לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו

Here is another step in the construction of Sefer Devarim, this time it is a step within Devarim. The expression לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו occurs, in several variations, seven times in Devarim, and does not occur in the rest of Torah, and every occurrence seems to be a 'recent' addition. They are in Devarim 8:6, 10:12, 11:22, 19:9, 26:17, 28:9, 30:16, the last of which is in Parshat Nitzavim:

וְשָׁמַרְתָּ, אֶת-מִצְו‍ֹת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכָיו, וּלְיִרְאָה אֹתוֹ.

וְעַתָּה, יִשְׂרָאֵל--מָה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ: כִּי אִם-לְיִרְאָה אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו, וּלְאַהֲבָה אֹתוֹ, וְלַעֲבֹד אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, בְּכָל-לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל-נַפְשֶׁךָ.

כִּי אִם-שָׁמֹר תִּשְׁמְרוּן אֶת-כָּל-הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם--לַעֲשֹׂתָהּ: לְאַהֲבָה אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו-- וּלְדָבְקָה-בוֹ.

כִּי-תִשְׁמֹר אֶת-כָּל-הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת לַעֲשֹׂתָהּ, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם, לְאַהֲבָה אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְלָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכָיו, כָּל-הַיָּמִים-- וְיָסַפְתָּ לְךָ עוֹד שָׁלֹשׁ עָרִים, עַל הַשָּׁלֹשׁ הָאֵלֶּה.

אֶת-יְהוָה הֶאֱמַרְתָּ, הַיּוֹם: לִהְיוֹת לְךָ לֵאלֹהִים וְלָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכָיו, וְלִשְׁמֹר חֻקָּיו וּמִצְו‍ֹתָיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו--וְלִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקֹלוֹ.

יְקִימְךָ יְהוָה לוֹ לְעַם קָדוֹשׁ, כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע-לָךְ: כִּי תִשְׁמֹר, אֶת-מִצְו‍ֹת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, וְהָלַכְתָּ, בִּדְרָכָיו.

אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ, הַיּוֹם, לְאַהֲבָה אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכָיו, וְלִשְׁמֹר מִצְו‍ֹתָיו וְחֻקֹּתָיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו; וְחָיִיתָ וְרָבִיתָ--וּבֵרַכְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר-אַתָּה בָא-שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ

The bold phrases I estimate to be 'new' additions, added at the time of לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו. What could have been the reason for adding the expression לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו to Sefer Devarim? Probably it is related to the phrase כִּי כָל-דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט: of Devarim 32:4, in the song of Ha'azinu, which is also late in Sefer Devarim. It would be a reflection similar to the occurrences of אָנֹכִי, הַסְתֵּר אַסְתִּיר פָּנַי, and וְנִאֲצוּנִי, and הַקְהִילוּ אֵלַי, אֶת-הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת-הָאָרֶץ, וַאֲדַבְּרָה and כִּי-הַשְׁחֵת תַּשְׁחִתוּן, and לְהַכְעִיסוֹ, all in Parshat Vayelech, Devarim 31 (verses 18, 20, 28, 29 and 29), which are similar to the Ha'azinu song in Devarim 32, at verses 1, 5, 19, 20, 21 (הַאֲזִינוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם, וַאֲדַבֵּרָה; וְתִשְׁמַע הָאָרֶץ אִמְרֵי-פִי, שִׁחֵת, וַיִּנְאָץ, אַסְתִּירָה פָנַי ,אַכְעִיסֵם). Poetry definitely is a source of prose.

This may answer how the phrase was added, but leaves open why it was added. For understanding why, it is important to know who did it. It would seem that D/R is the author of לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו, and he was a priestly editor/redactor with one major point on his agenda: the addition of instances of the word מִצְו‍ֹת to the text. It seems that he wanted to pretend that the מִצְו‍ֹת have a background that is deuteronomistic as well as priestly. Such is presumably the reason for the above seven occurrences of לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו, in several variations, in Sefer Devarim.

We find the phrase וְלָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו וְלִשְׁמֹר מִצְו‍ֹתָיו occurring also in Yehoshua 22:5, and also in Melachim I, 8:58 and, in a variation, also in Melachim I, 2:3, in speeches of Yehoshua, David, and Shlomo. As an aside, finding the above phrase in a speech, makes one think twice about the historicity of the speech. Anyway, there is an intricate textual link between the phrases לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו and לִשְׁמֹר מִצְו‍ֹתָיו. Of course, there were no מִצְו‍ֹת in the original book of Devarim. And when you come to think about it, לָלֶכֶת בְּכָל-דְּרָכָיו, to walk in (all) His paths, is not a pure deuteronomistic concept. In deuteronomistic thinking, there is one Derech, one Mitzvah, where one has to go, and dare not deviate from (Devarim 13:6, 17:20).

שְׁלַח אוֹרְךָ וַאֲמִתְּךָ, הֵמָּה יַנְחוּנִי

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