Deuteronomy 9 14

Deuteronomy 9:14 kjv

Let 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.

Deuteronomy 9:14 nkjv

Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.'

Deuteronomy 9:14 niv

Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they."

Deuteronomy 9:14 esv

Let me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.'

Deuteronomy 9:14 nlt

Leave me alone so I may destroy them and erase their name from under heaven. Then I will make a mighty nation of your descendants, a nation larger and more powerful than they are.'

Deuteronomy 9 verses

Deuteronomy 9 14 Meaning

Deuteronomy 9:14 encapsulates God's intense wrath against the Israelites for their rapid and profound idolatry at Mount Horeb. It is a moment where the Creator expresses His just anger, offering Moses a startling proposition: God proposes to annihilate the entire nation of Israel, utterly erasing their identity and legacy, and then offers to raise up a new, even mightier and more numerous nation through Moses himself. This verse highlights the severity of breaking covenant, God's holiness in the face of sin, and simultaneously sets the stage for Moses's crucial act of intercession. It reveals the dire consequences of disobedience and God's willingness to hold His people accountable, even to the point of extinction, while testing the fidelity and compassion of His chosen mediator.

Deuteronomy 9 14 Context

Deuteronomy 9 opens with Moses reiterating the history of Israel's journey to the edge of the Promised Land. He warns them against presuming that their success in conquering the land is due to their own righteousness or strength, attributing it instead to God's covenant faithfulness and His judgment against the wicked inhabitants of Canaan. To drive this point home, Moses immediately pivots to a sobering recollection of their past rebellions, highlighting their deep-seated unfaithfulness despite God's mighty acts.

Verse 14 is specifically embedded within Moses's vivid account of the golden calf incident at Mount Horeb (Deut 9:8-21). This was a monumental act of rebellion and idolatry that occurred shortly after they received the Law directly from God. Moses recounts how, after forty days and nights on the mountain, God informed him of the people's swift turning away. God's declaration in verse 14—a severe threat to wipe out Israel and restart with Moses—demonstrates the immediate and profound anger provoked by their sin. Moses's subsequent tenet of intercession (Deut 9:18-19, 25-29) prevented their complete annihilation, emphasizing God's mercy and Moses's crucial role as mediator. Historically, the golden calf incident challenged the very foundation of their new covenant relationship, making God's offer to blot them out a legitimate consequence.

Deuteronomy 9 14 Word analysis

• "Let me alone" (Hebrew: Har-peh lim-me-ni הַרְף מִמֶּנִּי):
  • Har-peh is from the root raphah (רָפָה), meaning "to slacken, to let go, to abandon."
  • Lim-me-ni means "from me" or "away from me."
  • Significance: This phrase doesn't imply that God physically needs Moses to "let go." Rather, it speaks to the intensity of Moses's prayer and intercession. Moses, in his spiritual wrestling with God (which he describes as "holding fast"), was actively impeding God's immediate judgment. God is, in a sense, giving Moses permission to stop interceding so that divine wrath might fully unleash. It emphasizes the power of Moses's position and prayer, showing his spiritual grip on God's intentions.
• "that I may destroy them" (Hebrew: w’ash-mi-dem וְאַשְׁמִידֵם):
  • From the root shamad (שָׁמַד), meaning "to put to an end, to destroy, to annihilate completely."
  • Significance: This term denotes a thorough and definitive destruction, leaving no remnant. It signifies the removal of their physical presence as a distinct people.
• "and blot out their name" (Hebrew: w’ekhal-leh et-she-mam וַאֲכַלֶּה אֶת־שְׁמָם):
  • w’ekhal-leh from kalah (כָּלָה), meaning "to finish, to complete, to consume, to put an end to."
  • et-she-mam (אֶת־שְׁמָם) means "their name."
  • Significance: In ancient Near Eastern thought, a "name" was synonymous with one's identity, reputation, legacy, and memory. To "blot out a name" meant the utter annihilation of existence and memory—no descendants, no record, no remembrance. This is an act of ultimate disgrace and condemnation, effectively erasing them from history and from God's plan as a people. This is more profound than just physical destruction; it’s an existential termination. It implies God's full rejection of them as the covenant people, disowning their identity and legacy.
• "from under heaven":
  • Significance: This emphasizes the complete and public nature of the obliteration. It's not just physical removal, but removal from remembrance universally, as if they never existed as a recognized entity before God or man. It suggests the scope of divine judgment is cosmic, leaving no place for their remembrance on earth or under God's dominion.
• "and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they":
  • "make of thee a nation": This is God's direct offer to Moses. It tests Moses’s humility, selflessness, and commitment to the collective well-being of the people he leads. It's a personal challenge for Moses to accept a position that bypasses the covenant people, giving him a chance to be a new 'Abraham.'
  • "mightier and greater":
    • "Mightier" ('atsum) refers to strength, power, and numerousness.
    • "Greater" (rab) refers to size, importance, and multitude.
  • Significance: This part highlights God's sovereign power to establish a nation from any source, independent of prior lineage if He so chooses. It serves as a striking comparison, emphasizing that even the current rebellious Israel (despite their size and history) was insignificant compared to what God could raise up from Moses. This underscores the unconditionality of God's ultimate covenant purpose, even if the instruments (the initial nation) failed. It echoes God's original promises to Abraham about his descendants becoming a great nation (Gen 12:2; 15:5; 22:17), hinting that God’s covenant promises will always find a way to be fulfilled, even if through a new vessel.

Deuteronomy 9 14 Bonus section

The exchange in Deuteronomy 9:14 (and Exodus 32:10) is sometimes seen as a 'test' of Moses by God. While God is omniscient and knows Moses's heart, this proposition served to reveal Moses's character and his self-sacrificing dedication to his people. It also demonstrated to future generations—and to us—the nature of a true mediator, one who identifies with the guilty rather than seeking personal advantage. The offer to "make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they" explicitly references and echoes the original Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12:2; 13:16; 15:5), demonstrating that God's plan for a "great nation" would indeed continue, with or without this particular rebellious generation. Moses, by rejecting the offer and interceding, ensures the continuity of the original Abrahamic covenant line through the existing, albeit deeply flawed, people of Israel, underscoring God's ultimate mercy prevailing over deserved judgment through human faithfulness. This verse also implicitly warns against relying on one's physical descent or numbers as a guarantee of divine favor, as even a "great nation" could be summarily dismissed if it failed in its covenant obligations.

Deuteronomy 9 14 Commentary

Deuteronomy 9:14 is a profound theological statement, laying bare the consequences of grave covenant unfaithfulness while also setting the stage for Moses’s exemplary intercession. It reveals God’s holiness and unwavering justice: His patience has limits, and He is genuinely provoked to wrath by flagrant rebellion, especially against idolatry, which violates the first and greatest commandment. God's offer to Moses was a direct challenge to the mediator's heart—would Moses embrace personal glory by becoming the progenitor of a new, mightier Israel, or would he humble himself to plead for the very people who had sinned against God and him? Moses's refusal to accept this personal aggrandizement demonstrates his true character and selflessness, aligning his will with God's redemptive purpose for all of Israel, not just a select lineage from himself. The "blotting out of their name" signifies not just physical destruction, but the ultimate nullification of identity and historical legacy, serving as a powerful warning against collective and generational apostasy. This intense dialogue underlines that while God is merciful, His justice is real and demands accountability. It also teaches that faithful intercession can stand in the "breach" and avert judgment, reflecting ultimately the work of the Greater Mediator, Christ, who always intercedes for His people.