For ye shall pass over Jordan. — In the place of Sichern, by the oak of Moreh, “the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land.” It is the first recorded promise given to the patriarch that his seed should inherit that particular country. He had gone out from his own country, “not knowing whither he went” (Genesis 12:6-7).
Here ends the first portion of the exposition of the Decalogue — that which sets forth the relation of the people brought out of Egypt to Jehovah. The following Chapter s set forth the laws of the land of Israel — first, as the seat of worship of Jehovah; secondly, as the seat of His kingdom; thirdly, as the sphere of operation of certain rules of behaviour, intended to form a distinctive character for His people. For a complete analysis of this portion, see the Introduction to this Book. Some modern writers attribute these Chapter s to a later hand than that of Moses. It is therefore necessary to consider them carefully, not simply as Chapter s, but in their primary structure and according to their natural divisions.
The land is considered as the seat of Jehovah’s worship from Deuteronomy 12:1 to Deuteronomy 16:17 inclusive.