Deuteronomy 29 · a question people ask
Israel saw every sign in Egypt. Why does Moses say the LORD had not given them a heart to know?
Moses reminds them, "Your eyes have seen all that the LORD did in the land of Egypt" (29:2), "the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders" (29:3). Then: "But the LORD has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day" (29:4). The verse doesn't say why. Christians read it in two main ways, each resting on verses. All agree that seeing the wonders had not, by itself, given Israel a heart to know, and that Moses says it is so "to this day" (29:4).
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
A heart only the LORD gives
Those who hold this view read 29:4 as naming something only the LORD can give: Moses says the LORD "has not given" it (29:4). Through Jeremiah the LORD promises it, with the same Hebrew words for give, heart and know: "I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD" (Jeremiah 24:7). The next chapter promises, "The LORD your God will circumcise your heart" (30:6). And Paul, writing of Israel, gives words close to 29:4 as God's doing: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day" (Romans 11:8).
Deuteronomy 29:4 · Jeremiah 24:7 · Deuteronomy 30:6 · Romans 11:8
A lack Israel answers for
Those who hold this view read 29:4 as Moses naming what Israel's own unbelief had left them without. At Horeb the LORD's wish was for a heart in them: "Oh that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always" (5:29). Moses had told them, "Yet in this thing you didn’t believe the LORD your God" (1:32), and "You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you" (9:24). On this reading the command that follows is theirs to keep: "Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them" (29:9), since "this commandment which I command you today is not too hard for you or too distant" (30:11).
Deuteronomy 5:29 · Deuteronomy 1:32 · Deuteronomy 9:24 · Deuteronomy 29:9 · Deuteronomy 30:11
The verses
“Moses called to all Israel, and said to them: Your eyes have seen all that the LORD did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land; the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But the LORD has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day.”