Deuteronomy 6:4-5

The essence of the principles 6:4-5

Here the actual exposition of the Decalogue begins with an explanation and implications of the first commandment. Moses presented Yahweh as the one true God who requires complete devotion.

"With this chapter we come to the pivot around which everything else in Deuteronomy revolves-the Shema or Great Commandment, as it has also come to be known (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). . . . In turn, the statutes and ordinances explicate in specific and concrete ways the meaning of Deuteronomy 6:4-5 for the life of Israel. That is why Jesus can later say that all the law and the prophets hang on this commandment (Matthew 22:40)." [Note: Miller, p. 97.]

The idea in Deuteronomy 6:4 is not just that Yahweh is the only God, but that He is also one unified person.

"It is possible to understand Deuteronomy 6:4 in several ways, but the two most popular renderings of the final clause are: (1) ’The LORD our God, the LORD is one’ (so NIV) or (2) ’The LORD our God is one LORD.’ The former stresses the uniqueness or exclusivity of Yahweh as Israel’s God and so may be paraphrased ’Yahweh our God is the one and only Yahweh’ or the like. This takes the noun ’ehad (’one’) in the sense of ’unique’ or ’solitary,’ a meaning that is certainly well attested. The latter translation focuses on the unity or wholeness of the Lord. This is not in opposition to the later Christian doctrine of the Trinity but rather functions here as a witness to the self-consistency of Yahweh who is not ambivalent and who has a single purpose or objective for creation and history. The ideas clearly overlap to provide an unmistakable basis for monotheistic faith. Yahweh is indeed a unity, but beyond that he is the only God. For this reason the exhortation of Deuteronomy 6:5 has practical significance." [Note: Merrill, "Deuteronomy . . .," p. 24. J. Gerald Janzen, "On the Most Important Word in the Shema (Deuteronomy VI 4-5)," Vetus Testamentum 37:3 (July 1987):280-300, believed the second of these meanings was the proper one.]

This affirmation made inappropriate both polytheism (the belief in many gods) and henotheism (the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods).

"Yahweh was to be the sole object of Israel’s worship, allegiance, and affection." [Note: Thompson, p. 121.]

"Deuteronomy more than any other Old Testament book concerns itself not only with the obligation to worship and the rules for doing so, but also with the subjective aspect of worship-with the feelings of the worshipper and the spirit in which he or she worships." [Note: Whybray, p. 99.]

"The heart (leb) is, in Old Testament anthropology, the seat of the intellect, equivalent to the mind or rational part of humankind. The ’soul’ (better, ’being’ or ’essential person’ in line with the commonly accepted understanding of nepes) refers to the invisible part of the individual, the person qua [as being] person including the will and sensibilities. The strength (me’od) is, of course, the physical side with all its functions and capacities." [Note: Merrill, "Deuteronomy . . .," p. 25.]

There is no word in Hebrew for "mind" or "brain."

"The demand [in Deuteronomy 6:5] ’with all the heart’ excludes all halfheartedness, all division of the heart in its love. The heart is mentioned first, as the seat of the emotions generally and of love in particular; then follows the soul (nephesh) as the centre of personality in man, to depict the love as pervading the entire self-consciousness; and to this is added, ’with all the strength,’ sc. [that is to say] of body and soul. Loving the Lord with all the heart and soul and strength is placed at the head, as the spiritual principles from which the observance of the commandments was to flow (see also chap. xi. 1, xxx. 6)." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 3:323.]

"First and foremost of all that was essential for the Israelite was an unreserved, wholehearted commitment, expressed in love for God." [Note: Schultz, p. 40.]

The only individual in the Old Testament of whom it was said that he turned to the Lord with all his heart, soul, and might was King Josiah (2 Kings 23:25). Jesus Christ quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 as the greatest of all God’s commandments (Matthew 22:37-38; Mark 12:28-30; cf. Luke 10:27).

"The verse does not invite analysis into ideas of intellectual, emotional, and physical parts. The words behind heart, soul, and strength basically relate to what a person is or how a person directs himself toward another person. It is, therefore, not inaccurate for the NT writers to quote (or translate) the Hebrew words, which are often synonymous, by differing Greek words, which are also often synonymous, since the words taken together mean to say that the people are to love God with their whole selves." [Note: Kalland, pp. 64-65. See Merrill, Deuteronomy, pp. 165-66, for further explanation of the variations that exist in the Gospel references to this verse compared with the Hebrew text here.]

The statement begun here (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; cf. Deuteronomy 11:13-21; Numbers 15:37-41) became Israel’s basic confession of faith. This is the "Shema" (lit. "Hear," from the first word). Pious Jews recite it twice daily even today. [Note: Isidore Epstein, Judaism, pp. 162-63.]

"If the Ten Words are the heart of the stipulations as a whole, the principle of the Words is encapsulated in the so-called Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), which defines who the Sovereign is and reduces the obligation to Him to one of exclusive love and obedience." [Note: Merrill, "A Theology . . .," p. 78. Cf. E. W. Nicholson, Deuteronomy and Tradition, p. 46.]

"The Shema’ should not be taken out of context and interpreted as a great monotheistic confession. Moses had made that point in Deuteronomy 4:35; Deuteronomy 4:39: ’For Yahweh (alone) is God; there is none beside(s) him.’ Nor is the issue in the broader context the nature of God in general or his integrity in particular-though the nature and integrity of his people is a very important concern. This is a cry of allegiance, an affirmation of covenant commitment in response to the question, ’Who is the God of Israel?’ The language of the Shema’ is ’sloganesque’ rather than prosaic: ’Yahweh our God! Yahweh alone!’ or ’Our God is Yahweh, Yahweh alone!’ This was to be the distinguishing mark of the Israelite people; they are those (and only those) who claim Yahweh alone as their God." [Note: Daniel I. Block, "How Many Is God? An Investigation into the Meaning of Deuteronomy 6:4-5," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 47:2 (June 2004):211.]