Deuteronomy 1:1

The Covenant Setting

1:1 This is what ¹  Moses said to the assembly of Israel ²  in the Transjordanian ³  wastelands, the arid country opposite ⁴  Suph, ⁵  between ⁶  Paran ⁷  and Tophel, ⁸  Laban, ⁹  Hazeroth, ¹⁰  and Di Zahab ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 19:3

19:3 You shall build a roadway and divide into thirds the whole extent ¹²  of your land that the Lord your God is providing as your inheritance; anyone who kills another person should flee to the closest of these cities.

Deuteronomy 27:15

27:15 ‘Cursed is the one ¹³  who makes a carved or metal image – something abhorrent ¹⁴  to the Lord, the work of the craftsman ¹⁵  – and sets it up in a secret place.’ Then all the people will say, ‘Amen!’ ¹⁶ 

Deuteronomy 28:57

28:57 and will secretly eat her afterbirth ¹⁷  and her newborn children ¹⁸  (since she has nothing else), ¹⁹  because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages.

Deuteronomy 31:2

31:2 He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, ²⁰  and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’

Deuteronomy 31:12

31:12 Gather the people – men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages – so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law.

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 (bÿ’ever hayyrÿden) 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 tn The Hebrew term מוֹל (mol) may also mean “in front of” or “near” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

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 sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).

⁸ sn Tophel refers possibly to et£-T£afîleh, 15 mi (25 km) SE of the Dead Sea, or to Da‚bîlu, another name for Paran. See H. Cazelles, “Tophel (Deut. 1:1),” VT 9 (1959): 412-15.

⁹ sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).

¹⁰ sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to àAin Khadra. 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 tn Heb “border.”

²³ tn Heb “man,” but in a generic sense here.

²⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated here “abhorrent” (תּוֹעֵבָה, to’evah) speaks of attitudes and/or behaviors so vile as to be reprehensible to a holy God. See note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

²⁵ tn Heb “craftsman’s hands.”

²⁶ tn Or “So be it!” The term is an affirmation expressing agreement with the words of the Levites.

³⁴ tn Heb includes “that which comes out from between her feet.”

³⁵ tn Heb “her sons that she will bear.”

³⁶ tn Heb includes “in her need for everything.”

⁴⁵ tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”