2:8 So we turned away from our relatives 2 the descendants of Esau, the inhabitants of Seir, turning from the desert route, 3 from Elat 4 and Ezion Geber, 5 and traveling the way of the Moab wastelands.
2:24 Get up, make your way across Wadi Arnon. Look! I have already delivered over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, 6 and his land. Go ahead! Take it! Engage him in war!
7:16 You must destroy 9 all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship 10 their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
31:1 Then Moses went 21 and spoke these words 22 to all Israel.
1 sn Mount Seir is synonymous with Edom.
1 tn Or “brothers”; NRSV “our kin.”
2 tn Heb “the way of the Arabah” (so ASV); NASB, NIV “the Arabah road.”
3 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.
4 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.
1 sn Heshbon is the name of a prominent site (now Tell Hesba„n, about 7.5 mi [12 km] south southwest of Amman, Jordan). Sihon made it his capital after having driven Moab from the area and forced them south to the Arnon (Num 21:26-30). Heshbon is also mentioned in Deut 1:4.
1 tn Heb “the
2 tn Heb “much to you” (an idiom).
1 tn Heb “devour” (so NRSV); KJV, NAB, NASB “consume.” The verbal form (a perfect with vav consecutive) is understood here as having an imperatival or obligatory nuance (cf. the instructions and commands that follow). Another option is to take the statement as a continuation of the preceding conditional promises and translate “and you will destroy.”
2 tn Or “serve” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).
1 tn Heb “the sole of your foot walks.” The placing of the foot symbolizes conquest and dominion, especially on land or on the necks of enemies (cf. Deut 1:36; Ps 7:13; Isa 63:3 Hab 3:19; Zech 9:13). See E. H. Merrill, NIDOTTE 1:992.
2 tn Heb “the after sea,” that is, the sea behind one when one is facing east, which is the normal OT orientation. Cf. ASV “the hinder sea.”
1 tn Heb “and there will be no power in your hand”; NCV “there will be nothing you can do.”
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the subject of the warning in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “in his heart.”
3 tn Or “invokes a blessing on himself.” A formalized word of blessing is in view, the content of which appears later in the verse.
4 tn Heb “heart.”
5 tn Heb “thus destroying.” For stylistic reasons the translation begins a new sentence here.
6 tn Heb “the watered with the parched.” The word “ground” is implied. The exact meaning of the phrase is uncertain although it appears to be figurative. This appears to be a proverbial observation employing a figure of speech (a merism) suggesting totality. That is, the Israelite who violates the letter and even spirit of the covenant will harm not only himself but everything he touches – “the watered and the parched.” Cf. CEV “you will cause the rest of Israel to be punished along with you.”
1 tn Heb “will say and see.” One expects a quotation to appear, but it seems to be omitted. To avoid confusion in the translation, the verb “will say” is omitted.
1 tc For the MT reading וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh, “he went”), the LXX and Qumran have וַיְכַל (vaykhal, “he finished”): “So Moses finished speaking,” etc. The difficult reading of the MT favors its authenticity.
2 tn In the MT this refers to the words that follow (cf. NIV, NCV).