Deuteronomy 9:10

9:10 The Lord gave me the two stone tablets, written by the very finger ¹  of God, and on them was everything ²  he ³  said to you at the mountain from the midst of the fire at the time of that assembly.

Deuteronomy 10:4

10:4 The Lord ⁴  then wrote on the tablets the same words, ⁵  the ten commandments, ⁶  which he ⁷  had spoken to you at the mountain from the middle of the fire at the time of that assembly, and he ⁸  gave them to me.

Deuteronomy 16:8

16:8 You must eat bread made without yeast for six days. The seventh day you are to hold an assembly for the Lord your God; you must not do any work on that day. ⁹ 

Deuteronomy 32:8

32:8 When the Most High ¹⁰  gave the nations their inheritance,

when he divided up humankind, ¹¹ 

he set the boundaries of the peoples,

according to the number of the heavenly assembly. ¹² 

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¹ sn The very finger of God. This is a double figure of speech (1) in which God is ascribed human features (anthropomorphism) and (2) in which a part stands for the whole (synecdoche). That is, God, as Spirit, has no literal finger nor, if he had, would he write with his finger. Rather, the sense is that God himself – not Moses in any way – was responsible for the composition of the Ten Commandments (cf. Exod 31:18; 32:16; 34:1).

² tn Heb “according to all the words.”

³ tn Heb “the Lord” (likewise at the beginning of vv. 12, 13). See note on “he” in 9:3.

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “according to the former writing.” See note on the phrase “the same words” in v. 2.

⁶ tn Heb “ten words.” The “Ten Commandments” are known in Hebrew as the “Ten Words,” which in Greek became the “Decalogue.”

⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁸ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” earlier in this verse.

⁹ tn The words “on that day” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for clarification (cf. TEV, NLT).

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term עֶליוֹן (’elyon) is an abbreviated form of the divine name El Elyon, frequently translated “God Most High” (so here NCV, CEV) or something similar. This full name (or epithet) occurs only in Gen 14, though the two elements are parallel in Ps 73:11; 107:11; etc. Here it is clear that Elyon has to do with the nations in general whereas in v. 9, by contrast, Yahweh relates specifically to Israel. See T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:400-401. The title depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world, who is enthroned high above his dominion.

¹¹ tn Heb “the sons of man” (so NASB); or “the sons of Adam” (so KJV).

¹² tc Heb “the sons of Israel.” The idea, perhaps, is that Israel was central to Yahweh’s purposes and all other nations were arranged and distributed according to how they related to Israel. See S. R. Driver, Deuteronomy (ICC), 355-56. For the MT יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי (bÿney yisra’el, “sons of Israel”) a Qumran fragment has “sons of God,” while the LXX reads ἀγγέλων θεοῦ (angelwn qeou, “angels of God”), presupposing בְּנֵי אֵל (bÿney ’el) or בְּנֵי אֵלִים (beney ’elim). “Sons of God” is undoubtedly the original reading; the MT and LXX have each interpreted it differently. MT assumes that the expression “sons of God” refers to Israel (cf. Hos. 1:10), while LXX has assumed that the phrase refers to the angelic heavenly assembly (Pss 29:1; 89:6; cf. as well Ps 82). The phrase is also attested in Ugaritic, where it refers to the high god El’s divine assembly. According to the latter view, which is reflected in the translation, the Lord delegated jurisdiction over the nations to his angelic host (cf. Dan. 10:13-21), while reserving for himself Israel, over whom he rules directly. For a defense of the view taken here, see M. S. Heiser, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” BSac 158 (2001): 52-74.