29:19 My roots reach the water,
and the dew lies on my branches all night long.
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 1
and the richness 2 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 3 your home will be
away from the richness 4 of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.
33:13 Of Joseph he said:
May the Lord bless his land
with the harvest produced by the sky, 5 by the dew,
and by the depths crouching beneath;
33:28 Israel lives in safety,
the fountain of Jacob is quite secure, 6
in a land of grain and new wine;
indeed, its heavens 7 rain down dew. 8
The Lord came from Sinai
and revealed himself 9 to Israel 10 from Seir.
He appeared in splendor 11 from Mount Paran,
and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. 12
With his right hand he gave a fiery law 13 to them.
1:1 This is what 16 Moses said to the assembly of Israel 17 in the Transjordanian 18 wastelands, the arid country opposite 19 Suph, 20 between 21 Paran 22 and Tophel, 23 Laban, 24 Hazeroth, 25 and Di Zahab 26
3:20 By his knowledge the primordial sea 29 was broken open, 30
and the clouds drip down dew. 31
14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily,
he will send down his roots like a cedar of 32 Lebanon.
1 tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”
2 tn Heb “and from the fatness.”
3 tn Heb “look.”
4 tn Heb “from the fatness.”
5 tn Heb “from the harvest of the heavens.” The referent appears to be good crops produced by the rain that falls from the sky.
6 tn Heb “all alone.” The idea is that such vital resources as water will some day no longer need protection because God will provide security.
7 tn Or “skies.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
8 tn Or perhaps “drizzle, showers.” See note at Deut 32:2.
9 tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).
10 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.
11 tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
12 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.
13 tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (’eshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (’eshhat) with Smr.
14 tn Heb “the
15 tn Or “has given you the land” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).
16 tn Heb “These are the words.”
17 tn Heb “to all Israel.”
18 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.
19 tn The Hebrew term מוֹל (mol) may also mean “in front of” or “near” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
20 sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan.
21 tn The Hebrew term בֵּין (ben) may suggest “in the area of.”
22 sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).
23 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.
24 sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).
25 sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to àAin Khadra. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199-200.
26 sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.
27 tn Heb “to the
28 tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.
29 sn The word תְּהוֹמוֹת (tÿhomot, “primordial sea”) alludes to the chaotic “deep” in Gen 1:2 (BDB 1063 s.v. תְּהוֹם 3). This was viewed in the ancient world as a force to be reckoned with. However, God not only formed it but controls it (see J. Emerton, “Spring and Torrent in Ps 74:15,” VT 15 [1965]: 125).
30 sn This might refer to God’s action of dividing the waters to form the dry ground on the third day (Gen 1:9-10) or, less likely, to the breaking up of the fountains of the deep at the flood (Gen 7:11).
31 sn The two colons form a merism: The wisdom of God is behind all forces of nature, whether the violent breaking forth of its watery forces at creation or the provision of the gentle rain and dew throughout history (T. T. Perowne, Proverbs, 55).
32 tn Heb “like Lebanon” (so KJV; also in the following verse). The phrase “a cedar of” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in translation for clarity. Cf. TEV “the trees of Lebanon”; NRSV “the forests of Lebanon.”