Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.
Read it in contextThe Golden Calf
Start reading at Deuteronomy 9:7 (Deuteronomy 9:7 to Deuteronomy 9:29).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
This unit closes the chapter’s selected reading divisions. The covenant commands and appeals join exclusive devotion to the LORD with hearing, remembering, teaching, and obeying His words.
9:7Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.
9:8Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.
9:9When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
9:10And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
9:11And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.
9:12And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.
9:13Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
9:14Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.
9:15So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.
9:16And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.
9:17And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.
9:18And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
9:19For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.
9:20And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.
9:21And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.
9:22And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.
9:23Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.
9:24Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.
9:25Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you.
9:26I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
9:27Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin:
9:28Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.
9:29Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.
Study content, not yet reviewed.
Who
Who wrote the book? Moses is the principal speaker and is expressly credited with writing the law. The account of his death was supplied by a later hand; identifying that final writer as Joshua is traditional, not certain. Biblical references: Deuteronomy 31:9; Deuteronomy 31:24; Deuteronomy 34:5. Historical source: Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a (record of Jewish attribution, not contemporary proof). stated in the text
Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Deuteronomy 5:1–11:32): Moses addresses Israel about covenant loyalty, recalling Horeb, the wilderness, and God's provisions. Fathers and children are included in the community commanded to learn and obey. stated in the text
Who was the book written to? Israel assembled in Moab before entering Canaan, and their children and later generations who were to hear the law read. Biblical references: Deuteronomy 1:1; Deuteronomy 29:10; Deuteronomy 31:12. stated in the text
What
What is the topic of this reading unit? The Golden Calf. Read Deuteronomy 9:7 through Deuteronomy 9:29 as a connected unit. interpretation
How does it contribute to the book? This unit closes the chapter’s selected reading divisions. The covenant commands and appeals join exclusive devotion to the LORD with hearing, remembering, teaching, and obeying His words. interpretation
When
When are the events or message set? Moses speaks at the end of the wilderness period, before Israel crosses the Jordan. Deuteronomy 1:3 identifies the fortieth year and gives a month and day. book background
Where
What is the book’s geographic setting? The speeches are set in Moab east of the Jordan, recalling earlier places and anticipating life in Canaan. book background
Where does the context start?
This passage sits in The Golden Calf (Deuteronomy 9:7 to Deuteronomy 9:29).
Start reading at Deuteronomy 9:7. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? Acts applies Moses' promise of a prophet to Jesus, and Jesus uses Deuteronomy in His answers during temptation. These are explicit New Testament connections to the book. See Deuteronomy 18:15, Acts 3:22, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 4:7. interpretation
How should this book guide our response? Remember what God has done and join hearing with obedience. Preserve the covenant audience and conditions when applying promises about land, blessing, judgment, and return. interpretation
Cited: Deuteronomy 9:7, Deuteronomy 9:29, Deuteronomy 18:15, Acts 3:22, Matthew 4:4, Matthew 4:7
Early traditionJewish tradition (Baba Bathra 14b) and the early church name Moses.
What is debatedChapter 34 records the death of Moses, so even conservative scholars hold that a later hand, often identified as Joshua, added the closing account. Critical scholars date the book much later, to the seventh century B.C.
Other accounts of this event
Moses recounts the golden calf and renewed tablets
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Deuteronomy 9
Prefilled outline, not yet reviewed.
Moses addresses Israel in Moab before the people cross the Jordan. The speeches recall the wilderness, expound covenant obligations, and confront the next generation with choices and consequences. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Connection to the wholeThis opening unit introduces the chapter’s movement. The covenant commands and appeals join exclusive devotion to the LORD with hearing, remembering, teaching, and obeying His words.
Connection to the wholeThis unit closes the chapter’s selected reading divisions. The covenant commands and appeals join exclusive devotion to the LORD with hearing, remembering, teaching, and obeying His words.
interpretation
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Deuteronomy
Prefilled outline, not yet reviewed.
Moses addresses Israel in Moab before the people cross the Jordan. The speeches recall the wilderness, expound covenant obligations, and confront the next generation with choices and consequences.
Connection to the wholeThe covenant commands and appeals join exclusive devotion to the LORD with hearing, remembering, teaching, and obeying His words.
Connection to the wholeDetailed commands apply covenant faithfulness to public worship, leadership, households, work, and the care of vulnerable people.
Connection to the wholeThe speeches set out covenant consequences and call Israel to choose life through love and obedience rather than presume upon privilege.