Conditions for Life in the Land
PARASHAT EIKEV (“if” or “as a result of”) contains three speeches (7:12–8:20; 9:1–10:22; 11:1–25), all of which highlight the central position of the Promised Land in the relationship between God and Israel. The “good land” is the object of the divine oath to the ancestors (7:12–13; 8:1; 9:5; 11:9) and the goal reached after forty years of wandering in the wilderness (8:1–20). For Israel’s sake, God constantly keeps an eye on the land of “milk and honey,” which is so different from the land of Egypt (11:12).
Whereas the prior parashah presents categorical demands of loyalty and obedience (as in the Decalogue in 5:6–18 and the Sh’ma in 6:4–9), Eikev opens with a conditional clause that emphasizes that obedience brings blessings (“And if you do obey these rules…”). Throughout the parashah, Moses emphasizes that existence in the land is conditioned upon obedience, observance, and love—all of which are manifestations of Israel’s loyalty to God (8:1–20; 11:8–9, 13–25). This message remains central in Jewish life, as 11:21–31 are traditionally recited twice daily as the second paragraph of the Sh’ma, and the same passage is inserted in the mezuzah and in t’fillin.
This parashah mentions women explicitly only a few times. One of the blessings promised if the people follow God’s teachings is the absence of infertile women and men (7:14). A later passage extolling God’s merits mentions that God “upholds the cause of…the widow” (10:18). As divine ruler (see at 10:17), God’s role is to defend and provide for the vulnerable members of society, including widows—a frequent topic of concern in Deuteronomy.
With regard to this parashah’s use of feminine imagery, one verse open to interpretation is the analogy comparing the way God disciplines Israel to the actions of a human parent (8:5). Does the masculine language of this verse refer specifically to a father and son, or, more inclusively, to the way that either parent treats a daughter or son? (See further at 8:5.)
—Dalit Rom-Shiloni
Outline—
I. FAITHFULNESS TO THE COVENANT BY GOD AND ISRAEL (7:12–8:20)
A. Blessings and possession of the land (7:12–26)
B. Call to observe and remember, remember and observe (8:1–20)
II. PRINCIPLES OF REVERENCE
What Does God Demand of You? (9:1–10:22)
A. Possession of the land by a stiff-necked people (9:1–6)
B. Retrospective of wilderness sins (9:7–24)
C. Reaffirmation that Israel is God’s people (9:25–10:11)
D. Call for reverence, obedience, love, and worship (10:12–22)
III. OCCUPATION OF THE LAND AS DIVINE REWARD OR PUNISHMENT (11:1–25)
A. Past lessons as motivations for future actions (vv. 1–9)
B. Special qualities of the land and incentives to obey God (vv. 10–21)
C. Victory and territory as rewards for obedience (vv. 22–25)