Deuteronomy 28:59
A focused desk for reading, commentary, cross-references, original language notes, and your own observations.
Deuteronomy 28:59
59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
Chapter Context
Deuteronomy 28 is a covenant blessing and curse chapter in the Old Testament that explores themes of obedience, mercy, righteousness. Written during the end of the wilderness wandering (c. 1406 BCE), this chapter should be understood within its historical context: Moses delivered these speeches as Israel prepared to enter a land filled with different Canaanite city-states.
The chapter can be divided into several sections:
- Verses 1-5: Introduction and setting the context
- Verses 6-12: Development of key themes
- Verses 13-20: Central message and teachings
- Verses 21-68: Conclusion and application
This chapter is significant because it provides guidance for worship and spiritual devotion. When studying this passage, it's important to consider both its immediate context within Deuteronomy and its broader place in the scriptural canon.
Verse Study
Deuteronomy 28:59
59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
Analysis
Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful—Hebrew wǝhiplāʾ YHWH (וְהִפְלָא יְהוָה) uses the verb 'to make extraordinary/distinguished.' The word makkôṯ (מַכּוֹת, plagues) recalls Egypt's ten plagues, but these would be great plagues, and of long continuance (חֳלָיִם רָעִים וְנֶאֱמָנִים, ḥŏlāyîm rāʿîm wǝneʾĕmānîm—literally 'evil and faithful/lasting diseases').
The irony is devastating: God's miracles (peleʾ) delivered Israel from Egypt; now His miracles will deliver them to judgment. The plagues will be 'wonderful' in their severity and uniqueness. The phrase 'of long continuance' (lasting/faithful) means chronic, incurable suffering. Where Egypt's plagues lasted days, Israel's would last generations. This predicted the ongoing Jewish diaspora sufferings from 586 BC through the Holocaust.
Historical Context
Jewish history from the Babylonian exile forward has been marked by extraordinary suffering—the diaspora, medieval pogroms, the Inquisition, the Holocaust. While these resulted from human evil, they occurred under God's sovereign governance. Deuteronomy 28:59 framed Jewish understanding of their own suffering for millennia.
Reflection
- How does God's covenant faithfulness manifest in both blessing and judgment?
- What does it mean that God's judgments are 'wonderful'—not arbitrary but purposeful?
- How does Christ's becoming 'a curse for us' (Galatians 3:13) end the 'long continuance' of covenant curses?
Word Studies
- Lord: יְהוָה / אֲדֹנָי (YHWH / Adonai) H3068 - The LORD / Lord
Cross-References
- Parallel theme: Mark 13:19