Chapter Six

A reminder to Israel that God is one — A warning against idolatry and an invitation to true worship.

Deuteronomy 6:8. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as a band before your eyes. Deuteronomy 6:9. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Cf. Exod 13:9; Deut 11:18. A literal reading of these instructions of Moses introduced among the Jews the custom of using what are called mezuzot and tefillin. Mezuzot are sacred inscriptions placed on the doorposts of houses; tefillin are small boxes containing excerpts from Holy Scripture, fastened to the hands and forehead (the “phylacteries” of the Gospels, Matt 23:5).

Deuteronomy 6:13. You shall fear the Lord your God and serve him [alone], [and cling to him,] and swear by his name. “And swear by his name” — Bearing in mind the prohibition of the third commandment, one must allow that this passage grants permission to use an oath only in important cases, when an oath is the sole and highest confirmation of truth. In addition, according to the view of Theodoret, the expression being commented on forestalls the possible use of the names of pagan peoples in an oath. “The Law commands swearing by God,” says the church teacher, “so that the Israelites would not swear by falsely named gods” (Commentary on Deuteronomy, Question 4).

Deuteronomy 6:16. You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. On Massah and Meribah, see Exod 17:1-7; on Meribah at Kadesh — Num 20:1-13; Num 27:14; Deut 32:51.

Deuteronomy 6:20. When your son asks you in time to come, saying: “What do these testimonies, statutes, and ordinances mean that the Lord your God has commanded you? Deuteronomy 6:21. then you shall say to your son: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord [God] brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand [and an outstretched arm]. Deuteronomy 6:22. And the Lord [God] showed signs and wonders, great and terrible, against Egypt, against Pharaoh and against all his household [and against his army] before our eyes. Deuteronomy 6:23. And he brought us out from there [the Lord our God,] so as to bring us in and give us the land that [the Lord our God] swore to our fathers [to give us]. Deuteronomy 6:24. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, that it might go well with us always, and that he might preserve us alive, as he has to this day. See Exod 12:25-27.