Text: Deuteronomy 18:15-18
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 20:19
Subject: Israel's fear of God's voice and promise of a prophet
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment
Anchor Text: Deut 18:15-19 — A Prophet Like Moses
Significance: Exodus 20:19 records the people's terrified request after hearing God speak at Sinai: "Speak to us yourself and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us, or we will die." Deuteronomy 18:15-18 treats this fear as the occasion for God's promise: "I will raise up for them a prophet like you (נָבִיא... כָּמוֹךָ, navi... kamokha) from among their brothers." Moses explicitly recalls the Sinai request in Deuteronomy 18:16: "This is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb." The prophetic institution thus arises directly from Israel's inability to bear unmediated divine speech, with Moses' mediatorial role becoming the pattern for the promised successor prophet who will speak God's words to the people.