32:13 He enabled him 1 to travel over the high terrain of the land,
and he ate of the produce of the fields.
He provided honey for him from the cliffs, 2
and olive oil 3 from the hardest of 4 rocks, 5
32:14 butter from the herd
and milk from the flock,
along with the fat of lambs,
rams and goats of Bashan,
along with the best of the kernels of wheat;
and from the juice of grapes you drank wine.
1 tn The form of the suffix on this verbal form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. Note as well the preterites with vav (ו) consecutive that follow in the verse.
2 tn Heb “he made him suck honey from the rock.”
3 tn Heb “oil,” but this probably refers to olive oil; see note on the word “rock” at the end of this verse.
4 tn Heb “flinty.”
5 sn Olive oil from rock probably suggests olive trees growing on rocky ledges and yet doing so productively. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 415; cf. TEV “their olive trees flourished in stony ground.”