The Torah · Old Testament
Deuteronomy 10
Renewed tablets and a call to love the stranger
General context
Moses recalls the command to cut two new tablets and make a wooden ark. The Lord writes the former words, and Moses places the tablets in the ark. Travel notices record Aaron's death and Eleazar's succession, followed by the setting apart of Levi for sacred service. Moses then returns to the accepted intercession and the command to lead Israel onward. The address asks Israel to fear, love and serve the Lord and keep his commands. It calls for circumcision of the heart and an end to stubbornness. The Lord's care for the orphan, widow and stranger grounds the command to love the stranger, remembering Israel's own life in Egypt.
Cited passages: Deuteronomy 10:1, Deuteronomy 10:2, Deuteronomy 10:3, Deuteronomy 10:4, Deuteronomy 10:5, Deuteronomy 10:6, Deuteronomy 10:7, Deuteronomy 10:8, Deuteronomy 10:9, Deuteronomy 10:10, Deuteronomy 10:11, Deuteronomy 10:12, Deuteronomy 10:13, Deuteronomy 10:14, Deuteronomy 10:15, Deuteronomy 10:16, Deuteronomy 10:17, Deuteronomy 10:18, Deuteronomy 10:19, Deuteronomy 10:20, Deuteronomy 10:21, Deuteronomy 10:22
Deuteronomy 10 (KJV)
1At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
2And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
3And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.
4And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me.
5And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me.
6And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest’s office in his stead.
7From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters.
8At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
9Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, according as the Lord thy God promised him.
10And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also, and the Lord would not destroy thee.
11And the Lord said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.
12And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
13To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
14Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
15Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
16Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
17For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
18He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
19Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
20Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
21He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
22Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
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Historical context
This account places Aaron's death at Mosera, while Numbers 33 places it at Mount Hor. Deuteronomy gives a journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera; Numbers lists Moseroth followed by Bene-jaakan before later stages reaching Hor. No connecting itinerary is supplied here to resolve them. Moses says he made the ark, while Exodus 37 names Bezalel as its maker. Both attributions remain in their source contexts. Levi is assigned ark-bearing, ministry and blessing, with the Lord as its inheritance. The closing comparison recalls seventy ancestors entering Egypt and descendants now numerous as stars.
Cited passages: Deuteronomy 10:1, Deuteronomy 10:2, Deuteronomy 10:3, Deuteronomy 10:4, Deuteronomy 10:5, Deuteronomy 10:6, Deuteronomy 10:7, Deuteronomy 10:8, Deuteronomy 10:9, Deuteronomy 10:22, Numbers 33:30, Numbers 33:31, Numbers 33:32, Numbers 33:33, Numbers 33:34, Numbers 33:35, Numbers 33:36, Numbers 33:37, Numbers 33:38, Numbers 33:39, Exodus 37:1, Exodus 37:2, Exodus 37:3, Exodus 37:4, Exodus 37:5
Literary context
Restored tablets follow the broken-tablet account and preserve the former covenant words. The appeal then moves from objects and tribal duties to the heart and the treatment of vulnerable people. Circumcising the heart is paired with giving up stubbornness, making the inward demand explicit. The description of God's impartiality and practical care is followed by a matching command to Israel: love the stranger. The memory of Egypt supplies the stated reason.
Cited passages: Deuteronomy 10:1, Deuteronomy 10:2, Deuteronomy 10:3, Deuteronomy 10:4, Deuteronomy 10:5, Deuteronomy 10:12, Deuteronomy 10:13, Deuteronomy 10:14, Deuteronomy 10:15, Deuteronomy 10:16, Deuteronomy 10:17, Deuteronomy 10:18, Deuteronomy 10:19, Deuteronomy 10:20, Deuteronomy 10:21, Deuteronomy 10:22, Deuteronomy 9:17
Key moments
- The words are written again (Deuteronomy 10:4). The Lord writes the ten commands on replacement tablets according to the first writing.
- Circumcision of the heart (Deuteronomy 10:16). The address couples the inward image with a command to stop being stubborn.
- Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19). Israel is told to love the stranger because it was a stranger in Egypt.
For reflection
How does the passage connect the renewed tablets with conduct toward people who need protection? What does the memory of being strangers ask Israel to carry into its own settled life?