Deuteronomy 6:7

Deuteronomy 6:7

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

a. NLT: Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

b. NIV: Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

c. YLT: and thou hast repeated them to thy sons, and spoken of them in thy sitting in thine house, and in thy walking in the way, and in thy lying down, and in thy rising up,

d. Amplified Bible Classic: You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.

e. Septuagint: And thou shalt teach them to thy children, and thou shalt speak of them sitting in the house, and walking by the way, and lying down, and rising up.

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: You shall teach them thoroughly to your children and you shall speak of them while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way, when you retire and when you arise.

1. “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…”

a. thou shalt teach them diligently [Strong: 8150 shanan shaw-nan' a primitive root; to point (transitive or intransitive); intensively, to pierce; figuratively, to inculcate:--prick, sharp(-en), teach diligently, whet.]

b. [unto thy] children [Strong:  1121 ben bane from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, + spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.]

1). Messianic Jewish Scholar David Bivin: “The New Testament says almost nothing about Jesus' life from after his birth until he appeared in the temple at age twelve, and from then until he began his public ministry at about the age of thirty. Yet a good indication of what a young Jewish man in Jesus' day would have been doing may be found in Avot 5:21, a tractate from a collection of rabbinic sayings called the Mishnah, which states: “At five years of age, one is ready for the study of the Written Torah, at ten years of age for the study of the Oral Torah, at thirteen for bar mitzvah [the religious coming-of-age ceremony], at fifteen for the study of halachot [rabbinic legal decisions], at eighteen for marriage, at twenty for pursuing a vocation, at thirty for entering one's full vigor...Although this statement cannot be dated with certainty, and may come some 100 years after the time of Jesus, there are many other passages in rabbinic works that indicate the importance placed upon the education of children and provide some insight into how the young Jesus was probably spending his time.”

2). Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edershiem, p.230 “…from their earliest consciousness they learned the laws, so as to have them as it were engraven on the soul…Directly the child learned to speak, his religious instruction was to begin, no doubt, with such verses of Holy Scripture as composed that part of the Jewish liturgy, which answers to our Creed.

3). The Biblical and historical background of Jewish customs and ceremonies, By Abraham P. Bloch, p.265. “In addition, there was a custom of smearing honey on the letters of the alphabet which the child was taught and to have him lick the honey so that he could savor the sweetness of the Torah.”

4). I have heard of another tradition that Jewish mothers after the children would recite verses of Scripture, the mothers would dip their fingers in honey and have the children to lick the honey to always have the children associate sweetness with the Scriptures.

a). Psalm 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

b). Proverbs 24:13, 14 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

24:14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

2. “…and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

a. and shalt talk [of them] [Strong: 1696 dabar daw-bar' a primitive root; perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue:--answer, appoint, bid, command, commune, declare, destroy, give, name, promise, pronounce, rehearse, say, speak, be spokesman, subdue, talk, teach, tell, think, use (entreaties), utter, X well, X work.]

1). This word is synonymous with the Hebrew word used in Joshua 1:8 for “meditate”.

a). meditate [Strong: 1897 hagah daw-gaw' a primitive root (Compare 1901); to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication, to ponder:--imagine, meditate, mourn, mutter, roar, X sore, speak, study, talk, utter.]

b). These two Hebrew words both use thinking and speaking in their definitions. The spiritual principles of meditating and confessing the word was taught during the years Moses wrote down the Torah.

b. when thou sittest [Strong: 3427 yashab yaw-shab' a primitive root; properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry:--(make to) abide(-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell(-ing), ease self, endure, establish, X fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit(-ant), make to keep (house), lurking, X marry(-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set(- tle), (down-)sit(-down, still, -ting down, -ting (place) -uate), take, tarry.]

c. [in thine] house [Strong: 1004 bayith bah'-yith probably from 1129 abbreviated; a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.):--court, daughter, door, + dungeon, family, + forth of, X great as would contain, hangings, home(born), (winter)house(-hold), inside(-ward), palace, place, + prison, + steward, + tablet, temple, web, + within(-out).]

d. [and when thou] walkest [Strong: 3212 yalak yaw-lak' a primitive root (Compare 1980); to walk (literally or figuratively); causatively, to carry (in various senses):--X again, away, bear, bring, carry (away), come (away), depart, flow, + follow(-ing), get (away, hence, him), (cause to, made) go (away, -ing, -ne, one's way, out), grow, lead (forth), let down, march, prosper, + pursue, cause to run, spread, take away ((-journey)), vanish, (cause to) walk(-ing), wax, X be weak.]

e. by the way [Strong: 1870 derek deh'-rek from 1869; a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb:--along, away, because of, + by, conversation, custom, (east-)ward, journey, manner, passenger, through, toward, (high-) (path-)way(-side), whither(-soever).]

f. [and when thou] liest down [Strong: 7901 shakab shaw-kab' a primitive root; to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose):--X at all, cast down, ((lover-))lay (self) (down), (make to) lie (down, down to sleep, still with), lodge, ravish, take rest, sleep, stay.]

g. [and when thou] risest up [Strong: 6965 quwm koom a primitive root; to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative):--abide, accomplish, X be clearer, confirm, continue, decree, X be dim, endure, X enemy, enjoin, get up, make good, help, hold, (help to) lift up (again), make, X but newly, ordain, perform, pitch, raise (up), rear (up), remain, (a-)rise (up) (again, against), rouse up, set (up), (e-)stablish, (make to) stand (up), stir up, strengthen, succeed, (as-, make) sure(-ly), (be) up(-hold, - rising).]

1). In His command to Joshua (Joshua 1:8), the Lord used different words to say the same thing. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night…” The spiritual principles of meditating and confessing the word was taught during the years Moses wrote down the Torah and continued in His instructions to Joshua.