Not for Your Righteousness
Deuteronomy 9:1-6
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Deu.9.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמע: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- עבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- הירדן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לבא: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- לרשת: VERB,qal,inf
- גוים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- גדלים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ועצמים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ממך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- ערים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- גדלת: ADJ,f,pl
- ובצרת: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בשמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:1 (verbal): Uses nearly identical language about crossing the Jordan to dispossess nations ‘greater and mightier than you’; echoes the warning about powerful, fortified cities.
- Deuteronomy 11:22 (thematic): Continues the theme that obedience will enable Israel to drive out stronger peoples from the land—linking the promise of possession with confronting mightier nations.
- Joshua 1:2–3 (structural): Joshua is commissioned to ‘go over this Jordan’ and take possession of the land God gives—directly continuing the narrative move from Deuteronomy’s command to enter and possess Canaan.
- Deuteronomy 31:3 (allusion): God’s assurance that he will go before Israel and destroy the nations echoes Deut. 9:1’s concern about nations greater and stronger, stressing divine aid in the conquest.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hear, O Israel: today you are crossing the Jordan to come in and dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, with cities large and fortified up to the heavens.
- Hear, O Israel: today you cross the Jordan to enter and dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities large and fortified up to the heavens.
Deu.9.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עם: PREP
- גדול: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ורם: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ענקים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- ידעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- שמעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- יתיצב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לפני: PREP
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ענק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 13:28 (verbal): The spies report that the land is inhabited by the sons of Anak (Anakim) and describe their size and strength—directly parallels Deut. 9:2’s identification of a ‘great and tall people, the sons of Anak.’
- Numbers 13:33 (verbal): The spies’ claim that they saw giants and felt like ‘grasshoppers’ before them echoes Deut. 9:2’s emphasis on the intimidating stature of the Anakim and Israel’s fear in view of them.
- Deuteronomy 1:28 (thematic): Moses recalls the people’s fear when told the inhabitants were greater and taller than they—parallels the theme of intimidation by powerful, large enemies in Deut. 9:2.
- Deuteronomy 2:10–11 (allusion): These verses identify the Anakim with the Rephaim and note their great size, providing background ethnographic material that underlies Deut. 9:2’s reference to the Anakim’s stature.
- Joshua 11:21 (structural): Joshua’s campaign that destroys the Anakim in the hill country shows the later historical resolution of the threat described in Deut. 9:2, connecting the portrayal of their former might with Israel’s eventual conquest.
Alternative generated candidates
- A people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard—Who can stand before the Anakim?
- A people great and tall—the sons of the Anakim—whom you know and of whom you have heard: 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?'
Deu.9.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- העבר: VERB,qal,ptcp,m,sg,def
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- אש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- ישמידם: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg
- והוא: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- יכניעם: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- והורשתם: VERB,hiph,impf,2,m,pl
- והאבדתם: VERB,hiph,impf,2,m,pl
- מהר: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- כאשר: CONJ
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deut.4.24 (verbal): Direct verbal/theological parallel — both describe YHWH as a consuming fire (אֵשׁ אוֹכֶלֶת / אֵשׁ אֹכֶלֶת) who judges/destroys.
- Deut.7.22 (thematic): Promise that the LORD will deliver and utterly destroy the nations before Israel — same assurance that God will cast out and destroy the inhabitants.
- Deut.1.30 (structural): Uses the same idea that ‘the LORD your God who goes before you’ will fight on Israel’s behalf and bring down their enemies.
- Deut.31.8 (structural): Echoes the phrase and theme that God ‘goes before’ Israel; emphasizes God’s leading presence and deliverance for the people.
- Ps.97.3 (thematic): Imagery of fire going before God and consuming/burning up his enemies parallels the picture of YHWH as a consuming fire that destroys Israel’s foes.
Alternative generated candidates
- Know, then, this day that the LORD your God is the one who goes before you; he is a consuming fire—he will destroy them, he will subdue them before you, and you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the LORD has spoken to you.
- Know then today that the LORD your God is the one who goes before you; he is a consuming fire—he will destroy them, he will subdue them before you, and you shall dispossess them and make them perish quickly, as the LORD has spoken to you.
Deu.9.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אל: NEG
- תאמר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בלבבך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- בהדף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- מלפניך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- בצדקתי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- הביאני: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לרשת: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- וברשעת: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מורישם: VERB,hiph,imperfect,3,m,sg
- מפניך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2m
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 9:5 (structural): Immediate continuation: repeats and expands the warning that Israel's possession of the land is not due to their righteousness but because of the wickedness of the nations.
- Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (verbal): Same rhetorical prohibition against self-credit—warns Israel not to say in their heart that their power or might produced their prosperity, paralleling the admonition not to claim the conquest as personal righteousness.
- Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (thematic): Explains God's motive for choosing Israel—not because of their righteousness or numbers but because of God's love and the oath to the fathers, countering any boastful claim of merit.
- Psalm 44:3 (thematic): Attributes Israel's victories and settlement in the land to God's hand rather than to Israel's own sword or might, echoing the theme that the land is God's gift, not Israel's righteousness.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 (thematic): New Testament parallel warning against boasting: everything is received from God, so one cannot boast as if success were solely one's own—a theological echo of Deut 9:4's prohibition of self-congratulation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not say in your heart, when the LORD your God has driven them out from before you, 'It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.'
- Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has driven them out before you, 'It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land'—for it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is dispossessing them from before you.
Deu.9.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- בצדקתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cons+2ms
- ובישר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבבך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- בא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לרשת: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- ארצם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- ברשעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- מורישם: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg+3mp
- מפניך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2m
- ולמען: CONJ+PREP
- הקים: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נשבע: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לאבתיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2,m,sg
- לאברהם: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ליצחק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וליעקב: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.9.4 (quotation): Immediate context: explicitly warns Israel not to think the land is given because of their righteousness, the same basic statement repeated and expanded in 9:5.
- Deut.7:7-8 (thematic): Affirms the same idea that Israel was not chosen for greater merit but because of God's love and the oath he swore to the fathers—linking conquest to the divine covenant rather than Israel's righteousness.
- Gen.15:18 (allusion): The original covenantal grant of territory to Abraham; Deut.9:5 cites the promise to the patriarchs as the reason God gives the land.
- Ps.105:8-11 (thematic): Celebrates God's faithfulness to the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as the basis for giving the land—paralleling Deut.9:5's appeal to the patriarchal oath.
- Rom.9:11-13 (thematic): New Testament parallel on divine election and promise: God's purposes and promises (not human merit or works) determine his dealings—echoing Deut.9:5's 'not because of your righteousness' motif.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not think it is for your righteousness or for the integrity of your heart that you come to possess their land; but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out before you, and to fulfill the oath that the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
- It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to possess their land; but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God will dispossess them from before you, to establish the word that the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Deu.9.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- בצדקתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הטובה: ADJ,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- לרשתה: INF,qal,3,f,sg
- כי: CONJ
- עם: PREP
- קשה: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ערף: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (thematic): Explicitly states God chose Israel not because of their righteousness but because of his love and covenant oath—same theological point as Deut 9:6.
- Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (thematic): Warns Israel not to attribute their prosperity or possession of the land to their own power—parallels the denial that the land is given for Israel’s righteousness.
- Psalm 44:3 (thematic): Affirms that Israel’s territory was not acquired by their own sword but by God’s hand—echoes the claim that possession is not due to Israel’s righteousness.
- Nehemiah 9:16 (verbal): Uses the same characterization of Israel as 'stiff-necked' (stubborn) while recounting God’s gracious dealings—verbal and thematic echo of Deut 9:6’s description.
- Romans 9:16 (thematic): Summarizes the principle that divine gifts depend on God’s mercy, not human will or merit—New Testament parallel to the idea that the land is not given for Israel’s righteousness.
Alternative generated candidates
- Know, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God gives you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
- Know then that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess; for you are a stubborn, stiff-necked people.
Hear, O Israel: you are crossing the Jordan this day to go in and dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to the heavens;
a great and tall people—the sons of Anak, whom you have seen and heard of—who can stand before the sons of Anak?
Know then today that the LORD your God is the one who goes before you; a consuming fire he will destroy them, and he will subdue them before you, and you shall dispossess and utterly destroy them quickly, as the LORD has spoken to you.
Do not say in your heart, when the LORD your God drives them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land’—for it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out from before you.
It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you come to possess their land; but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is dispossessing them from before you, and to establish the word that the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Know therefore that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God gives you this good land to possess; for you are a stiff-necked people.