（申31）传圣经的诫命 (Deuteronomy 31) The Commandments to Transmit the Bible

(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）

Before Moses passed away, he gave the final two commandments in the five Books of Moses, both of which relate to promoting the preservation and transmission of the Scriptures. One commandment is that every 7 years, after the sabbatical year, during the Feast of Tabernacles, the Israelites must gather near the Temple to hear the king read the Book of the Law (Hakhel). The relevant verse is:

Deuteronomy 31:12: “Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law.”

The second commandment is that each Israelite must write a copy of the Torah (The Mitzvah to Write a Torah Scroll). The relevant verse is:

Deuteronomy 31:19: “Now write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them.”

My understanding is as follows: The first commandment aims to establish the authority of the Scriptures, ensuring that every child under the age of 7 has the opportunity to witness that adults, including the king, are all subject to the teachings of the Bible. This helps them understand that conduct should be guided by Scripture, not by who holds more power or who is more intelligent. Today, although we cannot literally gather to hear a king read the Bible, the principle of respecting the authority of the Bible remains applicable. For instance, when my daughter complains that I spend long periods in China during the summer and don’t spend enough time with her, instead of explaining that I visit her grandfather out of traditional filial piety, I can explain that this is in obedience to the biblical commandment to honor one’s parents. On the other hand, if her grandfather asked me to do something that goes against the Bible, such as worshiping idols, I could not justify that action by appealing to traditional values of filial piety.

As for the commandment to write a copy of the Law, Jewish tradition extends this as including the purchase of books related to Bible study. I believe Christians can also follow this practice. I think this extension holds some truth because Moses commanded the writing of the song in order to pass it on to future generations and encourage them to remain faithful to the teachings of the Bible. Buying books related to Bible study can also promote the transmission of the Bible. In our modern era, where electronic books are more popular than printed ones, we should explore contemporary ways to fulfill this commandment. This might involve supporting online publishing platforms, assisting in the distribution of Bible-related resources, or writing our own Bible study notes online. These are areas worth considering and putting into practice.

（申31）传圣经的诫命

摩西去世前，传了律法书里的最后两条诫命，都与促进圣经的保存与流传有关。一条是每7年安息年结束后的节日期间，以色利要全国集会在圣殿附近听国王诵读律法书https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakhel，相关的经文是：

申命记31:12 要招聚他们男，女，孩子，并城里寄居的，使他们听，使他们学习，好敬畏耶和华你们的神，谨守，遵行这律法的一切话，

另一条是，每个以色利人要抄写一本律法书https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-mitzvah-to-write-a-torah-scroll/。相关经文是：

申命记31:19 现在你要写一篇歌，教导以色列人，传给他们，使这歌见证他们的不是 。

我的理解是：前者是要建立圣经的权威，让每个孩子在7岁以下就有机会亲眼看到大人们乃至国王都是服从圣经的，从而知道行事为人要以圣经教导为准，不是以谁的官大说了算，也不是谁聪明说了算。在今天，虽然不可能字面地按圣经的说法去听国王读经，但凡事尊重圣经的权威，这点仍然是可行的，比如说，我女儿抱怨我每年暑假很长时间在国内，陪她的时间少了，我与其解释回国访问她爷爷是为了传统美德里的孝敬父母，不如说这是遵守圣经里孝敬父母的教导。相反，如果她爷爷要我违背圣经做拜偶像的事，我就不能为了传统美德里的孝敬父母去那样做的。

至于抄写律法书的诫命，犹太人把它引申为可以是购买属灵书籍。我想这是基督徒也可以做的。我想这种引申有一定的道理，因为原文摩西写歌是为了传给后代督促他们忠于圣经的教导。购买属灵书籍，也可以促进圣经的流传。在现在电子读物比纸质读物更流行的时代，相应的实践方式值得摸索，比如说会不会是资助相关网上出版机构，协助传播，或者自己在网上写读经笔记，这些值得我们思考和实践。