Deuteronomy 5:2 kjv
The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Deuteronomy 5:2 nkjv
The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Deuteronomy 5:2 niv
The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.
Deuteronomy 5:2 esv
The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Deuteronomy 5:2 nlt
"The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Mount Sinai.
Deuteronomy 5 2 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ex 19:5 | "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant..." | God proposes the covenant at Sinai. |
| Ex 24:7 | "...And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”" | Israel's acceptance of the covenant. |
| Ex 34:10 | "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do wonders..." | Renewal of the covenant. |
| Deut 4:10 | "Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb..." | Moses recalls the Horeb event. |
| Deut 4:13 | "And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform..." | The Ten Commandments are the covenant's terms. |
| Deut 6:1-3 | "Now this is the commandment... that you may fear the LORD your God..." | Importance of observing God's commands. |
| Deut 7:9 | "Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant..." | God's faithfulness to His covenant. |
| Lev 26:46 | "These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the Lord established... at Mount Sinai." | Summary of laws given at Sinai. |
| Num 10:33 | "...the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them..." | Ark as a symbol of the covenant. |
| Josh 24:25 | "So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day..." | Renewal of the covenant in Canaan. |
| 1 Kin 8:9 | "There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone..." | Tablets are physical sign of the covenant. |
| Neh 9:13 | "You came down on Mount Sinai... and you gave them righteous ordinances..." | Levites remember God giving laws at Sinai. |
| Ps 50:5 | "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!" | Covenant established by sacrifice. |
| Ps 78:10 | "They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to walk in his law..." | Israel's history of breaking the covenant. |
| Jer 31:31-33 | "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant..." | Prophecy of the New Covenant replacing the old. |
| Gal 3:17 | "The law, which came 430 years later, does not annul the covenant previously ratified by God..." | Law doesn't override Abrahamic covenant. |
| Heb 8:6 | "But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old..." | Christ's superior new covenant ministry. |
| Heb 8:7-13 | "For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second." | Superiority of the New Covenant. |
| Heb 9:18 | "Therefore, not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood." | Emphasizes the sacrificial basis of covenants. |
| Heb 10:16 | "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord..." | Application of New Covenant promise (Jer 31). |
| Heb 12:18-24 | "For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire... but you have come to Mount Zion..." | Contrasts Sinai (Old Covenant) with Zion (New Covenant). |
| 2 Cor 3:6-11 | "...who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit..." | Compares the glory of the old and new covenants. |
| Matt 5:17 | "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." | Christ's relationship to the Old Covenant Law. |
Deuteronomy 5 verses
Deuteronomy 5 2 Meaning
Deuteronomy 5:2 states that the LORD our God directly established a covenant with the people of Israel at Mount Horeb. This highlights God's active initiative in forming His relationship with Israel through a solemn and binding agreement centered on divine law and mutual commitment.
Deuteronomy 5 2 Context
Deuteronomy 5 is a pivotal chapter, initiating Moses' restatement of the Ten Commandments to the new generation of Israelites on the plains of Moab, before their entry into the Promised Land. This particular verse, Deuteronomy 5:2, serves as the authoritative preamble to that re-proclamation of the Law. It immediately establishes the divine origin and foundational importance of the commandments.
Historically, this generation had not directly experienced the giving of the Law at Horeb (Mount Sinai), as most of their parents had perished in the wilderness due to disobedience. Moses emphasizes that even though they were not physically present, the covenant made with their ancestors at Horeb was fundamentally made "with us" – meaning it applies to the current generation as well, through their collective identity as God's chosen people. The focus on Horeb reinforces that their unique identity and their laws were divinely instituted at a specific, real historical event, making them distinct from surrounding pagan nations whose laws stemmed from human rulers or polytheistic deities. This verse grounds their entire existence in God's covenant initiative.
Deuteronomy 5 2 Word analysis
- The LORD (Hebrew: YHWH, transliterated Yahweh or Jehovah): This is God's unique, covenant name. It signifies His personal, relational, and unchanging character, emphasizing His active presence and unwavering commitment to His people, Israel. Unlike the generic "God" (Elohim), YHWH speaks to His intimate involvement and faithfulness in fulfilling His promises.
- our God (Hebrew: Eloheinu): The use of the possessive "our" underscores the intimate, exclusive, and mutual relationship between YHWH and the nation of Israel. It denotes their chosen status and God's particular claim over them, establishing Him as their supreme Lord and protector, setting Him apart from the gods of other nations.
- made a covenant (Hebrew: karath b'rith): Literally meaning "cut a covenant." This phrase refers to the ancient Near Eastern practice of formalizing a solemn, binding agreement through a ritual involving the cutting and sacrifice of animals. Participants would walk between the divided pieces, symbolizing that the same fate would befall them if they broke the pact (e.g., Gen 15). This highlights the severe and binding nature of the agreement God established with Israel.
- with us: This emphasizes the direct, personal, and collective engagement. The covenant was not an abstract legal code delivered impersonally but a solemn, life-defining agreement forged directly between God and the assembled community of Israel at Horeb. It underscores that God actively initiated a relationship with them, calling for their responsive obedience.
- in Horeb: This refers to Mount Sinai, the geographical location where God descended in fire and gave the Ten Commandments. Its specificity grounds the covenant in historical reality and marks it as the singular, foundational event where Israel was constituted as God's nation, distinct from all others. Horeb became synonymous with divine revelation, authoritative law, and the inception of Israel's special relationship with God.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- "The LORD our God": This phrase combines God's covenant name (YHWH) with the possessive "our God." It powerfully affirms God's unique, personal, and exclusive relationship with Israel, contrasting Him sharply with the false, impotent deities worshipped by other nations. He is their God, bound to them by covenant love and faithfulness, and they are His people.
- "made a covenant with us in Horeb": This complete statement encapsulates the core truth. It was God's initiative ("made a covenant"), direct and personal ("with us"), and located at a specific, significant place ("in Horeb"). This was the event where Israel transitioned from an enslaved people to a covenanted nation, receiving their foundational laws and their identity as God's peculiar treasure among all peoples.
Deuteronomy 5 2 Bonus section
- Suzerainty Treaty Structure: Deuteronomy, as a whole, often follows the literary pattern of ancient Near Eastern suzerainty treaties, where a great king (suzerain) dictates terms to a vassal nation. In this context, Deuteronomy 5:2 serves as part of the historical prologue, reminding the "vassals" (Israel) of the benevolent act of their "suzerain" (YHWH) in establishing the relationship through a covenant.
- Significance of "Horeb": While Exodus and Numbers predominantly use "Mount Sinai," Deuteronomy frequently refers to it as "Horeb." This distinction underscores Horeb as the particular Deuteronomic understanding of the place where God revealed Himself, gave the law, and established His covenant with Israel. It emphasizes the foundational identity of the people born out of this divine encounter.
- God's Initiative: The phrasing "made a covenant" clearly signifies God's absolute initiative. It was not Israel's idea to seek this relationship or negotiate its terms. God, in His sovereign grace and wisdom, chose to bind Himself to Israel and offer them a path to life and blessing through His covenant.
Deuteronomy 5 2 Commentary
Deuteronomy 5:2 acts as a profound and concise declaration establishing the divine authority and intimate nature of the laws that follow. It emphasizes that Israel's entire national existence is predicated upon a direct, voluntary covenant initiated by the LORD at Mount Horeb. This was not a merely humanly devised legal system but a divine pact, making the commandments profoundly sacred and binding. Moses deliberately stresses "with us," bridging the generation that witnessed the original event and the generation he now addresses. This ensured the covenant's timeless relevance and ongoing obligation. It served as a stark reminder that their future in the Promised Land depended entirely on upholding this foundational relationship with their faithful God, who actively chose them and set them apart by this unique covenant.