Text: Deuteronomy 7:9-10
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 20:5-6
Subject: Covenant promises and faithfulness
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Anchor Text: Exod 20 — The Decalogue
Significance: Exodus 20:5-6 establishes the foundational statement of divine retribution and loyalty within the second commandment: judgment on those who hate God extending to "the third and fourth generation" but חֶסֶד (chesed, covenant loyalty) to "thousands" who love Him. Deuteronomy 7:9-10 restates this with significant development, adding that God "repays to their face those who hate Him, by destroying them" and specifying "a thousand generations" (לְאֶלֶף דּוֹר, le'elef dor) of faithful love. The Deuteronomic version sharpens the immediacy of judgment ("to their face," not merely to descendants) while expanding the duration of mercy, reinforcing the asymmetry between God's wrath and His steadfast love that pervades biblical theology.