jeremiah 5:24-25). It is not a rule that a person's crops or wealth measure how faithful he is; Jesus says the Father sends rain on good and evil people alike (Matthew 5:45).
- Deuteronomy 11:13-15 (BSB)“So if you carefully obey the commandments I am giving you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil. And I will provide grass in the fields for your livestock, and you will eat and be satisfied.”Rain in season, harvest, and pasture are promised if Israel loves and serves the LORD wholeheartedly.
- Leviticus 26:3-4 (BSB)“If you follow My statutes and carefully keep My commandments, I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.”The covenant blessings in Leviticus likewise promise seasonal rain and harvest for obedience.
- Jeremiah 5:24-25 (BSB)“They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’ Your iniquities have diverted these from you; your sins have deprived you of My bounty.”Jeremiah later tells Judah that its sins had withheld the autumn and spring rains God gives.
- Matthew 5:45 (BSB)“that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”Jesus teaches that the Father sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous, so rain is not a gauge of each person's standing.
Theological
On what condition does 11:13-15 make seasonal rain and abundance depend?
Answer: Israel's wholehearted love for the LORD and service of Him
The condition is covenant love and wholehearted service, echoing the Shema (11:13), and the promised blessing is agricultural: rains of autumn and spring at their proper times, harvests of grain, wine, and oil, pasture, and satisfaction (11:14-15). This belongs to the national covenant sanctions for Israel in the land, parallel to Leviticus 26:3-4, and the prophets read the withholding of rain as God's response to national sin (Jeremiah 5:24-25). It does not establish a principle that individual prosperity tracks personal piety; in the general order of providence God gives rain to the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45).
- Deuteronomy 11:13-15 (BSB)“So if you carefully obey the commandments I am giving you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil. And I will provide grass in the fields for your livestock, and you will eat and be satisfied.”Rain in season, harvest, and pasture are promised if Israel loves and serves the LORD wholeheartedly.
- Leviticus 26:3-4 (BSB)“If you follow My statutes and carefully keep My commandments, I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.”The covenant blessings in Leviticus likewise promise seasonal rain and harvest for obedience.
- Jeremiah 5:24-25 (BSB)“They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’ Your iniquities have diverted these from you; your sins have deprived you of My bounty.”Jeremiah later tells Judah that its sins had withheld the autumn and spring rains God gives.
- Matthew 5:45 (BSB)“that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”Jesus teaches that the Father sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous, so rain is not a gauge of each person's standing.