Deuteronomy 30:12
in Deuteronomy 30It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?
KJV
It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
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This verse in Deuteronomy 30
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIt is not in heaven - Shall not be communicated in that way in which the prophets received the living oracles; but the Word shall be made flesh, and dwell among you.
This site's exposition
For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult for you
on Deuteronomy 30:11-13
Two errands are named, going up to heaven and crossing the sea, and neither is required. Paul quotes these verses at Romans 10:6-7 of the righteousness that is by faith, changing the sea to the deep.
This site's exposition
It is not in heaven
Calvin reads the verse beside Isaiah 45:19, where the LORD says He did not speak in secret. No one must ascend into heaven to get the law and proclaim it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is not in heaven,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
OUR Lord Jesus Christ, in John's Gospel, in the 46th verse of the fifth chapter, says, "Moses wrote of Me." Hence we may safely interpret much that Moses said, not only of the Law, but also of the Gospel. Indeed, the Law itself was given primarily to drive men to the Gospel. It was meant to show them the impossibility of salvation by their own works and so to shut them up to a salvation which is available even for sinners.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The apostle Paul (Ro 10:6-8) has applied this passage to the Gospel, for the law of Christ is substantially the same as that of Moses, only exhibited more clearly in its spiritual nature and extensive application; and, accompanied with the advantages of Gospel grace, it is practicable and easy. DEATH AND LIFE ARE SET BEFORE THE ISRAELITES.
OUR Lord Jesus Christ, in John's Gospel, in the 46th verse of the fifth chapter, says, "Moses wrote of Me." Hence we may safely interpret much that Moses said, not only of the Law, but also of the Gospel. Indeed, the Law itself was given primarily to drive men to the Gospel. It was meant to show them the impossibility of salvation by their own works and so to shut them up to a salvation which is available even for sinners. The types of sacrifice and purification pointed to the method of pardon for the guilty by faith and acceptance for sinners by a righteousness not their own. This is certainly one of the passages in which Moses wrote of the Savior yet to come. We are not, however, left to conjecture this, for the Apostle Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, has quoted this passage in the 10th chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. He has given us a sort of paraphrase of it, not quoting it with verbal exactness, but giving its sense—and then inserting his own interpretation of that sense—which interpretation, seeing that he spoke under the direct influence of the Spirit of God, may be accepted as decisive. The Spirit of God best knew what He meant by the Words which He spoke by Moses. Even if Moses, himself, may not altogether have meant the same, the Spirit's own meaning must stand. I believe, however, that Moses did intend that which Paul attributes to him and that he saw in the whole Revelation of God under the ancient dispensation, the spirit, the essential spirit of the Gospel which was more fully declared to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. In this instance he was not speaking of the Law as given upon Sinai, if we view it as a Covenant of Works. I showed you this by reading the first verse of the 29th chapter which is the preface to the passage now before us.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The meaning thereof is that it refers to the entire Torah. But the correct interpretation is that when he refers to the entire Torah, he says [as above] Every commandment which I command thee this day. 67 Above:1.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
This explains neither is it far off (v. 11). It is possible that the reference is to the great sea. The Atlantic Ocean.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בַשָּׁמַ֖יִם | vashamayim | [is] in the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| הִ֑וא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | to say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יַעֲלֶה־ | yaaleh- | will he go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| לָּ֤נוּ | lanu | for <the> us | ||
| הַשָּׁמַ֙יְמָה֙ | hashamaymah | the heavens towards | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְיִקָּחֶ֣הָ | veyikacheha | so he may fetch it | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לָּ֔נוּ | lanu | for <the> us | ||
| וְיַשְׁמִעֵ֥נוּ | veyashmienu | so he may make hear us | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֹתָ֖הּ | ʾotah | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְנַעֲשֶֽׂנָּה׃ | venaasenah | so we may do it | H6213 → | 2628 times |
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בַשָּׁמַ֖יִם[is] in the heavens
vashamayimH8064 →421 times
הִ֑ואit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
לֵאמֹ֗רto say
lemorH559 →5305 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
יַעֲלֶה־will he go up
yaaleh-H5927 →890 times
לָּ֤נוּfor <the> us
lanu
הַשָּׁמַ֙יְמָה֙the heavens towards
hashamaymahH8064 →421 times
וְיִקָּחֶ֣הָso he may fetch it
veyikachehaH3947 →966 times
לָּ֔נוּfor <the> us
lanu
וְיַשְׁמִעֵ֥נוּso he may make hear us
veyashmienuH8085 →1159 times
אֹתָ֖הּ<obj.> it
ʾotahH853 →10935 times
וְנַעֲשֶֽׂנָּה׃so we may do it
venaasenahH6213 →2628 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 3:13No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
it leads to
- Proverbs 30:4
Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth?…
- Acts 2:34
For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand
- John 6:38
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
- John 1:18
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
- 1 Corinthians 15:47
The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
- Proverbs 30:4
Through
Proverbs 30:4Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth?…
it leads to
- John 3:13
No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
- Job 26:8
He wraps up the waters in His clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their own weight.
- Ephesians 4:8–10
This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”
- John 3:13
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1967: “Plain Gospel For Plain People” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).