Deuteronomy Chapter 30 verse 11 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerses 11-14. - The fulfillment of this condition was not impossible or even difficult; for God had done everything to render it easy for them. The commandment of God was not hidden from them; literally, was not wonderful to them; i.e. hard to be understood or to perform (see the use of the Hebrew word in Psalm 131:1; Proverbs 30:18); nor was it far off; it was not in heaven - i.e. though heavenly in its source, it had not remained there, but had been revealed - so that there was no need for any one to say, Who will ascend to heaven, and bring it down to us, that we may hear it, and do it? The idea is not, as Keil suggests, that of "an inaccessible height" which none could scale; nor is it, as suggested by Knobel, that of something "incomprehensible, impracticable, and superhuman;" it is simply a statement of fact that the Law had not been retained in heaven, but had been revealed to men. Nor was this revelation made in some far distant place across the sea, so that any need say, Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? On the contrary, it was very near to them, had been disclosed in words so that they could utter it with their own mouth, converse over it, and ponder it in their hearts (cf. Isaiah 45:19; Jeremiah 23:28; Romans 10:6). In the allusion to the sea, the representation is not that of depth (Targum Jon.), but that of distance.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersDeuteronomy 30:11-14. THE LAW OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH is OF FAITH.(11) For this commandment.--Heb., Mitzvah. This duty, this form of obedience to the law.Is not hidden from thee--i.e., not too hard. Literally, too wonderful for thee. (Comp. Deuteronomy 17:8; Psalm 139:6.)(12) It is not in heaven.--St. Paul cites the words thus: "The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? that is, to bring Christ down from above" (Romans 10:6-7).(13) Neither is it beyond the sea.--St. Paul continues, "Or (say not), Who shall descend into the deep? that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead." The alteration here is remarkable. The LXX. will not account for it. "Beyond the sea" generally suggests the idea of a land on the other side of the surface of the ocean. But a descent into the "abyss," which is what St. Paul indicates, means a passage through the sea to that which is beneath it, "beyond the sea "in a very different sense. No one but Jonah ever went beyond the sea in this way, as he says, "Out of the belly of hell cried I . . . Thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the heart of the seas . . . I went down to the bottoms of the mountains . . . The deep (abyss) closed me about." And this descent of Jonah is chosen as the "sign" of Christ's descent into hell. . . .