Table of Contents
Part of the Old Testament
| Book | Summary | Interpretations |
|---|---|---|
| Deuteronomy 1 | Moses recalls the journey from Horeb, the appointment of judges, and the failure at Kadesh. | |
| Deuteronomy 2 | The wandering years; Israel passes Edom, Moab and Ammon and defeats Sihon. | |
| Deuteronomy 3 | Og of Bashan is defeated; land east of the Jordan is given; Moses may not enter Canaan. | |
| Deuteronomy 4 | Moses urges obedience, warns against images, and sets apart cities of refuge. | |
| Deuteronomy 5 | The Ten Commandments are repeated from Horeb. | |
| Deuteronomy 6 | The Shema: hear, O Israel; love the LORD with all your heart; teach your children. | |
| Deuteronomy 7 | Israel must destroy the nations of Canaan and their altars; it is a chosen people. | |
| Deuteronomy 8 | Remember the manna and the desert; do not forget the LORD in times of plenty. | |
| Deuteronomy 9 | Moses recalls the golden calf and his forty days on the mountain. | |
| Deuteronomy 10 | The second tablets and the ark; the Levites are set apart. | |
| Deuteronomy 11 | Blessings for obedience, curses for following other gods; Gerizim and Ebal. | |
| Deuteronomy 12 | One place of worship; destroy the high places; do not burn children as the nations do. | |
| Deuteronomy 13 | Death for prophets and relatives who lead people to other gods. | |
| Deuteronomy 14 | Clean and unclean foods; the tithe. | |
| Deuteronomy 15 | The year of release, care for the poor, and the firstborn of the flock. | |
| Deuteronomy 16 | Passover, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles; judges. | |
| Deuteronomy 17 | Rules on sacrifices, idolatry, courts and a future king. | |
| Deuteronomy 18 | Priests and Levites; no child passing through fire, no divination; a prophet like Moses. | |
| Deuteronomy 19 | Cities of refuge; boundary stones; witnesses. | |
| Deuteronomy 20 | Laws of war and siege. | |
| Deuteronomy 21 | Unsolved murder, captive wives, the firstborn's right, the rebellious son. | |
| Deuteronomy 22 | Various laws on lost property, clothing and marriage. | |
| Deuteronomy 23 | Who may enter the assembly; vows; cleanliness of the camp. | |
| Deuteronomy 24 | Divorce, loans, and justice for the poor. | |
| Deuteronomy 25 | Levirate marriage, honest weights; remember Amalek. | |
| Deuteronomy 26 | Firstfruits and tithes; the covenant is confirmed. | |
| Deuteronomy 27 | Stones on Mount Ebal; the curses spoken by the Levites. | |
| Deuteronomy 28 | Long lists of blessings and curses. | |
| Deuteronomy 29 | The covenant in the land of Moab is renewed. | |
| Deuteronomy 30 | Return and restoration; choose life. | |
| Deuteronomy 31 | Joshua is appointed; the law is written down; Moses is told Israel will turn to other gods. | |
| Deuteronomy 32 | The Song of Moses; the Most High divides the nations. | The Most High divides the nations |
| Deuteronomy 33 | Moses blesses the tribes. | |
| Deuteronomy 34 | Moses sees the land from Mount Nebo and dies. |
Through the lens of many gods
The Most High divides the nations (Deuteronomy 32:8-9)
When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD’S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (KJV)
In the KJV, God sets the borders of the nations by the number of Israel.
A Dead Sea Scroll copy of Deuteronomy reads “sons of God” where the KJV has “children of Israel”, and the Greek Septuagint has “angels of God”. The scholar Michael Heiser defended that older reading. With it, the Most High hands out the nations to the sons of God, and Yahweh gets Jacob as his share.
Mauro Biglino reads it the same way. In his view Yahweh was one of the Elohim, and he was given Jacob’s family to rule.
Paul Wallis puts it this way: “Yahweh appears to be a junior Elohim because the other Elohim get land”.
If I had to pick one verse for this whole lens, it would be this one. Read this way, the Old Testament is about many rulers, and Yahweh is the one assigned to Jacob.
Heiser himself would not follow me here. He kept Yahweh as the Most High. Biglino and Wallis are the ones who separate them.
See also The Gods in the Bible, Elohim, Yahweh.
