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.
