Synopsis of the Chapter
Moses continues in his address, first, by frightening the Hebrews through the punishments inflicted on Pharaoh, and on Korah, Dathan, and Abiram for their sins; second, by enticing them with the promised goods of Canaan, which he prefers to Egypt; third, verse 26, by setting before them blessing and cursing.
Verse 2: Know Today ¶
2. KNOW -- that is, consider; it is a metalepsis.
DISCIPLINE. -- In Hebrew musar, that is "chastisement," by which God disciplined and formed you like children through various punishments and means, both in Egypt and after the departure from Egypt. So Vatablus.
Verse 4: He Destroyed Them to the Present Day ¶
4. HOW, etc., HE DESTROYED THEM (the Egyptians) TO THE PRESENT DAY -- that is, He utterly destroyed them, so that now no one survives who might harm you.
Verse 6: Eliab, Who Was a Son of Reuben ¶
6. ELIAB, WHO WAS A SON OF REUBEN -- not an immediate son, but a mediate one, that is, a grandson or great-grandson.
"With their houses" -- with their children and family. See six meanings of "house" in Abulensis here.
Verse 10: The Land of Egypt, Where Water Is Led in Channels ¶
THE LAND OF EGYPT, etc., WHERE WATER IS LED IN CHANNELS. -- In Hebrew: "which you watered with your foot, like a garden." To water with the foot means to water by one's own labor and digging, namely by drawing water from the river Nile through ditches and channels, meaning: In Egypt you had water only in the fields, and only by your own labor, namely by cutting channels from the Nile into the fields, as is done in gardens; for in Egypt rains are rare or nonexistent. But in Canaan, the land -- both in the plains and on the mountains -- is abundantly irrigated without labor, from heaven and celestial rain, meaning: Therefore the land of Canaan, toward which you are heading, is far better than Egypt, from which you came.
Verse 11: Awaiting Rain from Heaven ¶
11. AWAITING RAIN FROM HEAVEN. -- In Hebrew: "it drinks water from the rain of heaven," meaning: The land of Canaan is irrigated not by the water of the Nile, but by heavenly rain; hence God visits it, and the eyes of the Lord are upon it the whole year, because the Lord always takes care of it, providing at the appointed time rain, wind, heat, cold, etc., lest anything be lacking for producing and ripening fruits and crops.
Verse 14: The Early Rain and the Late Rain ¶
14. THE EARLY RAIN AND THE LATE RAIN. -- The early rain is that which falls maturely and seasonably in the month of October, after the seeds have been sown in the ground, in Judea, and thus causes the seeds to germinate. The late rain is that which falls tardily in the month of April or May, and brings the crops and fruits to maturity. This phrase therefore signifies all timely rain beneficial to the crops. Hence the Prophets, such as Hosea 6:3 and Joel 2:23, compare Christ to the early and late rain: because the coming of Christ was most welcome and supremely opportune for the world and for the salvation of mankind. For these rains were both most welcome to all and much awaited and extremely necessary.
Allegorical Sense of the Rains
Allegorically, the early rain was the doctrine of the law given through Moses, by which the seeds sown by the fathers of the law of nature germinated. The doctrine of the new law is the late rain, by which the fruits ripen and are brought to perfection. "For the law brought nothing to perfection," as the Apostle says, because perfection and maturity were reserved for the Gospel. And this is what Zechariah says in chapter 10, verse 1: "Ask of the Lord rain in the latter season," that is, ask of God the doctrine of the Gospel, by which the dry land of the whole earth is irrigated, as St. Jerome explains.
The Fertility of the Promised Land
Hence it is clear that the promised land, of itself and by its own nature, before the entrance of the Hebrews, when it was inhabited by the Canaanites, was very fertile. Hence it is called a land flowing with milk and honey, and such it was found by the scouts, Numbers 13:28. Nevertheless, its chief abundance came from the influence of God and the religion of the people, as is clear from this passage, verse 13, and from Isaiah 1:19. Hence when the people sinned, God withdrew it, as He threatens here in verse 17, and that this indeed happened is clear from Haggai 1:19 and following, Amos 4:7 and following, Jeremiah 12:13, and throughout the Prophets. So the Pentapolis, which was once most fertile, as is clear from Genesis 13:10, was on account of the sins of the Sodomites turned into a most salty sea. Hence the words of Psalm 106:34: "He turned the fruitful land into a salt marsh, because of the wickedness of those dwelling in it."
Anagogically, the fertility of the promised land signified the abundance of spiritual goods in the land of the living, promised to the elect in heaven: on which subject see Procopius here.
Verse 18: Hang Them as a Sign ¶
18. HANG THEM AS A SIGN -- continually setting them before yourselves; it is a catachresis; see what was said at chapter 6, verse 8. Abulensis explains it differently: By "hand," he says, "operation" is signified; by "eye," the consideration of the intellect, meaning: Let these precepts be bound to your hands, that is, in your actions, which are signified by the hand; and let them be between your eyes, that is, in the contemplation of your mind, so that you may constantly consider whether you are failing in anything.
Verse 21: As Long as the Heavens Hang over the Earth ¶
21. AS LONG AS THE HEAVENS HANG OVER THE EARTH. -- In Hebrew: "according to the days of heaven over the earth," that is, as long as the heavens shall hang over the earth, namely forever; it is a hyperbole signifying to the very end of the world, or to the day of judgment. And so, had the Jews not sinned by abandoning God and rejecting the Messiah, they would have possessed the promised land to the end of the world. For this is what God promises them here.
Verse 22: His Ways ¶
22. "His ways" -- His commandments, which are certain ways directing our actions toward the ultimate end, namely toward God and toward blessedness.
Verse 26: Blessing and Curse ¶
26. BEHOLD, I SET BEFORE YOU TODAY A BLESSING AND A CURSE. -- This is a sharp spur toward God's law and fear. Do you wish to be blessed by God? Then fear God, obey God: for if you are disobedient to Him, He will curse you, that is, He will do evil to you, and will most severely punish you both in this life and in the next. With the same spur Moses urges the Hebrews in chapter 30:19, when he says: "I call heaven and earth to witness today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose therefore life, that both you and your offspring may live."
Verse 29: Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal ¶
29. YOU SHALL PLACE THE BLESSING UPON MOUNT GERIZIM AND THE CURSE UPON MOUNT EBAL -- meaning: You shall have the Levites proclaim the blessing from the mountain, or rather toward Mount Gerizim, upon those who observe the law of God, and the curse from the mountain, or rather toward Mount Ebal, upon transgressors of the law, with the people responding Amen. See these things explained more fully at chapter 28, near the end, and Joshua 8, near the end.
Verse 30: Near the Valley Extending Far Off ¶
30. WHICH IS NEAR THE VALLEY EXTENDING AND REACHING FAR OFF. -- For "valley," the Hebrew has elon, a word meaning "holm oak" or a tree of the oak family, as the Septuagint and our translator commonly render it; but our translator here understood "oak grove" to signify, by synecdoche through the oaks, a valley -- namely, a valley full of oaks; for St. Jerome, who carefully surveyed the holy places, knew very well that it was a valley. Again, for "the valley extending," the Hebrew has elon more, that is, "oak grove" or "valley of the instructor," as Masius teaches on Joshua 24. Now the "valley of the instructor" is a valley that is extended, conspicuous, great, beautiful, and, as our translator renders it at Genesis 12:6, "illustrious." This valley is near Shechem, to which Abraham first came when traveling from Chaldea to Canaan. For Josephus, an eyewitness, teaches that these mountains Gerizim and Ebal are near Shechem, and he is to be believed rather than Eusebius: for the latter is the author of the book On Hebrew Places, which is falsely attributed to St. Jerome, as Masius proves from the facts themselves at Joshua 8:30.