The Lord came from Sinai
and revealed himself 1 to Israel 2 from Seir.
He appeared in splendor 3 from Mount Paran,
and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. 4
With his right hand he gave a fiery law 5 to them.
1:1 This is what 6 Moses said to the assembly of Israel 7 in the Transjordanian 8 wastelands, the arid country opposite 9 Suph, 10 between 11 Paran 12 and Tophel, 13 Laban, 14 Hazeroth, 15 and Di Zahab 16
1 tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).
2 tc Heb “to him.” The LXX reads “to us” (לָנוּ [lanu] for לָמוֹ [lamo]), the reading of the MT is acceptable since it no doubt has in mind Israel as a collective singular.
3 tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
4 tc With slight alteration (מִמְרִבַת קָדֵשׁ [mimrivat qadesh] for the MT’s מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ [merivvot qodesh]) the translation would be “from Meribah Kadesh” (cf. NAB, NLT; see Deut 32:51). However, the language of holy war in the immediate context favors the reading of the MT, which views the Lord as accompanied by angelic hosts.
5 tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (’eshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (’eshhat) with Smr.
6 tn Heb “These are the words.”
7 tn Heb “to all Israel.”
8 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.
9 tn The Hebrew term מוֹל (mol) may also mean “in front of” or “near” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
10 sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan.
11 tn The Hebrew term בֵּין (ben) may suggest “in the area of.”
12 sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).
13 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.
14 sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).
15 sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to àAin Khadra. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199-200.
16 sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.