Deuteronomy 4:34

4:34 Or has God¹ ever before tried to deliver² a nation from the middle of another nation, accompanied by judgments,³ signs, wonders, war, strength, power,⁴ and other very terrifying things like the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

Deuteronomy 13:5

13:5 As for that prophet or dreamer,⁵ he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge out evil from within.⁶

¹tn The translation assumes the reference is to Israel’s God in which case the point is this: God’s intervention in Israel’s experience is unique in the sense that he has never intervened in such power for any other people on earth. The focus is on the uniqueness of Israel’s experience. Some understand the divine name here in a generic sense, “a god,” or “any god.” In this case God’s incomparability is the focus (cf. v. 35, where this theme is expressed).

²tn Heb “tried to go to take for himself.”

³tn Heb “by testings.” The reference here is the judgments upon Pharaoh in the form of plagues. See Deut 7:19 (cf. v. 18) and 29:3 (cf. v. 2).

⁴tn Heb “by strong hand and by outstretched arm.”

⁵tn Heb “or dreamer of dreams.” See note on this expression in v. 1.

⁶tn Heb “your midst” (so NAB, NRSV). The severity of the judgment here (i.e., capital punishment) is because of the severity of the sin, namely, high treason against the Great King. Idolatry is a violation of the first two commandments (Deut 5:6-10) as well as the spirit and intent of the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).