Messianic Education Trust
		Ha'azinu   (Deut 32:1 - 52)

D'varim/Deuteronomy 32:45   And Moshe finished speaking all these words to all Israel.

View whole verse and interlinear translation ...

Moshe has been talking for a long time: he has outlined Israel's journey in the wilderness since the exit generation left Mt. Sinai; he has recapped, explained and expounded many of the commandments; he has formally renewed the covenant with the entry generation and urged them not only to be faithful in keeping the Torah once they enter and take possession of the Land, but - since that can all too easily be done in a spirit of legalism - to choose life so that they may live. Moshe has carefully written all this down so that there is a fully written record of the teaching and given it into the safeguarding of the priests. He has finally brought his oration to an end by teaching Israel a song so that, even when they have fallen away from following The Name ...

HaShem: literally, Hebrew for 'The Name' - an allusion used to avoid pronouncing the Tetragrammaton, the so-called 'ineffable' name of G–d
HaShem and abandoned observing His Torah, the melody and words of the song will stick in their minds and so provide a trigger to help them recognise their dire situation and come back to HaShem in repentance.

The first word of the text - וַיְכַל, the Pi'el 3ms prefix form of the root כָלָה, to complete, finish or end (Davidson), here apocopated from וַיְכַלֶּה, in a vav-conversive construction for a single past-tense narrative event, so "and he finished" - tells us what happened. Moshe didn't suddenly end abruptly in mid-sentence as if he had just realised that he had said too much or had completely lost the plot; he reached an orderly and coherent end to the teaching presented in the book D'varim. While some commentators feel that this refers only to the song that he has just taught to the people, Jeffrey Tigay takes the scope as being, "the entire teaching, including the poem", that is: everything taught at this time and in this context. Like most traditional commentators, the Who Is ...

Gersonides: Rabbi Levi ben Gershom, Gersonides or Ralbag (1288-1344 CE); famous rabbi, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer/astrologer; born at Bagnols in Languedock, France; wrote a commentary on the Torah and a parallel to Maimonides' Guide For The Perplexed
Ralbag goes further, claiming that this means, "the words of the Torah in their entirety."

Whichever position we adopt - that Moshe finished teaching the song, "Give ear, O heavens, let me speak; Let the earth hear the words I utter!" (D'varim 32:1, NJPS); that Moshe finished this teaching of the Torah to the Children of Israel encamped upon the Plains of Moab opposite Jericho, "These are the words that Moshe addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan" (1:1, NJPS); or that Moshe finished teaching the entire Torah from its first words, "When G-d began to create heaven and earth ..." (B'resheet 1:1, NJPS) - the first important thing to notice is that Moshe finished saying everything that he had to say. He didn't keep speaking past his brief; he stopped at exactly the right time.

Secondly, working from the word כָּל, all, in the phrase "כָל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה all these words", we learn that Moshe spoke out all the words that HaShem had given him. He didn't filter or select; he didn't edit, augment or omit. While D'varim does make the point early on that this is Moshe speaking, often in the first person, it reports Moshe explicitly quoting HaShem and will shortly go on to report in third-party terms HaShem speaking to Moshe once he had finished teaching, without offering any correction or qualification: "That very day the L-RD spoke to Moses: Ascend these heights of Abarim to Mount Nebo ..." (D'varim 32:48-49, NJPS). Moshe hasn't held anything back - even those parts of the narrative that didn't show him in the best light - and we deduce that HaShem was satisfied that Moshe had done a good job. Moshe said everything that needed to be said and to be heard; not one word more or less.

Finally, from the second use of כָּל, all, in the phrase "אֶל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל to all Israel", we learn that Moshe made sure that everyone heard everything that he said. There would be no opportunity for anyone to say, "Well, I never heard him say that!" or to question, "Did Moshe - and by implication, HaShem - really say that?" We do not know how one man spoke so that two and a half million people heard. We might imagine that he spoke several times to lots of different groups - so that everyone actually heard the words directly from Moshe's mouth - or we might suppose that Moshe spoke authoritatively to the leaders and that they repeated his words accurately and faithfully to all their clans, families and people. We might infer the existence of people who were trained in memory and repetition - the Sages were later to call them tana'im - who acted like solid-state recording devices to record and then play-back Moshe's words around the whole camp. What matters is that Moshe ensured that one way or the other every Israelite heard the teaching and knew what he had said and what they were supposed to do about it.

People often ask why the Apostolic Writings contain four gospels, three of which - give or take an oz. - are broadly similar and one of which is - while obviously talking about the same people and events - markedly different. The answer is: perspective. We need multiple views of the material so that we have perspective, depth of field, shadowing and saturation - all critical things that make a great picture or movie. Artists use thick oil or acrylic paint to sculpt flowers and leaves that stand proud of the paper or canvas in order to create texture and a three-dimensional image. Police forces around the world report that when they question witnesses after an incident, they will get as many different statements as there are people. Everyone sees and remembers from their own point of view and vision of the incident. After one particularly notable crime incident a few years ago, hundreds of people reported that the perpetrators were wearing bright yellow high-visibility jackets over ordinary clothing, but that was almost the only common element to the reports.

Each gospel contains the story of Yeshua, culminating in His death - by crucifixion, at the hands of the Roman authorities - and His resurrection. Some start with birth narratives, others in mid-life; some are largely factual reports, others contain much theological interpretation. All are carefully compiled from individual witness statements and memories, even though their sequences of events are quite varied. Miracles are grouped with teaching, or teaching is presented in longer sections; parables are paired and re-paired in different combinations. Many scholars suggest that the four gospels are written either for or in the context of four different audiences and address issues arising and particular to those audiences or contexts.¹ But all tell the same story: of the Jew, Yeshua, who shared G-d's story, preached G-d's word, taught God's truth and shared G-d's love and compassion for His people in many miracles - especially of healing.

Towards the end of his gospel, John explains why his gospel at least, does not contain everything that it might have done. Firstly, on a purely practical basis, he tells that, "there are also many other things that Yeshua did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (John 21:25, ESV). Any gospel writer has to draw the line somewhere otherwise his scroll will be so large that it is unmanageable. Secondly - and, perhaps, more importantly - John provides a reason for the selection process: "Yeshua did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of G-d, and that by believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:30-31, ESV). The gospels only record a selection of Yeshua's words and actions, so that people are not swamped or deluged, but have enough to know who Yeshua is and to believe and trust in Him. The story, in its fourfold presentation is sufficient.

Nevertheless, Yeshua, like Moshe, said - and did - everything that needed to be said and done. For example, we can see how the Sermon on the Mount - the largest contiguous piece of Yeshua's teaching - is framed to show that it is complete. The Sermon starts with the narrative, "Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them ..." (Matthew 5:1-2, ESV) and ends with, "When Yeshua finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes" (7:28-29, ESV). Then Matthew tells us that "When He came down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him" (8:1, ESV). Apart from the obvious allusion to Moshe receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai and teaching the people, we have the start and end event markers of going up and coming down, together with the key phrase that "Yeshua finished these sayings." We find a similar incident in Luke's account: "Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, He asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when He had finished speaking ..." (Luke 5:3-4, ESV). The distance between the boat and the shore allowed His voice to carry so that everyone heard and Luke emphasises that Yeshua finished rather than just stopped. Again, the teaching was complete.

James applies the same principle of saying simply enough and not too much to us as disciples of Yeshua: "But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation" (James 5:12, ESV). Whilst on the surface this seems to be following Yeshua's own instructions about taking oaths - "But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all ... Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil" (Matthew 5:34,37, ESV) - it surely covers the more general point about saying only what is necessary and no more. Yeshua Himself warns us about the consequences of what we say: "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (12:36-37, ESV). As faithful witnesses, we must ensure that what we say is never careless and - like Yeshua - is always suitable to accomplish the Father's purposes.

1. - Richard Bauckham, in The Gospels for All Christians - Rethinking the Gospel Audiences (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,1998), argues that is is more likely that "the Gospels were written for general circulation around the churches and so envisaged a very general Christian audience."

Further Study: Ephesians 5:6-12; 2 Peter 1:5-

Application: Are your words always measured and sufficient? Do you always say enough and never too much? Perhaps some speech coaching from the Holy Spirit would help - ask and sign up today!

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© Jonathan Allen, 2024

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