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Deuteronomy 6

W
The Whosoever Study Bible
Whosoever will, may come.
the fifth book of moses, called deuteronomy
Moses · c. 1406 BC
Chapter the Sixth
Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,
To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.
And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
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Questions answered from Deuteronomy 6

Short answers from Always Ready that cite this chapter

Chuck Smith on Deuteronomy 6

Verse by verse, the C2000 series. Permission granted by The Word For Today.
Verses 1-3 NOW these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land whither you go to possess it: That you may fear the LORD thy God, and to keep all of his statutes and commandments, which I command you. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of your fathers has promised thee, in the land that flows with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel ( Deuteronomy 6:1-4 ): Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD ( Deuteronomy 6:4 ): Verse 4 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might ( Deuteronomy 6:5 ). Verses 5-25 Now when the lawyer came to Jesus and said, "Which is the greatest commandment?" Jesus quoted this, the Shema. The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy might ( Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ).

Commentary on Deuteronomy 6

Whosoever Will · the Seven Threads Commentary

Deuteronomy 6:1

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 6:2

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 6:3

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 6:4

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 6:5

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 6:6

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 6:7

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 6:8

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 6:9

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 6:10

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 6:11

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 6:12

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 6:13

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 6:14

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 6:15

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 6:16

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 6:17

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 6:18

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 6:19

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 6:20

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 6:21

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 6:22

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

Deuteronomy 6:23

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 6:24

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 6:25

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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