Deuteronomy

the NIV

APPLICATION

COMMENTARY

From biblical text … to contemporary life

DANIEL I. BLOCK

ZONDERVAN

The NIV Application Commentary: Deuteronomy

Copyright © 2012 by Daniel I. Block

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Block, Daniel Issac.

Deuteronomy / Daniel I. Block.

pages. cm.—(The NIV application commentary)

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN: 978-0-310-21048-1

1. Bible. O.T. Deuteronomy—Commentaries. I. Title.

BS1275.53.B56 2012

222′.15077—dc23

2011049625

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

To my grandchildren,

Calvin, Brennig, Kate, Megan, Ella, and Eric

The Lord your God is a merciful God;

he will not abandon or destroy you

or forget the covenant with your forefathers.

(Deuteronomy 4:31)

THE NIV APPLICATI ON COMMENTA RY SERIES

EDITORIAL BOARD

General Editor

Terry Muck

Consulting Editors

Old Testament

Tremper Longman III	Robert Hubbard
John H. Walton	Andrew Dearman

Zondervan Editorial Advisors

Stanley N. Gundry

Vice President and Editor-in-Chief

Katya Covrett	Verlyn Verbrugge
Acquisitions Editor	Senior Editor-at-Large

Contents

Series Introduction

General Editor’s Preface

Author’s Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction to Deuteronomy

The Gospel According to Moses

Select Bibliography on Deuteronomy

Text and Commentary on Deuteronomy

Scripture Index

Index of Ancient Literature Outside the Biblical Tradition

Subject Index

Author Index

NIV Application Commentary

Series Introduction

The NIV Application Commentary Series is unique. Most commentaries help us make the journey from our world back to the world of the Bible. They enable us to cross the barriers of time, culture, language, and geography that separate us from the biblical world. Yet they only offer a oneway ticket to the past and assume that we can somehow make the return journey on our own. Once they have explained the original meaning of a book or passage, these commentaries give us little or no help in exploring its contemporary significance. The information they offer is valuable, but the job is only half done.

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