Deuteronomy 1:3

1:3 However, it was not until ¹  the first day of the eleventh month ²  of the fortieth year ³  that Moses addressed the Israelites just as ⁴  the Lord had instructed him to do.

Deuteronomy 2:7

2:7 All along the way I, the Lord your God, ⁵  have blessed your every effort. ⁶  I have ⁷  been attentive to ⁸  your travels through this great wasteland. These forty years I have ⁹  been with you; you have lacked for nothing.’”

Deuteronomy 8:2

8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ¹⁰  has brought you these forty years through the desert ¹¹  so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.

¹ tn Heb “in” or “on.” Here there is a contrast between the ordinary time of eleven days (v. 2) and the actual time of forty years, so “not until” brings out that vast disparity.

² sn The eleventh month is Shebat in the Hebrew calendar, January/February in the modern (Gregorian) calendar.

³ 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.

⁴ tn Heb “according to all which.”

⁵ 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).

⁶ tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”

⁷ tn Heb “he has.” This has been converted to first person in the translation in keeping with English style.

⁸ tn Heb “known” (so ASV, NASB); NAB “been concerned about.”

⁹ 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.

⁹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁰ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.