Source and scope. This study is based on H. P. Mansfield’s annotations in The Holy Bible with Brief Explanatory Notes (HPB), Deuteronomy section, principally page 46. Mansfield’s separately published Deuteronomy Expositor is a distinct document and was consulted only as a secondary cross-check. This page presents the HPB study, not the separate Expositor.
Chapter Overview
Deuteronomy 29 applies the covenant to the generation assembled in Moab. It distinguishes this covenant occasion from Horeb while retaining continuity with the law and oath already given. The chapter warns against private presumption: hearing covenant warnings does not make peace secure for someone who deliberately persists in stubbornness. Covenant membership never makes rebellion safe.
The Moab Covenant — Deuteronomy 29:1
Deuteronomy 29:1 — Beside the covenant at Horeb
The KJV introduces “the words of the covenant” commanded in Moab “beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.” The verse distinguishes the Moab occasion from Horeb. It is reasonable to describe it as covenant renewal or reaffirmation, but the claim that Scripture permits only two covenants, and therefore this cannot be an additional covenant formulation in any sense, is a theological simplification rather than a conclusion demanded by the wording.
Chapter numbering. In many Hebrew editions this sentence is numbered Deuteronomy 28:69 rather than 29:1. This is a traditional numbering difference, not a different biblical sentence.
What Israel Has Seen — Deuteronomy 29:2–9
Deuteronomy 29:2–3 — Signs, trials and wonders
Moses recalls the great trials, signs and wonders Israel saw in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 29:4 — Heart, eyes and ears not yet given
Despite this visible history, Yahweh had not given Israel a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear “unto this day.” True covenant perception is presented as dependent on Divine enabling, while the surrounding exhortations still hold Israel responsible to hear and obey. The verse should not be reduced either to arbitrary Divine prevention or to purely self-generated insight.
Deuteronomy 29:5–6 — Preserved clothing and wilderness dependence
Forty years of preservation are recalled: garments did not wear out and sandals did not fail (compare Deuteronomy 8:4). Moses also says Israel did not eat bread or drink wine or shekar during this wilderness dependence, so that they might know Yahweh as their God. This describes miraculous dependence; it need not mean that no one consumed any ordinary grain food or drink at any point in the forty years. Manna itself is called bread elsewhere, and Deuteronomy 2 records permitted purchases of food and water.
Deuteronomy 29:7–9 — Victory and wise action
The victories over Sihon and Og and the east-Jordan inheritance provide immediate evidence of Yahweh’s ability to fulfil his word. Israel must keep and do the covenant words “that ye may prosper.” The Hebrew sakal can convey acting wisely, having insight, and prospering or succeeding. This success is tied to prudent obedience, not merely possession of national status.
Every Class and Generation — Deuteronomy 29:10–15
Deuteronomy 29:10–11 — All Israel stands
Chiefs, tribes, elders, officers, men, children, wives and resident strangers—from woodcutter to water-drawer—stand before Yahweh. Covenant obligation crosses social rank.
Deuteronomy 29:12 — Passing into covenant and oath
The Hebrew uses ‘abar, “pass” or “cross,” for entry into covenant and oath; later in the verse it uses the common idiom karat berit, “cut” or make a covenant. Mansfield reconstructs a detailed divided-animal ceremony from these expressions. Genesis 15 and Jeremiah 34 show that passing between divided pieces could accompany covenants, but Deuteronomy 29 records no covenant victim or such ceremony here. The idiom alone does not establish that one occurred.
Deuteronomy 29:13–15 — Identity and future generations
The Moab oath reaffirms Israel’s identity as Yahweh’s people and recalls the oath sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The covenant is made not only with the assembled people but also with those “not here with us this day.” In context this naturally embraces succeeding generations; the wording should not be forced into speculative claims about pre-existent persons.
Root of Poison and Wormwood — Deuteronomy 29:16–18
Israel has seen the detestable idols of Egypt and the nations through which it passed. No man, woman, family or tribe may turn from Yahweh to other gods and become a root bearing rosh and la‘anah. Here rosh denotes poisonous or bitter plant imagery, or poison; la‘anah is wormwood or a bitter plant. Mansfield’s identification of rosh specifically with the poppy and opium is not secure Hebrew botany and should not be treated as fact.
The Self-Blessing Apostate — Deuteronomy 29:19–21
Deuteronomy 29:19 — Stubbornness and a difficult phrase
The person hears the oath and curse yet blesses himself, claiming peace while walking in the stubbornness (sherirut) of his heart. KJV “imagination” can mislead modern readers; the term means stubbornness or obstinacy. The verse’s closing KJV phrase, “to add drunkenness to thirst,” is obscure and has produced markedly different translations. Mansfield’s explanation is possible homiletic application, not a secure lexical solution.
Deuteronomy 29:20–21 — Presumption judged
Yahweh will not spare the deliberate apostate; covenant curses fall and the person is separated for judgment. The warning concerns conscious self-deception within covenant privilege.
The Land as Witness — Deuteronomy 29:22–28
Future generations and foreigners see a devastated land described with sulphur, salt and burning, compared with Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim. They ask why Yahweh acted so severely. The answer is that Israel forsook the covenant, served other gods, incurred the written curses and was uprooted into another land. This is a covenant interpretation of national ruin, not grounds to identify every later barren feature with one specific event.
Secret and Revealed Things — Deuteronomy 29:29
“The secret things belong unto Yahweh our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” What Yahweh has disclosed creates responsibility; speculation about what he has withheld cannot replace obedience.
Principal Themes
- The Moab covenant is a distinct occasion with continuity to Horeb; simplistic covenant categories should not control the wording.
- Spiritual perception is a Divine gift without cancelling human accountability.
- Verse 6 describes wilderness dependence and need not mean absolute absence of ordinary food at every moment.
- Sakal joins wise action, insight and success.
- Covenant-entry idioms do not prove that a divided-animal ceremony occurred in Moab.
- “Not here this day” naturally includes future generations.
- Rosh is poisonous or bitter-plant imagery, not securely the poppy or opium.
- Sherirut means stubbornness or obstinacy; the final phrase of verse 19 remains difficult.
- The ruined land becomes a witness to later generations.
- Revealed truth is given in order to be done.
Editorial Verification and Remaining Questions
- Deuteronomy 29:1: The Moab covenant is distinct from Horeb while connected with it; “renewal” is a reasonable description, not a forced limit on covenant categories.
- Hebrew numbering: KJV 29:1 is often numbered 28:69 in Hebrew editions.
- Verses 4–6: Divine enabling and human responsibility remain together; clothing and sandals are preserved; the food wording is not pressed beyond its context of wilderness dependence.
- Verses 9 and 12: Sakal includes acting wisely or prospering. ‘Abar and karat berit do not document a divided-animal rite in this chapter.
- Verse 15: The absent-from-this-assembly language naturally includes future generations.
- Verses 18–19: Rosh and la‘anah use poison and bitter-plant imagery; poppy identification is uncertain. Sherirut means stubbornness, while the final Hebrew phrase is obscure.
- Verses 22–29: The land’s ruin is explained through covenant abandonment; the revealed word is given for obedience.
Residual uncertainties. The exact force of the final clause in verse 19 and the theological classification of the Moab covenant in relation to Horeb remain debated. Mansfield’s poppy/opium identification and reconstructed covenant-victim ceremony are treated only as possible exposition, not textual fact.