4:35-38 - You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other. From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.

So why was Israel so favoured among the nations by being shown all those great things that affirmed her as unique in both her experiences (no greater thing had happened in all human history than to them (v32) and no one survived a theophaic revelation as she did (v33)), and her election (v34)?

These things, Moses now explains, had a purpose, i.e., that Israel may know that "Yahweh is God, there is no other beside him." The inclusion of an independent pronoun (hu', "he,") for Yahweh emphasizes his identity or status as God. The issue here is not the monotheistic question of whether other god/s apart from Yahweh exists, but who Yahweh is to Israel.1 "Besides him there is no other" concretizes the assertion so that there can be no mistake about where Yahweh stands in Israel's life. With this opening assertion, Moses provides three affirmations, each balancing the points he has raised in the challenge, thus linking the affirmation logically back to the challenge of vv32-34:

ChallengeA.Ask . . . from the day God created
humans on earth ('rts); ask from
one end of heaven (shmym) . . .
has anything like it ever been
heard (shm') of? v.32,

B.Has any other people heard (shm')
the voice of God speaking out of
the fire (mtwk-h'sh)? v.33,

C.Has any god ever tried to take for
himself one nation (gwy) out of
another . . . by great (gdl) and
awesome deeds . . . like . . .
Yahweh did for you in Egypt? v.34,

AssertionX.You were shown these things so
that you might know that Yahweh,
he is God; besides him there is
no other, v.35,

AffirmationA'.From heaven (shmym) he made you
hear (sh') his voice to discipline
you. On earth ('rts) he showed you
his great fire, v.36a,

B'.You heard (shm') his words from
out of the fire (mtwk-h'sh), v.36b,

C'.He choose you and . . . brought
you out of Egypt by his presence
and great (gdl) power . . . to drive
out before you nations (gwym)
greater (gdl). . . than you, v.37-38.

Here we observe three 'foldbacks': 1) just as Israel was free to enquire all the way back to the day the earth was formed, and from one end of the heavens to the other (#A, v.32), so from heaven Yahweh had revealed his word to Israel (#A', v.36a), 2) Just as no other people has heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire (#B, v.33), so Israel was uniquely privileged to hear Yahweh doing so (#B', v.36b). 3) And, finally, just as no god has ever tried to take for himself a nation out of another as Yahweh had delivered Israel out of Egypt (#C, v.34), so it is because of his promise to their forefathers and his love for Israel that Yahweh has chosen them, and brought them out of Egypt (#C', v.37-38). Even though the idea of Israel as a "chosen" people has been assumed all this while, for the first time in Deuteronomy, Israel's election is explicitly stated (v.37). Not only has Yahweh taken one nation (Israel) out of another, he would also cause her to dispossess "nations greater and stronger" in order to give them an inheritance (the gift that only a son/daughter can have) in the land (v.38). The expression "as it is today" is a common one in the Old Testament; three of its seven occurrences are found in Deut (here and 8:18, 10:15). It serves to point the audience to what is presently true as evidence that what has just been said is true; that it has endured until the present. Here, as a conclusion, it serves to impress on Israel the truthfulness of all that Moses has just affirmed.

We hope you are beginning to appreciate why there is so much repetitions in the Old Testament, and how Deuteronomy is so artfully put together. There's more, and more complex ones, to come. For the moment, notice also how the flow of Moses' challenge and affirmation is also evident in the concentric structure that frames these two passages:

A. Ask about the former days . . . from the day (ywm) God created man on earth ('rts), v.32,

Ca. Has any people heard (shm') the voice of God speaking (dbr) out of the fire (mtwk-h'sh), v.32,

Cb. Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation (gwy) out of another by . . . great (gdl) and awesome deeds . . . like what Yhwh did for you in Egypt? v.34,

Ca'. You heard (shm') his words (dbr) from out of the fire (mtwk-h'sh ), v.36,

Cb'. He brought you out of Egypt . . . by his great (gdl) strength . . . to drive out before you nations (gwym). . . v.37-

A'. . . . to bring you into their land ('rts). . . to give it to you, as it is today (hywm ), v.38.