6:4–5 These words have unique significance in Deuteronomy as they begin the essence of the instruction God gave Moses. They are well known as the summary of the teaching of Moses and are among the oldest confessions preserved from antiquity. A document called the Nash Papyrus (c. 100 BC) was discovered in Egypt in 1902.33 The composite text, used in liturgy, contains the Decalogue, followed by the introductory formula of Deuteronomy 4:45 and the Shema. In contemporary time these two verses are the centerpiece of daily Jewish worship called the Keriʾat Shemaʿ (“Recitation of the Shema”). The name Shema derives from the first Hebrew word of the recitation.

Although the Shema is one of the best-known confessions of the OT, its precise translation is uncertain. The NJPS interprets the verse as a statement of allegiance: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” This is syntactically defensible, though not common. “The Lord our God” occurs twenty-two times in Deuteronomy, but in virtually no other case can it be read as a subject and a predicate (i.e., “The Lord is our God”). Further, use of the word “one” (ʾechad) to express “alone” is unusual. In any case, this interpretation stresses that, for mankind, the name Yahweh will be unrivaled (cf. Zech. 14:9). The traditional translation of the Shema makes a statement about the nature of Yahweh: “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This makes the God of Israel unique and incomparable, which is the usual meaning of ʾechad (“one”). The Shema has come to be the preeminent expression of monotheism. Deuteronomy elsewhere makes explicit declarations that there is no other God (Deut. 4:35, 39; 32:39). Whatever other gods or powers may be supposed, they are utterly subordinate under the dominion of Yahweh. Both interpretations focus the instruction of Moses in the Torah into a single sentence.

The love required by Israel’s God demands action. The second word concluded with the blessing that would come to “those who love me and keep my commandments” (Deut. 5:10). It is impossible to love God while not fulfilling the requirements of the relationship. Love and loyalty toward God are synonymous with a way of life. The emotional attachment of love is expressed in behavior. God loves humans, as conveyed in his actions of providing the stranger with “food and clothing” (10:18). If Israel loves God, the people will walk in all his ways and serve him with every thought and desire (10:12). To love is to act in a loving manner, as described in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy is the first book of the Bible to demand love for God. Previously the emphasis was on fear of God, an awe of his grandeur and a dread of his judgment that serve as motives for obedience (4:10). Deuteronomy demands both love and fear as the motivations for keeping the covenant (10:12). Heart, soul, and might are ways of describing every aspect of personal commitment. The heart (lebab) is the center of thought and intention. Most often it is equivalent to the mind. God tested Israel to know what was on their mind and to determine whether they would obey (8:2). Thus the people must know in their mind that God is disciplining them as a person corrects a child (8:5). The word nephesh (“soul”) is not exclusive to humans; God created every creature that moves on the ground or in the air with breath (nephesh; Gen. 1:21). In reference to humans, this term expresses desire. Once in the Promised Land, the nephesh of Israel would crave meat, and the people would eat meat according to the craving of their nephesh (Deut. 12:20; cf. 14:26). Strength (meʾod) is found as a noun only in this verse and at 2 Kings 23:25, the only other place in which these three words are used to express complete devotion to the covenant. It includes all the resources of a person’s life. Since Yahweh is “one” and he alone can be the God of Israel, his people in turn must love him as “one,” that is, as persons undivided in thought and desire, with all the strength that they have.

6:6–9 The love God requires must be learned. This love is not limited to emotion; the commitments of the relationship of love must be carried out. Learning such love is not so much an intellectual demand as a way of thinking. The duties of the covenant must become instinctive. This emphasis is established in several ways. “These words that I command you” are a reference to the entire teaching of this Torah (cf. Deut. 12:28; 31:1, 28; 32:45–46). They are inclusive of all activities and relationships. This teaching must always be on the people’s minds. For this to be possible, they must “teach them diligently” at all times. The Hebrew word shanan is used only here with the meaning to teach by means of repetition. That teaching is meant here, rather than prescribing duties (an alternate possible sense of the word), is certain because of the parallel 11:18–19, where “teach” (lamad) is used as a synonym. The means by which this repetition may take place is explained in the requirement for this to be done continuously. Teaching these words when they sit down or leave, when they lie down or rise, is inclusive of all activity, a figure of speech known as merism. Merisms consist of contrasting phrases to indicate totality—expressions such as “young and old,” “rich and poor.”

In addition to being remembered and spoken of constantly, these words are even to be attached to one’s body. A similar requirement is found at Exodus 13:9, 16, but in that context it is the commemorative ceremony that is to serve as a sign on the people’s hands and foreheads. The words there must be taken metaphorically, with the meaning that the memory of the exodus must be a part of everything the people do and think. Deuteronomy specifies that it is the words themselves that must be bound to the body. It is obvious that in Qumran this command was followed literally, as many tefillin, or phylacteries, have been preserved. These are selected passages written out on parchment and placed in leather capsules worn on the wrists and foreheads. Jesus references these in Matthew 23:5. It is debatable whether Deuteronomy is requiring this literally, but it is certain that this practice does not in itself fulfill the requirement, as Jesus teaches. The concept is no different than in Exodus, where the actions of the ceremony act as a constant reminder.

The gates of an ancient city were a structure with a roof and several chambers, sometimes large enough for a considerable assembly of people. Benches were a part of the rooms, with a long passageway between the chambers on each side. These chambers were a provision to ensure security for conducting various kinds of business. The gate was the most public place of a city, visited by virtually everyone in the city. It was the place for the display of royal inscriptions and charters’ guaranteeing rights. Writing the teachings of the Torah on the gates of city walls would give them the widest possible exposure. This practice was undoubtedly intended to be carried out literally, as was customary for such public declarations. Even those who could not read would be reminded of the teaching they had been taught when they saw the writing.

Sometime during the emergence of Jewish law toward the time of the NT, it became the practice to write selected passages on parchment and place them into a container affixed to the doorposts of the house. This practice continues to the present time; the container is called a mezuzah, the Hebrew word for “doorpost” in this instruction.

6:10–15 Ironically, the gift of the Promised Land is at the same time a serious threat to forgetting the commandment of love. Forgetting vows that have been taken is not a cognitive problem but a failure of commitment. Married couples forget their marriage vows despite pictures and recordings of the event. The love of Yahweh is expressed in his rich gifts of wealth—the great cities of Canaan would come into the possession of the Israelites. This tangible act of divine love demands an exclusive loyalty. Any compromise of loyalty is an insult to God and arouses his wrath. The fear of the Lord is an imperative, and failure to fear the Lord will result in Israel’s being driven from the ground (“of the earth”; Hb. ʾadamah) to which it belongs.

This admonition repeats the requirements of the first three words of the Decalogue. Yahweh is a jealous God—there can be no other god; Israel must not be lured by the idols of Canaan; and they must swear by the name of Yahweh. All of these are statements of love and loyalty.

6:16–19 Obedience to the demand of love and observance of the requirements of the covenant relationship must not be conditioned with expectation of miraculous deliverance from trials or difficulties. Moses here refers to the place remembered as “Massah” and “Meribah” (“testing” and “quarreling”; Ex. 17:7 ESV mg.), referencing the occasion narrated in Exodus 17:1–7, at which Israel had no access to water as it came near to Mount Sinai. The dire situation of the Israelites must not be minimized. Water requirements for such a vast people and its livestock were substantial. Water is essential within hours to avoid illness and death, and lack of water in times of drought has caused farmers to kill their livestock rather than have them suffer and die. Nevertheless, the response of Israel on this occasion was a manifest lack of trust. Trust in such circumstances is a part of keeping the covenant terms, doing what is right and good. Failure of such trust would prevent the people from entering the Promised Land.

6:20–25 It is the responsibility of each generation to teach the demand of love to the next one. These verses substantially repeat the introduction to the Decalogue (Deut. 5:1–5). The requirements of the covenant can be understood only in the context of the story of redemption, in which God takes Israel to be a treasured people. The Passover was the primary occasion on which the redemption story was taught and celebrated. These verses came to be fundamental to the roles observed in the Passover liturgy, known as the Haggadah. This confession of redemption finds its fulfillment when Jesus makes the Passover a memorial of his death to be observed regularly by his followers.

The Lord commanded Israel “to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God” (6:24). The lack of a conjunction between these two phrases indicates that they are equivalent. Fear of the Lord is to keep all of the stipulations he has required in the covenant relationship.