BIBLE VERSE STUDY
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 — The Shema and the Great Commandment
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 contains the Shema, Israel's central confession of monotheism, paired with the command to love God totally with heart, soul, and might.
Scripture
4Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah:
5and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
What this passage means
Verses 4-5 open with the declaration "Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah." The Hebrew word translated "one" is 'echad, which denotes unity or oneness rather than solitary singularity. The confession affirms that the God who delivered Israel from Egypt is exclusively and singularly their God, ruling out the polytheism of the surrounding nations. Hearing (shema) implies more than auditory reception; it carries the sense of obedient response, so the verse frames the following command as a response to who God is.
The second verse commands total love for God: "with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Heart (leb) in Hebrew anthropology is the seat of will and intellect; soul (nephesh) is the living self; might (me'od) often understood from its root as "very" or "exceedingly," pointing to one's strongest resources or measure. The triple expression is not a division of the person into three parts but a cumulative call for the entire being to be oriented toward God.
Together, these two verses form a creed and a command. The theological confession in verse 4 grounds the ethical demand in verse 5: because the Lord alone is God, the appropriate human response is undivided love. Jewish tradition takes verse 4 as the start of the Shema, recited twice daily, and verse 5 as the first of three biblical passages (Deuteronomy 6:5, Deuteronomy 11:13-21, Numbers 15:37-41) enclosed in the phylacteries and mezuzot.
Context
Deuteronomy 6 sits within Moses' second address to Israel on the plains of Moab, after the renewal of the covenant at Moab. The instructions in chapter 6 are framed as the core of the covenantal life Israel is to live in the promised land: the opening verses (1-3) call Israel to careful obedience so that they may prosper and multiply in the land of milk and honey. The Shema (6:4-5) functions as the theological thesis that the following instructions (6:6-25) unpack: God's words are to be on the heart, taught to children, bound as signs on the hand and frontlets between the eyes, and written on the doorposts of the house. The passage is therefore not an isolated creed but the creedal foundation for the daily, domestic, and civic practice of the law.
Common questions
What is the Shema?
The Shema (Hebrew: "Hear") is the title given to Deuteronomy 6:4-5 in Jewish tradition, taking its name from the opening imperative "Hear, O Israel." It is recited twice daily by observant Jews and is considered the central confession of Israel's monotheistic faith. The full Shema in traditional recitation extends to include Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Deuteronomy 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37-41.
What does "with all thy might" mean?
The phrase uses the Hebrew word me'od, whose root signals "very" or "exceedingly," and is commonly understood as one's resources or measure. Combined with heart and soul, it intensifies the call to love God not in some compartmentalized way but with one's full capacity and material resources, not just one's inner devotion.
Why does this passage emphasize one God?
The declaration that the Lord is one God is set against the polytheistic environment of the ancient Near East, where surrounding nations worshipped multiple gods. By confessing that the Lord alone is Israel's God, the passage establishes the theological foundation for rejecting other gods and for the exclusive devotion demanded in verse 5. The oneness of God is the reason love must be undivided.