Synopsis of the Chapter
Moses recounts to the Hebrews their murmurings and sins, especially the worship of the golden calf, whose punishment -- namely the destruction of the nation -- he himself interceded against, and this to the end that they may humble themselves and henceforth guard against such things.
Verse 1: You Are Crossing the Jordan Today ¶
1. YOU ARE CROSSING THE JORDAN TODAY. -- "Today" means now, shortly, that is, within a few weeks; for the Hebrews did not cross the Jordan on that very day, but two months later; for Moses spoke these words on the first day of the eleventh month, as is clear from chapter 1, verse 3. But the Hebrews crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month of the following year, as is clear from Joshua 4:19.
FORTIFIED UP TO HEAVEN -- that is, fortified with the highest walls; it is a hyperbole, like that of the Poet: "A woman's golden cry grazes the stars." With a similar hyperbole Christ says that in the destruction of Jerusalem not a stone will remain upon a stone: for so we commonly speak when we wish to call to mind some terrible and complete destruction; and Sacred Scripture accommodates itself to common speech.
Verse 3: Your God Himself Will Cross Over before You ¶
3. YOUR GOD HIMSELF WILL CROSS OVER BEFORE YOU -- namely devouring and destroying, as follows, your enemies, as effectively and swiftly as fire consumes wood or straw.
Verse 5: The Uprightness of Your Heart ¶
5. THE UPRIGHTNESS (in Hebrew, "rectitude") OF YOUR HEART -- namely of your mind and will.
Verse 6: Since You Are a Stiff-Necked People ¶
6. "Since you are a stiff-necked people" -- meaning: since you are most obstinate, rebellious, and disobedient.
Verse 10: Written with the Finger of God ¶
10. "With the finger of God" -- with His finger. For the Hebrews often use the absolute pronoun in place of the reflexive.
"Assembly" -- the gathering of the people.
Verse 18: I Fell Down before the Lord ¶
18. I FELL DOWN BEFORE THE LORD -- not immediately after breaking the tablets of the law; for first Moses slew 23 thousand of those who worshiped the calf, severely rebuked the people, ground the calf to pieces, etc.; these things are narrated later here, but were done earlier, namely before Moses ascended again to Sinai and fell down there before the Lord. For this happened after all the aforementioned events, namely on the following day, as is clear from Exodus 32 and following.
Some think that Moses fasted three periods of forty days, or three Lenten seasons, before the Lord on Sinai -- namely the first, before he received from God the first tablets of the law, Exodus 24:18; the second, before the second tablets, Exodus 34:28; and a third, intermediate between the two, during which he besought the Lord to spare the people who had worshiped the golden calf, as is said here, verse 25. So think the Hebrews, Hugo the Cardinal, and Cajetan on Exodus chapter 10, Genebrardus, Adrichomius, Marzilla on Deuteronomy chapter 10. Lyranus on Deuteronomy chapter 10, and Abulensis (though he himself embraces the contrary opinion) in his Questions on Exodus chapter 33, Question 3, Dionysius on Exodus chapter 34, and Salianus at the year of the world 2544 also consider it probable. They prove it because Moses in this chapter three times mentions forty days of his fasting, namely in verses 12, 18, and 25; but the forty days of verse 25 are the same as those of verse 18, as is clear to anyone who looks closely. Therefore the more common opinion of the Doctors is that Moses fasted only two periods of forty days, and that accordingly the third period just mentioned is the same as the second. For Moses, in praying for pardon for the people's worship of the calf, was at the same time preparing himself to receive the second tablets of the law, to be communicated to the same penitent people. The reason is that Moses in Exodus, where he narrates these events at length, mentions only two periods of forty days of fasting -- namely the first before the first tablets of the law, Exodus 24:15; and the second before the second tablets, Exodus 34:28. See Abulensis at the passage already cited.
Verse 22: At the Burning Also ¶
22. AT THE BURNING ALSO. -- This place was called "the Burning," where the Hebrews murmured because of the labor of the journey, and so God sent fire upon them, as is told in Numbers 11:1.
AT THE TEMPTATION -- where the Hebrews tempted God by demanding water, at Rephidim, and so the place was called in Hebrew Massa, that is "Temptation," Exodus 17:7; just as the next place was called the Graves of Craving, Numbers 11:14.
Note: There is here a hysteron proteron, or inverted order; for Moses joins these temptations with the one at Horeb, so that by heaping together many of the Hebrews' temptations and murmurings, he may emphasize their stubbornness; and afterward, in verse 25, he returns to the second sojourn of forty days on Mount Horeb or Sinai, which occurred before the Burning, before the Graves of Craving, and before the scouts were sent out.