Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Deuteronomy 6:5
(5) With all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.—The word “heart” has been taken both as “thought” and “affection.” Hence, perhaps, the four terms, “heart, mind, soul, and strength,” which we find in St. Mark 12:30. Bashi says upon the expression “all thy heart”—“with both natures” (the good and evil nature). “With all thy soul” he expounds thus: “Even though He take it (thy life) from thee.” And “with all thy might” he paraphrases in a truly practical and characteristic... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Deuteronomy 6:4-5
(4, 5) Hear, O Israel . . .—These two verses are styled by our Lord “the first and great commandment” in the Law. The first words of the Talmud concern the hours when this form should be recited in daily morning or evening prayer—“Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah” The unity of Jehovah, as opposed to the belief in “gods many and lords many,” is the key-note of the Jewish faith. “We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.” But this truth, though visible in the Old... read more