Deuteronomy 5:3

3 he made not covenant with our fathers, but with us that be present, and live. (he did not make the covenant with our fathers, but with us who be alive, and present here today.)

Deuteronomy 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 5:3

The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers
That is, not with them only, as Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Abendana remark; for certain it is that this covenant was made, or law was given, to the immediate fathers of this present generation of Israelites, whose carcasses had fallen in the wilderness; unless this is to be understood of their more remote ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with whom the covenant of grace was made, or afresh made manifest, especially with the former; when the law, the covenant here spoken of, was not delivered until four hundred and thirty years after, ( Galatians 3:16 Galatians 3:17 ) ,

but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day;
many of them were then present at the giving of the law, and though under twenty years of age, could remember it, and the circumstances of it; and besides, they were the same people to whom it was given, though not consisting wholly of the same individuals.

Deuteronomy 5:3 In-Context

1 And Moses called all Israel, and said to him, Hear, thou Israel, the ceremonies and dooms, which I speak today in your ears; learn ye them, and fulfilleth in deed. (And Moses called all the Israelites, and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and laws, or judgements, which I speak today in your ears; learn ye them, and do ye them.)
2 Our Lord God made a bond of peace with us in Horeb; (The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Sinai;)
3 he made not covenant with our fathers, but with us that be present, and live. (he did not make the covenant with our fathers, but with us who be alive, and present here today.)
4 Face to face he spake to us in the hill, from the midst of the fire. (Face to face he spoke to you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire.)
5 I was (a) reconciler and a mediator betwixt God and you in that time, that I should tell to you his words, for ye dreaded the fire, and ye went not up into the hill. And he said, (I was a reconciler and a mediator between God and you at that time, to tell you his words, for ye feared the fire, and ye would not go up the mountain. And he said,)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.