(5) Thy basket--(Only here and in Deuteronomy 28:17, and Deuteronomy 26:2; Deuteronomy 26:4)--i.e., the portion which is brought out for the present occasion. Thy store, that which is left, and put away for future use. But this view rests upon the LXX. translation of the word for "store." All the Targums, and all the Jewish commentators I have been able to consult, and the lexicons also, take a different view. The word is identical in form with that used for "kneading troughs" in Exodus 8:3; Exodus 12:34. And so the contrast is taken to be, either (1) between firstfruits in their natural condition (Deuteronomy 26:2) and the dough offered when already prepared for food, as in the wave-loaves (Leviticus 23:17); or (2) between the basket in which the corn is carried and the receptacle for the meal or dough, or (as Rashi takes it) between the vessel for things moist and the vessel for things dry. But the view taken by the LXX. is as old as any, and the contrast indicated by "basket" and "store" is simpler and more comprehensive than that which is drawn from a reference to the details of the law. The Authorised Version is, therefore, distinctly to be preferred, in my opinion. There are other technical reasons, which cannot be given here.
28:1-14 This chapter is a very large exposition of two words, the blessing and the curse. They are real things and have real effects. The blessings are here put before the curses. God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy. It is his delight to bless. It is better that we should be drawn to what is good by a child-like hope of God's favour, than that we be frightened to it by a slavish fear of his wrath. The blessing is promised, upon condition that they diligently hearken to the voice of God. Let them keep up religion, the form and power of it, in their families and nation, then the providence of God would prosper all their outward concerns.
Blessed shall be thy basket,.... Which the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem restrain to the basket of firstfruits, and the cake of the first of their dough; but it intends any and every vessel in which they put their provisions for present use, and that that should never be empty of them, and that they should always have a sufficiency:
and thy store; what remained, and was laid up in their barns, cellars, and storehouses, for future use, or in proper places for seed.
and thy store; what remained, and was laid up in their barns, cellars, and storehouses, for future use, or in proper places for seed.