Femte MosebokenKapitel 10

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At that time the LORD said to me, "Cut for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. Also make yourself a wooden chest.

I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed, and you shall put them in the chest."

So I made a chest of acacia wood, cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand.

And he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments that the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. Then the LORD gave them to me.

I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the chest I had made—and there they remain, as the LORD commanded me.

Now the Israelites set out from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died and there he was buried, and his son Eleazar became priest in his place.

From there they traveled to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of flowing streams.

At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve him, and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they do to this day.

That is why Levi has no share or inheritance alongside his brothers; the LORD himself is his inheritance, as the LORD your God told him.

I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I had before, and once again the LORD listened to me; he was unwilling to destroy you.

And the LORD said to me, "Get up, set out at the head of the people, so that they may go in and take possession of the land I swore to their fathers to give them."

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD that I am giving you today for your own good?

See, to the LORD your God belong the heavens and the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.

Yet it was on your fathers that the LORD set his heart in love, and he chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples—as it is this day.

So circumcise your hearts, and stiffen your necks no longer.

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and takes no bribe.

He secures justice for the orphan and the widow, and he loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.

You too must love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Fear the LORD your God; serve him, hold fast to him, and swear by his name.

He is your praise, and he is your God, who did for you these great and awesome things that you saw with your own eyes.

Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons strong, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

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Kapitel 10

Main Theme: The renewal of the covenant and God's demand for wholehearted loyalty and righteousness.

Content: Moses recounts how he carved new stone tablets after the first ones were broken, and how God wrote the Ten Commandments on them. The tribe of Levi was set apart to carry the ark of the covenant, serve the Lord, and bless in his name—therefore they have no inherited portion, for the Lord is their inheritance. Moses exhorts the people regarding what God requires: to fear him, walk in his ways, love him, and serve him with all their heart. God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, who shows no partiality but secures justice for the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigner.

Key Words/Images:

The Stone Tablets: The new tablets bearing the Ten Commandments symbolize the renewal of the covenant following the people's sin.
The Ark of the Covenant: The acacia wood chest that held the tablets, a sign of God's presence among his people.
Circumcise the foreskin of your heart: A metaphor for inner transformation and openness to God, not merely outward religiosity.
Love for the foreigner: God's care for vulnerable groups, which Israel itself is called to imitate.

Historisk kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for Deuteronomy 10

People

Aaron and Eleazar are mentioned in verse 6 in connection with Aaron’s death and Eleazar’s assumption of the high priesthood. This represents the first priestly succession after Aaron’s death. The transition from father to son ensured continuity in worship and reflected a common pattern in the ancient Near East, where priestly offices were often hereditary.

Places

Beeroth Bene-Jaakan, Moserah, Gudgodah, and Jotbathah (verses 6–7) are stations along Israel’s wilderness journey. The order here differs from Numbers 33:31–33, which has concerned biblical scholars. Jotbathah is described as "a land of brooks", suggesting an oasis in the desert landscape. Modern scholars have attempted to identify these places in the Negev or the Sinai region, but secure localization remains difficult. The description of water-rich areas corresponds with known oases along traditional trade routes through the Sinai Peninsula.

Events and Customs

The Ark of Acacia Wood (verses 1–5) was a chest for storing the tablets of the law. Acacia wood (שִׁטִּים, shittim) grows in desert regions and was available on Sinai. Chests for storing sacred documents were common in Egyptian and Mesopotamian culture—pharaoh had chests for important documents, and Mesopotamian temples had similar objects. The Hebrew term אָרוֹן (aron) is used both for this ark and for ordinary chests or coffins, but here it takes on a specially holy function.

The Setting Apart of the Levites (verses 8–9) describes the establishment of a tribe without territorial inheritance, dedicated to religious service. This was unusual in the ancient Near East, where priests often possessed temple property and land. The Levites’ dependence on tithes and offerings created a unique system in which religious leaders were directly dependent on the people’s faithfulness to the covenant.

Key Terms

"Circumcise the foreskin of your heart" (וּמַלְתֶּם אֵת עָרְלַת לְבַבְכֶם, verse 16) is a powerful metaphor that transfers the physical covenant act to inner life. The term עָרְלָה (orla, "foreskin") is used here figuratively for what hinders openness toward God. This spiritualization of circumcision also appears in the prophet Jeremiah (4:4) and represents an early tradition of understanding outward rituals as signs of inward realities.

"God of gods and Lord of lords" (אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים וַאֲדֹנֵי הָאֲדֹנִים, verse 17) is a superlative construction typical of Hebrew. The expression places YHWH above all other deities and powers—a polemical claim in a polytheistic context. Similar superlative constructions are used for kings and gods in the ancient Near East, but here they are applied to highlight YHWH’s sovereignty over all powers.

"The foreigner" (גֵּר, ger, verses 18–19) refers to non-Israelites living among the people. The command to love the foreigner is grounded in Israel’s own experience as foreigners in Egypt—a remarkable ethical argument based on historical memory. In the ancient Near East, foreigners generally had few rights, making this legislation distinctive.

Personer2

Eleazar1 Aaron1

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Nyckelord5

Commandment — God's commands and instructions to people to live righteously and in harmony with his will.
Covenant — An agreement or bond between God and people, where both parties have obligations and promises toward each other.
Stone tablets — The two stone plates that contained the Ten Commandments, given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Circumcision — A religious ceremony in which the foreskin of the penis is removed as a sign of covenant and belonging to God's people.
Humility — An attitude of respect and submission toward God, involving recognition of one's own limitations and dependence on God's grace.

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