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.
2:1 Then we turned and set out toward the desert land on the way to the Red Sea 6 just as the Lord told me to do, detouring around Mount Seir for a long time.
22:1 When you see 12 your neighbor’s 13 ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it; 14 you must return it without fail 15 to your neighbor.
1 sn The judgment on Israel is that they turn back to the desert and not attack the tribes in the land. So a parenthetical clause is inserted to state who was living there. They would surely block the entrance to the land from the south – unless God removed them. And he is not going to do that for Israel.
2 tn Or “brothers”; NRSV “our kin.”
3 tn Heb “the way of the Arabah” (so ASV); NASB, NIV “the Arabah road.”
4 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.
5 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.
3 tn Heb “Reed Sea.” See note on the term “Red Sea” in Deut 1:40.
4 tn Heb “the
5 tn Heb “Lord
6 tn Heb “your inheritance”; NLT “your special (very own NRSV) possession.” Israel is compared to landed property that one would inherit from his ancestors and pass on to his descendants.
7 tn Heb “you have redeemed in your greatness.”
8 tn Heb “by your strong hand.”
5 tn Heb “you must not see,” but, if translated literally into English, the statement is misleading.
6 tn Heb “brother’s” (also later in this verse). In this context it is not limited to one’s siblings, however; cf. NAB “your kinsman’s.”
7 tn Heb “hide yourself.”
8 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with the words “without fail.”