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Deuteronomy 10

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The Whosoever Study Bible
Whosoever will, may come.
the fifth book of moses, called deuteronomy
Moses · c. 1406 BC
Chapter the Tenth
At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.
And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me.
And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest’s office in his stead.
From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters.
At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.
And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee.
And the LORD said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
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Chuck Smith on Deuteronomy 10

Verse by verse, the C2000 series. Permission granted by The Word For Today.
Verses 1-11 Chapter 10 In chapter ten He continues of their failures during the wilderness experiences. And he's reminding them of the failure at the time when God had given to him the law on the two tables of stone. And how that when he came down from the mountain that the people had made this golden calf and were worshipping it and how the tables of stone were broken. And so he was commanded by the Lord to take two more tables of stone. And for another forty days and forty nights in fasting without water or bread there on the mount before God. And God wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments [verse four] in the mount in the midst of the fire; and the LORD gave them unto me ( Deuteronomy 10:4 ). And so how that the Lord led them. And then in verse twelve; the question, And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee ( Deuteronomy 10:12 ), Verse 12 This is a question that every one of us should be concerned with: What does God require of me? As soon as I conclude in my mind that God does exist, and let me suggest that it's much easier to believe that God exists than to not believe that God exists. I don't know how many of you saw that sunrise this morning; oh, it was absolutely glorious. I don't see how anybody could look at that sunrise and not believe that God exists. When you start thinking of the whole process of the universe and you start thinking of the processes of life, it's much easier to believe that God exists than not to believe that God exists. So, when you come to the conclusion that God exists and that conclusion is easily derived at when you look at man and you realize all of the intricacies that make up just the first cell of man and you see our capacities, you realize that God exists because no one but God could create an instrument such as our body except one who has all wisdom and all knowledge; an omniscient God. Now if God created me He must have created me for a purpose. Therefore, what does God require of me? I don't believe that God would have just created man and just said, "Here you are and now you're on your own". That having been created by God I have certain obligations and responsibilities to my Creator. What are they? Hear, O Israel, this is what the LORD require of you, to reverence the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command you this day for thy good? ( Deuteronomy 10:12-13 ) Verses 13-22 Well, that's pretty heavy. What does God require? That you reverence Him, that you walk in all of His ways, that you love Him and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul. You say, "Well, I failed in that. What now?" That you keep all of His commandments, you walk in all of His ways, that you reverence Him. We haven't done it. As the Bible said, "We've all sinned and come short of the glory of God"( Romans 3:23 ). Does that mean that it's all over, there is no hope for me? No. God has an alternate plan because man was not able to fulfill God's requirement and this is God's ideal requirement, this is how God would have you to live and God would have every man to live. And let me suggest if every man lived according to this requirement we'd have one fantastic, beautiful world. If every man was walking in the ways of God, loving God, loving each other as they love themselves and walking in full harmony of God, what a fabulous world this could be. But man failed. And rather than reverencing God, man so often blasphemes God. Rather than loving and serving, man is rebelling against Him. And we also fail to walk in all of His ways and to love and serve Him as we should. So does that mean we're lost, there's no hope? No. In the New Testament they came to Jesus with a question "What must we do to do the works of God?" Same idea: "What does God require of us?" "What must we do to do the works of God?" And Jesus said, "This is the work of God: that you believe on him whom he hath sent"( John 6:29 ). Praise the Lord, I can do that. Though I failed in the ideal requirement, yet I can now fulfill the actual requirement of God. What does God actually require of me tonight? That I believe in His Son Jesus Christ. All right, I can handle that. Now to me it's fabulous that that's what God requires of me. That I just believe in the provisions that He has made for my sin by sending His Son. "Believe in him whom he hath sent".

Commentary on Deuteronomy 10

Whosoever Will · the Seven Threads Commentary

Deuteronomy 10:1

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:2

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:3

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:4

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:5

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:6

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:7

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:8

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:9

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:10

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:11

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:12

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:13

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:14

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:15

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:16

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:17

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:18

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:19

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:20

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:21

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30

Deuteronomy 10:22

The Shema is the foundational covenant confession of Israel: recited morning and evening by observant Jews for three thousand years, called by Jesus the first and greatest commandment, cited by Paul as the ground of Gentile inclusion (Romans 3:29-30). It sits at the center of Deuteronomy 6 and at the center of the covenant's entire theology of response. Two parts: the declaration (verse 4) and the command (verse 5). YHWH Echad: the LORD is one. Echad is compound unity, not absolute singularity: the same word used for one cluster of grapes and for the one flesh of marriage. The unity of God contains the Trinitarian distinctions. Then ve-ahavta, and you shall love. The Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as a command. You shall love YHWH your God with all your levav (heart: the center of the inner life, the seat of genuine decision), all your nefesh (soul, the whole living self, the animating being), and all your me'od (might, very-ness, total capacity and resources). The three dimensions together cover the whole person. The command leaves nothing out. Thread 4 is in the command itself. Love commanded presupposes love possible. Programmed compliance is not love. If the greatest commandment in the entire Torah requires genuine love, and genuine love requires genuine freedom, the freedom to give or withhold, then genuine human freedom is not a peripheral doctrine but a theological necessity embedded in the most important verse in the Torah. Jesus will say in Matthew 22:37-40 that the whole law and the prophets hang on this command and its companion from Leviticus 19:18. The entire covenant is suspended on two genuine imperatives addressed to genuine moral agents. Thread 7 is Deuteronomy 7's extension of the principle: the God who chose Israel chose Israel not because they were the greatest but because of his love, and that love reaches beyond Israel to all the families of the earth.
Hear O Israel the LORD our God is one LORD, and thou shalt love. The Shema is not a creed to be recited but a command to be obeyed; love commanded presupposes love possible; the whole covenant turns on the dignity of the genuine response.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד (Shema Yisrael YHWH Elohenu YHWH Echad): Hear O Israel the LORD our God the LORD is one: Shema (hear, listen, obey, the hearing that is also doing; the imperative of shama, the foundational covenant-response word); Echad (one, compound unity, not yachid which is absolute singularity; echad is used for one cluster of grapes, one day composed of evening and morning; the unity of God is a unity that contains the Trinitarian plurality) · וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ (ve-ahavta et YHWH Elohekha be-khol levavkha u-ve-khol nafshekha u-ve-khol me'odekha): and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might: ve-ahavta (Qal perfect with vav consecutive functioning as command: you shall love; love commanded presupposes love possible; programmed compliance is not love); be-khol levavkha (with all your heart, levav, the center of the inner life, intellect, will, affections together); u-ve-khol nafshekha (with all your soul, nefesh, the animating self, the whole living person); u-ve-khol me'odekha (with all your might, me'od, literally your very-ness, your intensity, your total capacity; the three cover the whole person leaving nothing out)
threads t2 · t4 · t7 · see Matthew 22:37-40 · Romans 3:29-30 · Mark 12:29-30
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