Ver. 3. Hear, therefore, O Israel, &c.— The Jews have a very particular regard for these, and the following words, to the 10th verse exclusively: they write them upon vellum, made of the skin of a pure animal; they carry them about them, and recite them every day; and they are one of the four passages whereof they make their phylacteries.

Ver. 8. Thou shalt bind then, for a sign— The Lord is pleased to take every method most likely to preserve in the minds of the Israelites a conscientious regard to the precepts which he enjoined. He not only commands, that their children be early and diligently instructed in them, but that they should bind them for a sign upon their hands, &c. that is, that they should make them as familiar to them as if they were written upon their arms or foreheads, or upon the posts of their houses, or their gates, ver. 9. Possibly, some part of the command was designed to be understood literally; for it might have been of use to them, when they went in and out of their houses, to read such solemn words as those in the 4th and 5th verses. The Jews, however, have taken the whole literally; for hence they derived their superstitious practice of making their phylacteries, i.e. parchment inscribed with sections of the law, which they bound to the forehead and wrist. We call the practice superstitious, not only because they fancied some peculiar virtue, like a spell, in these phylacteries, or preservatives; but because it is evident to any unprejudiced person, that neither here, nor Exo 13:9 does Moses speak of tying parchments about their wrists, but of riveting the thing in their hearts; for it appears from Isa 49:16 to be a proverbial expression, importing that they should still retain a lively and grateful sense of the divine goodness, and render it as well known and familiar to every succeeding generation, as if they were a perpetual token upon their arms to put them in mind of it. There are similar phrases in all languages; thus Cicero says: Sit inscriptum in fronte uniuscujusque quid de republica sentiat; "Let every citizen have his sentiments of the commonwealth written upon his forehead." Orat. in Catil. I. Calmet, however, not without reason, infers from this passage, that it was customary for people, even in those times, to wear fillets, or the like ornaments, hanging down upon their foreheads. Those in future times, who were desirous to appear more than ordinarily religious, made, with an ostentatious hypocrisy, their phylacteries peculiarly broad. See Mat 23:5 and Calmet's Dictionary on the word phylacteries.

Ver. 12. Then beware lest thou forget the Lord— It is well known, how prone men are in prosperity to forget their benefactors, but especially their supreme One, and their dependance upon him. See Proverbs 30:8-9. Hence it was proverbial among the Greeks, that "satiety begets insolence; and power, joined with ignorance, is the parent of madness." Moses had too long experienced the temper of his countrymen, not to be jealous of their falling into this extreme; therefore, he strongly warns them against the unhappy influence of ease and prosperity, when peacefully possessed of the promised land. See ch. Deuteronomy 8:11.

Ver. 13. Thou shalt—swear by his name— An oath is a solemn act of religious worship; so, to swear by any other name than that of the true God, is to recognize another god as the true one, and to fall into a polytheism. Hence it follows, that the words, thou shalt swear by his name, are synonymous with thou shalt profess the true religion; and, in divers passages of the Old Testament, the worshippers of the true God are especially characterised as those who swear by the name of the Lord. God himself, foretelling, by the mouth of Isaiah, the conversion of the Gentiles, does it in these words; unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear, chap. Isa 45:23 which St. Paul explains, every tongue shall confess to God. Romans 14:11. See also Isaiah 19:18; Isaiah 65:16. Jeremiah 4:1-2; Jeremiah 5:7. This appears to be the true meaning of the passage: many, however, understand it, that in taking an oath they were to swear only by Jehovah, and never by any of the gods of the Gentiles. See Joshua 23:7-8.

Ver. 25. It shall be our righteousness— Houbigant renders this, for a just reward shall not be wanting to us, if, &c. that is, says he, the promised reward mentioned in the foregoing verse. The word צדק zedek is often so used, as well as the Chaldee וזכותא uzekutha, which the Latin interpreter well renders praemium, reward: the LXX and Vulgate render it, and it shall be mercy, or, he will be merciful to us, if, &c. Our version, however, may well be justified.
REFLECTIONS.—Repeated warnings are needful. 1. He charges them in no exigence to distrust God's power or love; assuring them, that diligent obedience would be crowned with infallible success against all their enemies. Whilst we trust God, and follow on in the way of duty, his promise secures our safety and happiness. 2. They, must seize every opportunity to instruct their children, that their religion, and the deep remembrance of God's dealings with them, may be transmitted to their latest posterity. Hearing so often the law read and taught, and seeing so many rites and ceremonies performed, their children would be naturally inquisitive into the meaning of them; then they must seize the good opportunity to inform them of their former deplorable estate in Egypt, the great deliverances wrought for them, and the favours bestowed on them in these institutions, in the perfect observance of which they might attain righteousness and life. Note; (1.) It should be highly pleasing to parents to hear their children's inquiries about the things of God. It is their duty to inform them, even when they are averse from instruction; and how much more so, when teachable and desirous to learn. (2.) Righteousness and life eternal are inseparable: not indeed to be obtained by a sinner through obedience to the law, but by him who is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.