Femte MosebokenKapitel 29

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Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: You have seen everything the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land—

the great trials your eyes witnessed, those great signs and wonders.

Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.

I led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes did not wear out on you, and the sandals on your feet did not wear out.

You ate no bread and drank no wine or strong drink, so that you would know that I am the LORD your God.

When you came to this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan marched out to meet us in battle, and we defeated them.

We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

So keep the words of this covenant and carry them out, that you may prosper in everything you do.

Today all of you are standing before the LORD your God—your tribal leaders, your elders and your officers, every man of Israel,

your children and your wives, and the foreigner in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water—

to enter into the covenant of the LORD your God and into his sworn oath, which the LORD your God is making with you today,

so that he may establish you today as his people and be your God, as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant with its oath,

but with everyone standing here with us today before the LORD our God, and also with those who are not here with us today.

For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we passed through the nations you traveled among.

You saw their detestable things and their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, that they kept among them.

Make sure there is no man or woman, no clan or tribe among you whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God to go and serve the gods of those nations—make sure there is no root among you bearing poison and bitterness.

When such a person hears the words of this oath, he congratulates himself in his heart and says, "I will be safe, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart." This would sweep away the watered land along with the dry.

The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, the LORD's anger and jealousy will smolder against that man, every curse written in this book will settle on him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.

The LORD will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, in keeping with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.

The next generation, your children who come after you, and the foreigner who arrives from a distant land, will see the plagues of that land and the diseases the LORD has inflicted on it—

the whole land a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown, yielding nothing, with not a blade of grass growing on it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger and wrath.

All the nations will ask, "Why has the LORD done this to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?"

And the answer will be: "Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

They went and served other gods and bowed down to them, gods they had not known, gods he had not assigned to them.

So the LORD's anger burned against that land, bringing upon it every curse written in this book.

The LORD uprooted them from their soil in anger and wrath and great fury, and cast them into another land, as it is today."

The hidden things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may carry out all the words of this law.

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Kapitel 29

Main Theme: Moses renews the covenant between God and all Israel before they enter the promised land.

Content: Moses gathers the entire people—leaders, men, women, children, and foreigners—to enter into covenant with God. He reminds them of God’s mighty acts in Egypt, the journey through the wilderness where their clothes and sandals did not wear out, and the victories over the kings Sihon and Og. The covenant applies not only to those standing there but also to future generations. Moses strongly warns against apostasy and idolatry, describing how disobedience will lead to the land’s destruction like that of Sodom and Gomorrah. The chapter concludes with these words: "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever."

Key Words/Images:

Covenant (בְּרִית): The binding agreement between God and Israel, renewed before entering the land.
A root that bears poison and wormwood (שֹׁרֶשׁ פֹּרֶה רֹאשׁ וְלַעֲנָה): A picture of a person or group who may spread apostasy and sin among the people.
The secret and the revealed (הַנִּסְתָּרֹת... וְהַנִּגְלֹת): The secret things belong to God, while the revealed things (the Torah) are given to Israel to follow.
Sodom and Gomorrah: A symbol of total destruction as a consequence of breaking the covenant.

Historisk kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for Deuteronomy 29

People

The chapter mentions the kings Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan (v. 6–7), two Amorite rulers whom Israel defeated before crossing the Jordan. Heshbon was the capital of Sihon’s kingdom in Transjordan, and archaeological excavations at Tell Hesban have revealed settlement dating back to the Bronze Age. Bashan, Og’s kingdom, included the fertile highlands east of the Sea of Galilee. These victories were of great significance because they provided land for the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, and served as concrete evidence of the Lord’s help.

Places

The reference to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim (v. 22) points to the destroyed cities near the Dead Sea (Genesis 19). The southern part of the Dead Sea region is known for its sulfate and salt deposits, and the landscape still bears signs of volcanic and geological activity. The description of "sulfur and salt" rendering the land barren corresponds with the character of this area. These cities functioned as a cultural symbol of total destruction throughout the Old Testament period.

Events and Customs

The chapter describes a covenant-making ceremony in which all Israel gathers—leaders, elders, children, women, and foreigners, down to woodcutters and water carriers (v. 9–10). The expression "to enter into the covenant" (לְעָבְרְךָ בִּבְרִית, v. 11) can literally be translated as "to pass through the covenant," possibly alluding to the ancient custom where covenant participants walked between split animal carcasses (cf. Genesis 15:17; Jeremiah 34:18). The covenant ceremony also included curses (אָלָה), which were standard in ancient Near Eastern treaties.

Key Terms

The expression "a root that bears bitter and poisonous fruit" (שֹׁרֶשׁ פֹּרֶה רֹאשׁ וְלַעֲנָה, v. 17) uses plant imagery to describe the spread of idolatry. The Hebrew ro'sh denotes a poisonous plant, while la'anah (wormwood) was known for its bitterness. The image warns that one person’s apostasy can poison the entire community.

The concluding verse (v. 28) contains the well-known statement about "the hidden things" (הַנִּסְתָּרֹת) versus "the revealed things" (הַנִּגְלֹת). In the Hebrew Masoretic text, the words "us and our children" have dots above certain letters—a rare textual critical marking used by ancient scribes to signal uncertainty or special significance. This verse establishes an important principle: the revealed commands of the Torah are Israel’s responsibility, while God’s hidden plans remain with Him.

Personer6

And (King of Bashan)1 Sihon (Amorite king)1 Isaac1 Jacob2 Abraham1 Moses1

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Nyckelord8

Covenant — An agreement or bond between God and people, often with promises and conditions from both parties.
Alliance — Another word for covenant, describing an agreement between two or more parties, especially between God and the people of Israel.
Blessing — God's favor and protection, often given as a reward for obedience to his commands and covenants.
Curse — A negative consequence or punishment resulting from disobedience to God's commands and covenants.
Obedience — To follow and obey God's commands and instructions, which often leads to blessings and protection.
Disobedience — To fail to follow or obey God's commands and instructions, which can result in curses and negative consequences.
The people of Israel — The nation descended from the patriarch Jacob (also called Israel), including the twelve tribes that made up ancient Israel.
Moses — The prophet and leader of the people of Israel, who led them out of slavery in Egypt and received God's law, including the Ten Commandments.