Deuteronomy 28

28:1-68 This section presents the conditions for receiving the covenant blessing, the nature of the blessings (28:1-14), and the curses that will come if these mandates are ignored or disobeyed (28:15-68).

28:5 The breadboards were blessed because the harvest was blessed.

28:7 In the Bible, the number seven generally conveys fullness or completion. Here, the number indicates that Israel’s enemies would be completely removed from the land (see study note on Deut 2:34).

28:10 When the nations saw the blessings of Israel, they would know that it had happened because you are a people claimed by the Lord (literally the name of the Lord is called over you). When the nations saw Israel, they would think of the Lord and his faithfulness.

28:12 his rich treasury in the heavens: This metaphor describes the clouds that provide life-giving rain to the earth.

28:13 the head and not the tail: If Israel obeyed the terms of the covenant, it would lead the nations and not be subject to them.

28:17 If they disobeyed the commands of the covenant, Israel could expect God to judge them with the curse of agricultural barrenness (cp. 28:5).

28:21 The diseases that afflict (or cling to) Israel would be chronic, not releasing their hold until the nation had succumbed.

28:22 Some scholars identify these symptoms with tuberculosis.

28:23 In this graphic picture of drought and famine, the sky dams up the rain, making the earth hard and unfruitful.

28:24 The only thing even resembling rain would be the swirling dust that coats everything to suffocation.

28:25 This verse reverses the blessing of 28:7; Israel would be forced to scatter from their enemies in seven directions—i.e., completely and totally.

28:27 the boils of Egypt: See Exod 9:8-12. • tumors: Cp. 1 Sam 5:6, 9, 12. • scurvy: Perhaps dermatitis. • The itch is also symptomatic of dermatitis.

28:36 exile you: This prediction had two major fulfillments in Old Testament times—the Assyrian exile of Samaria in 722 BC and the Babylonian conquest and exile of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

28:43 foreigners (literally sojourners): In God’s day of judgment, those regarded as the weakest and most vulnerable elements of Israelite society (see 29:11) would dominate.

28:44 the head . . . the tail: Rather than Israel’s leading the nations, the reverse would be true when God punishes his people (see 28:13).

28:46 sign and warning (literally sign and wonder): This expression indicates God’s miraculous acts that arrest the attention of those who witness them and attest to his power and sovereignty (see 6:22). They are intended to produce intense fear among his own people.

28:48 An iron yoke is portrayed in various inscriptions and artistic representations. The use of this hard, unyielding metal emphasizes the cruelty and severity of the bondage Israel would experience if it remained unrepentant.

28:49 like a vulture (or eagle): This simile indicates how rapidly the enemy would come. • whose language you do not understand: Both Assyrian and Babylonian were dialects of Akkadian, a language that was related to Hebrew but vastly different in grammar, syntax, and vocabulary (see Isa 36:11-13).

28:50 The Assyrians were fierce and heartless toward their defeated enemies. A favorite instrument of torture was a stake on which they impaled their victims alive (see Isa 33:19; Nah 2:1-7).

28:54 A tenderhearted man was sheltered from the dark and disgusting side of life. He had never experienced the horrors that would befall him.

28:56 not . . . touch the ground: This woman was so fastidious that she avoided walking barefoot on the soil.

28:57 afterbirth: This horrific scenario depicts a mother so hungry as to eat a human placenta and the new baby she has borne.

28:58 The context suggests that all the words of instruction (literally all the words of this torah) refers to the entire book of Deuteronomy, in which lists of blessings and curses were a major part (see 27:3). • If you do not fear the . . . name—i.e., do not fear God himself (see study note on 7:21).

28:60 The diseases of Egypt were not just general plagues but those associated with physical illness (see Exod 9:8-12).

28:64 foreign gods: This phrase does not suggest the actual existence of other deities. The Old Testament is clear that there is only one God, the Lord. However, the pagans among whom Israel would live did worship other gods; the danger was that Israel would adopt the same practices.

28:68 The threat of being sent back to Egypt referred to any future exile of God’s people, a reversal of the exodus from freedom to bondage. • no one will buy you: The disobedient and cursed Israelites would be so little esteemed that they would be unable to command any price as slaves. By contrast, the Lord had redeemed Israel from enslavement at great cost (see 9:26).