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Deuteronomy 1:1–30:20
1:1 This is what1 Moses said to the assembly of Israel2 in the Transjordanian3 wastelands, the arid country opposite4 Suph,5 between6 Paran7 and Tophel,8 Laban,9 Hazeroth,10 and Di Zahab11 1:2 Now it is ordinarily an eleven-day journey12 from Horeb13 to Kadesh Barnea14 by way of Mount Seir.15 1:3 However, it was not until16 the first day of the eleventh month17 of the fortieth year18 that Moses addressed the Israelites just as19 the Lord had instructed him to do. 1:4 This took place after the defeat20 of King Sihon21 of the Amorites, whose capital was22 in Heshbon,23 and King Og of Bashan, whose capital was24 in Ashtaroth,25 specifically in Edrei.26 1:5 So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words:27
1:6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb and said, “You have stayed28 in the area of this mountain long enough. 1:7 Get up now,29 resume your journey, heading for30 the Amorite hill country, to all its areas31 including the arid country,32 the highlands, the Shephelah,33 the Negev,34 and the coastal plain—all of Canaan and Lebanon as far as the Great River, that is, the Euphrates. 1:8 Look! I have already given the land to you.35 Go, occupy the territory that I,36 the Lord, promised37 to give to your ancestors38 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants.”39 1:9 I also said to you at that time, “I am no longer able to sustain you by myself. 1:10 The Lord your God has increased your population40 to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky.41 1:11 Indeed, may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing you42 just as he said he would! 1:12 But how can I alone bear up under the burden of your hardship and strife? 1:13 Select wise and practical43 men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.” 1:14 You replied to me that what I had said to you was good. 1:15 So I chose44 as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials. 1:16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they45 should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens46 and judge fairly,47 whether between one citizen and another48 or a citizen and a resident foreigner.49 1:17 They50 must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly51 and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.
1:18 So I instructed you at that time regarding everything you should do. 1:19 Then we left Horeb and passed through all that immense, forbidding wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the Lord our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea. 1:20 Then I said to you, “You have come to the Amorite hill country which the Lord our God is about to give52 us. 1:21 Look, he53 has placed the land in front of you!54 Go up, take possession of it, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to do. Do not be afraid or discouraged!” 1:22 So all of you approached me and said, “Let’s send some men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring us back word as to how we should attack it and what the cities are like there.” 1:23 I thought this was a good idea,55 so I sent56 twelve men from among you, one from each tribe. 1:24 They left and went up to the hill country, coming to the Eshcol Valley,57 which they scouted out. 1:25 Then they took58 some of the produce of the land and carried it back down to us. They also brought a report to us, saying, “The land that the Lord our God is about to give us is good.”
1:26 You were not willing to go up, however, but instead rebelled against the Lord your God.59 1:27 You complained among yourselves privately60 and said, “Because the Lord hates us he brought us from Egypt to deliver us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us! 1:28 What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage61 by describing people who are more numerous62 and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven63 itself! Moreover, they said they saw64 Anakites65 there.” 1:29 So I responded to you, “Do not be terrified66 of them! 1:30 The Lord your God is about to go67 ahead of you; he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt68 1:31 and in the desert, where you saw him69 carrying you along like a man carries his son. This he did everywhere you went until you came to this very place.” 1:32 However, through all this you did not have confidence in the Lord your God, 1:33 the one who was constantly going before you to find places for you to set up camp. He appeared by fire at night and cloud by day, to show you the way you ought to go.
1:34 When the Lord heard you, he became angry and made this vow:70 1:35 “Not a single person71 of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors! 1:36 The exception is Caleb son of Jephunneh;72 he will see it and I will give him and his descendants the territory on which he has walked, because he has wholeheartedly followed me.”73 1:37 As for me, the Lord was also angry with me on your account. He said, “You also will not be able to go there. 1:38 However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant,74 will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land.75 1:39 Also, your infants, who you thought would die on the way,76 and your children, who as yet do not know good from bad,77 will go there; I will give them the land and they will possess it. 1:40 But as for you,78 turn back and head for the desert by the way to the Red Sea.”79
Unsuccessful Conquest of Canaan
1:41 Then you responded to me and admitted, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will now go up and fight as the Lord our God has told us to do.” So you each put on your battle gear and prepared to go up to the hill country. 1:42 But the Lord told me: “Tell them this: ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you and you will be defeated by your enemies.’ ” 1:43 I spoke to you, but you did not listen. Instead you rebelled against the Lord80 and recklessly went up to the hill country. 1:44 The Amorite inhabitants of that area81 confronted82 you and chased you like a swarm of bees, striking you down from Seir as far as Hormah.83 1:45 Then you came back and wept before the Lord, but he84 paid no attention to you whatsoever.85 1:46 Therefore, you remained at Kadesh for a long time—indeed, for the full time.86
The Journey from Kadesh Barnea to Moab
2:1 Then we turned and set out toward the desert land on the way to the Red Sea1 just as the Lord told me to do, detouring around Mount Seir for a long time. 2:2 At this point the Lord said to me, 2:3 “You have circled around this mountain long enough; now turn north. 2:4 Instruct2 these people as follows: ‘You are about to cross the border of your relatives3 the descendants of Esau,4 who inhabit Seir. They will be afraid of you, so watch yourselves carefully. 2:5 Do not be hostile toward them, because I am not giving you any of their land, not even a footprint, for I have given Mount Seir5 as an inheritance for Esau. 2:6 You may purchase6 food to eat and water to drink from them. 2:7 All along the way I, the Lord your God,7 have blessed your every effort.8 I have9 been attentive to10 your travels through this great wasteland. These forty years I have11 been with you; you have lacked for nothing.’ ”
2:8 So we turned away from our relatives12 the descendants of Esau, the inhabitants of Seir, turning from the desert route,13 from Elat14 and Ezion Geber,15 and traveling the way of the Moab wastelands. 2:9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass Moab and provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as your territory. This is because I have given Ar16 to the descendants of Lot17 as their possession. 2:10 (The Emites18 used to live there, a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites. 2:11 These people, as well as the Anakites, are also considered Rephaites;19 the Moabites call them Emites. 2:12 Previously the Horites20 lived in Seir but the descendants of Esau dispossessed and destroyed them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land it came to possess, the land the Lord gave them.)21 2:13 Now, get up and cross the Wadi Zered.”22 So we did so.23 2:14 Now the length of time it took for us to go from Kadesh Barnea to the crossing of Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, time for all the military men of that generation to die, just as the Lord had vowed to them. 2:15 Indeed, it was the very hand of the Lord that eliminated them from within24 the camp until they were all gone.
2:16 So it was that after all the military men had been eliminated from the community,25 2:17 the Lord said to me, 2:18 “Today you are going to cross the border of Moab, that is, of Ar.26 2:19 But when you come close to the Ammonites, do not harass or provoke them because I am not giving you any of the Ammonites’ land as your possession; I have already given it to Lot’s descendants27 as their possession.
2:20 (That also is considered to be a land of the Rephaites.28 The Rephaites lived there originally; the Ammonites call them Zamzummites.29 2:21 They are a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites. But the Lord destroyed the Rephaites30 in advance of the Ammonites,31 so they dispossessed them and settled down in their place. 2:22 This is exactly what he did for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir when he destroyed the Horites before them so that they could dispossess them and settle in their area to this very day. 2:23 As for the Avvites32 who lived in settlements as far …
| 1 | tn Heb “These are the words.” |
| 2 | tn Heb “to all Israel.” |
| 3 | tn Heb “on the other side of the Jordan.” This would appear to favor authorship by someone living on the west side of the Jordan, that is, in Canaan, whereas the biblical tradition locates Moses on the east side (cf. v. 5). However the Hebrew phrase בְּעֵבֶר הַיּרְדֵּן (bé’ever hayyréden) is a frozen form meaning “Transjordan,” a name appropriate from any geographical vantage point. To this day, one standing east of the Jordan can describe himself as being in Transjordan. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan. |
| 6 | tn The Hebrew term בֵּין (ben) may suggest “in the area of.” |
| 7 | |
| 8 | |
| 9 | |
| 10 | sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to ʿAin Khadraʾoba. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199–200. |
| 11 | sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast. |
| 12 | sn An eleven-day journey was about 140 mi (233 km). |
| 13 | |
| 14 | |
| 15 | |
| 16 | |
| 17 | sn The eleventh month is Shebat in the Hebrew calendar, January/February in the modern (Gregorian) calendar. |
| 18 | sn The fortieth year would be 1406 b.c. according to the “early” date of the exodus. See E. H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 66–75. |
| 19 | tn Heb “according to all which.” |
| 20 | tn Heb “when he struck [or “smote”].” |
| 21 | |
| 22 | tn Heb “who lived.” |
| 23 | sn Heshbon is probably modern Tell Hesban, about 7.5 mi (12 km) south southwest of Amman, Jordan. |
| 24 | tn Heb “who lived.” |
| 25 | sn Ashtaroth is probably Tell ʿAshtarah, about 22 mi (35 km) due east of the Sea of Galilee. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | |
| 28 | tn Heb “lived”; “dwelled.” |
| 29 | |
| 30 | tn Heb “go (to).” |
| 31 | tn Heb “its dwelling places.” |
| 32 | |
| 33 | |
| 34 | |
| 35 | tn Heb “I have placed before you the land.” |
| 36 | tn Heb “the Lord.” Since the Lord is speaking, it is preferable for clarity to supply the first person pronoun in the translation. |
| 37 | |
| 38 | |
| 39 | tn Heb “their seed after them.” |
| 40 | tn Heb “multiplied you.” |
| 41 | tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context. |
| 42 | tn Heb “may he bless you.” |
| 43 | |
| 44 | tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.” |
| 45 | |
| 46 | tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation. |
| 47 | |
| 48 | tn Heb “between a man and his brother.” |
| 49 | |
| 50 | |
| 51 | tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid repetition. |
| 54 | |
| 55 | tn Heb “the thing was good in my eyes.” |
| 56 | |
| 57 | tn Or “the Wadi Eshcol” (so NAB). sn The Eshcol Valley is a verdant valley near Hebron, still famous for its viticulture (cf. Num 13:22–23). The Hebrew name “Eshcol” means “trestle,” that is, the frame on which grape vines grow. |
| 58 | tn The Hebrew text includes “in their hand,” which is unnecessary and somewhat redundant in English style. |
| 59 | tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord your God.” To include “the mouth” would make for odd English style. The mouth stands by metonymy for the Lord’s command, which in turn represents the Lord himself. |
| 60 | tn Heb “in your tents,” that is, privately. |
| 61 | tn Heb “have caused our hearts to melt.” |
| 62 | |
| 63 | tn Or “as the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context. |
| 64 | tn Heb “we have seen.” |
| 65 | |
| 66 | tn Heb “do not tremble and do not be afraid.” Two synonymous commands are combined for emphasis. |
| 67 | |
| 68 | tn Heb “according to all which he did for you in Egypt before your eyes.” |
| 69 | tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun (“him”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons. |
| 70 | tn Heb “and swore,” i.e., made an oath or vow. |
| 71 | tn Heb “Not a man among these men.” |
| 72 | |
| 73 | tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun (“me”) has been employed in the translation, since it sounds strange to an English reader for the Lord to speak about himself in third person. |
| 74 | |
| 75 | tn Heb “it”; the referent (the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity. |
| 76 | tn Heb “would be a prey.” |
| 77 | sn Do not know good from bad. This is a figure of speech called a merism (suggesting a whole by referring to its extreme opposites). Other examples are the tree of “the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen 2:9), the boy who knows enough “to reject the wrong and choose the right” (Isa 7:16; 8:4), and those who “cannot tell their right hand from their left” (Jonah 4:11). A young child is characterized by lack of knowledge. |
| 78 | |
| 79 | tn Heb “the Reed Sea.” “Reed” is a better translation of the Hebrew סוּף (suf), traditionally rendered “red.” The name “Red Sea” is based on the LXX which referred to it as ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης (eruthras thalassēs, “red sea”). Nevertheless, because the body of water in question is known in modern times as the Red Sea, this term was used in the translation. The part of the Red Sea in view here is not the one crossed in the exodus but its eastern arm, now known as the Gulf of Eilat or Gulf of Aqaba. |
| 80 | |
| 81 | |
| 82 | tn Heb “came out to meet.” |
| 83 | |
| 84 | tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun (“he”) has been employed in the translation here for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy. |
| 85 | tn Heb “did not hear your voice and did not turn an ear to you.” |
| 86 | tn Heb “like the days which you lived.” This refers to the rest of the forty-year period in the desert before Israel arrived in Moab. |
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | sn The descendants of Esau (Heb “sons of Esau”; the phrase also occurs in 2:8, 12, 22, 29). These are the inhabitants of the land otherwise known as Edom, south and east of the Dead Sea. Jacob’s brother Esau had settled there after his bitter strife with Jacob (Gen 36:1–8). “Edom” means “reddish,” probably because of the red sandstone of the region, but also by popular etymology because Esau, at birth, was reddish (Gen 25:25). |
| 5 | sn Mount Seir is synonymous with Edom. |
| 6 | tn Heb includes “with silver.” |
| 7 | tn The Hebrew text does not have the first person pronoun; it has been supplied for purposes of English style (the Lord is speaking here). |
| 8 | tn Heb “all the work of your hands.” |
| 9 | tn Heb “he has.” This has been converted to first person in the translation in keeping with English style. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | tn Heb “the Lord your God has.” This has been replaced in the translation by the first person pronoun (“I”) in keeping with English style. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | |
| 14 | sn Elat was a port city at the head of the eastern arm of the Red Sea, that is, the Gulf of Aqaba (or Gulf of Eilat). Solomon (1 Kgs 9:28), Uzziah (2 Kgs 14:22), and Ahaz (2 Kgs 16:5–6) used it as a port but eventually it became permanently part of Edom. It may be what is known today as Tell el-Kheleifeh. Modern Eilat is located further west along the northern coast. See G. Pratico, “Nelson Glueck’s 1938–1940 Excavations at Tell el-Kheleifeh: A Reappraisal,” BASOR 259 (1985): 1–32. |
| 15 | sn Ezion Geber. A place near the Gulf of Aqaba, Ezion-geber must be distinguished from Elat (cf. 1 Kgs 9:26–28; 2 Chr 8:17–18). It was, however, also a port city (1 Kgs 22:48–49). It may be the same as the modern site Gezirat al-Fauran, 15 mi (24 km) south-southwest from Tell el-Kheleifah. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | sn The descendants of Lot. Following the destruction of the cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah, as God’s judgment, Lot fathered two sons by his two daughters, namely, Moab and Ammon (Gen 19:30–38). Thus, these descendants of Lot in and around Ar were the Moabites. |
| 18 | sn Emites. These giant people, like the Anakites (Deut 1:28), were also known as Rephaites (v. 11). They appear elsewhere in the narrative of the invasion of the kings of the east where they are said to have lived around Shaveh Kiriathaim, perhaps 9 to 11 mi (15 to 18 km) east of the north end of the Dead Sea (Gen 14:5). |
| 19 | sn Rephaites. The earliest reference to this infamous giant race is, again, in the story of the invasion of the eastern kings (Gen 14:5). They lived around Ashteroth Karnaim, probably modern Tell Ashtarah (cf. Deut 1:4), in the Bashan plateau east of the Sea of Galilee. Og, king of Bashan, was a Rephaite (Deut 3:11; Josh 12:4; 13:12). Other texts speak of them or their kinfolk in both Transjordan (Deut 2:20; 3:13) and Canaan (Josh 11:21–22; 14:12, 15; 15:13–14; Judg 1:20; 1 Sam 17:4; 1 Chr 20:4–8). They also appear in extra-biblical literature, especially in connection with the city state of Ugarit. See C. L’Heureux, “Ugaritic and Biblical Rephaim,” HTR 67 (1974): 265–74. |
| 20 | sn Horites. Most likely these are the same as the well-known people of ancient Near Eastern texts described as Hurrians. They were geographically widespread and probably non-Semitic. Genesis speaks of them as the indigenous peoples of Edom that Esau expelled (Gen 36:8–19, 31–43) and also as among those who confronted the kings of the east (Gen 14:6). |
| 21 | |
| 22 | sn Wadi Zered. Now known as Wadi el-Ḥesa, this valley marked the boundary between Moab to the north and Edom to the south. |
| 23 | tn Heb “we crossed the Wadi Zered.” This has been translated as “we did so” for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy. |
| 24 | tn Heb “from the middle of.” Although many recent English versions leave this expression untranslated, the point seems to be that these soldiers did not die in battle but “within the camp.” |
| 25 | tn Heb “and it was when they were eliminated, all the men of war, to die from the midst of the people.” |
| 26 | |
| 27 | |
| 28 | |
| 29 | |
| 30 | tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Rephaites) has been specified in the translation for clarity. |
| 31 | tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Ammonites) has been specified in the translation for clarity. |
| 32 | sn Avvites. Otherwise unknown, these people were probably also Anakite (or Rephaite) giants who lived in the lower Mediterranean coastal plain until they were expelled by the Caphtorites. |
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