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Deuteronomy 27 Bible study: All the people shall say amen
The last of Deuteronomy 27's twelve curses, "Cursed is he who doesn’t uphold the words of this law by doing them" (27:26), is the one Paul quotes, "Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law" (Galatians 3:10), before he writes, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Galatians 3:13).
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“Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silent and listen, Israel! Today you have become the people of the LORD your God.”
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“In Deuteronomy 27, the altar is to be built on Mount Ebal.”
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What's really going on
The law, written on stones
Moses and the elders give Israel a command for "the day when you shall pass over the Jordan" (27:2): "set yourself up great stones, and coat them with plaster. You shall write on them all the words of this law" (27:2-3). The command comes round again at the end of the section, with one more word about how: "You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly" (27:8). In between, the chapter names where the stones stand, "on Mount Ebal" (27:4), and what is built beside them, an altar (27:5). The first thing commanded for the day Israel crosses is writing down the law.
Where it leads to Jesus
Cursed is everyone
Deuteronomy 27:26leads toGalatians 3:10
The last of the twelve curses is "Cursed is he who doesn’t uphold the words of this law by doing them" (27:26), and all the people say "Amen". Paul quotes it: "For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who doesn’t continue in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them’" (Galatians 3:10). The WEB words Paul's quotation differently from 27:26: "everyone" for "he", "continue in all things that are written in the book of the law" for "uphold the words of this law", and "to do them" for "by doing them". Just before, Paul writes that "those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham" (Galatians 3:9); three verses on, he writes, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Galatians 3:13).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Deuteronomy 27
That was a taste
The rest of Deuteronomy 27 is waiting in Favor
- An altar on the mountain of the curse
- First who you are, then what you do
- Twelve curses, twelve Amens
- Joshua on Mount Ebal
- Words, an altar and offerings, as at Sinai
- A law behind every curse
- 10 questions as you read
- 11 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Deuteronomy 27 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
אָמֵןamensay a-MEN
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "verily, truly". Strong's: "sure; abstract, faithfulness; adverb, truly". The first time: "All the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen’" (27:15); then after every curse, "All the people shall say, ‘Amen’" (27:16-26). Deuteronomy uses the word twelve times, all in 27:15-26. Before this chapter, the only use in the Hebrew Bible is Numbers 5:22, where a woman answers the priest's words of a curse: "The woman shall say, “Amen, Amen.”" Much later, when Ezra "blessed the LORD, the great God", "All the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” with the lifting up of their hands" (Nehemiah 8:6).
For your group
Deuteronomy 27 Bible study questions
- 1"Today you have become the people of the LORD your God" comes before "You shall therefore obey" (27:9-10). How does knowing whose you are change the way you obey?
- 2Two of the curses fall on what is done "in secret" (27:15) or "secretly" (27:24). Where is the gap between who you are in front of people and who you are when no one sees?
- 3Paul quotes 27:26 (Galatians 3:10), then writes, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Galatians 3:13). How does that change the way you hear the people's twelve Amens?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Deuteronomy 27 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home