Ha'azinu
Deuteronomy 32:1 – 32:52
Ha'azinu is Moses's great song — a sweeping poem that calls heaven and earth as witnesses and surveys the entire arc of Israel's relationship with God. It proclaims God's faithfulness and justice, recalls His tender care for Israel in the wilderness, and foretells the nation's prosperity, complacency, and eventual turn to idolatry. God will hide His face and bring calamity, yet ultimately will vindicate His people and judge their enemies. After completing the song, God commands Moses to ascend Mount Nebo to view the Promised Land and to die there, as Aaron died on Mount Hor.
Key figures
- Moses — Poet and prophet who delivers his final song to all of Israel
- God — The Rock whose work is perfect and whose ways are just
- Joshua — Named alongside Moses as the one who will lead Israel forward
Famous verses
- 32:4 The Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice; A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and right is He.
- 32:7 Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations; Ask your father, and he will declare to you, Your elders, and they will tell you.
- 32:10-11 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness; He compassed him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.
- 32:47 For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days upon the land, where you go over the Jordan to possess it."
Haftarah: {'ref': 'II Samuel 22:1-51', 'connection': "David's song of thanksgiving after God delivers him from his enemies parallels Moses's song in both poetic form and theological content — both praise God as the Rock and faithful redeemer."}
Total gematria 147,357 is divisible by 7, the number of completion.