Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 11:1
Context11:1 You must love the Lord your God and do what he requires; keep his statutes, ordinances, and commandments 1 at all times.
Deuteronomy 1:1--2:37
Context1:1 This is what 2 Moses said to the assembly of Israel 3 in the Transjordanian 4 wastelands, the arid country opposite 5 Suph, 6 between 7 Paran 8 and Tophel, 9 Laban, 10 Hazeroth, 11 and Di Zahab 12 1:2 Now it is ordinarily an eleven-day journey 13 from Horeb 14 to Kadesh Barnea 15 by way of Mount Seir. 16 1:3 However, it was not until 17 the first day of the eleventh month 18 of the fortieth year 19 that Moses addressed the Israelites just as 20 the Lord had instructed him to do. 1:4 This took place after the defeat 21 of King Sihon 22 of the Amorites, whose capital was 23 in Heshbon, 24 and King Og of Bashan, whose capital was 25 in Ashtaroth, 26 specifically in Edrei. 27 1:5 So it was in the Transjordan, in Moab, that Moses began to deliver these words: 28
1:6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb and said, “You have stayed 29 in the area of this mountain long enough. 1:7 Get up now, 30 resume your journey, heading for 31 the Amorite hill country, to all its areas 32 including the arid country, 33 the highlands, the Shephelah, 34 the Negev, 35 and the coastal plain – all of Canaan and Lebanon as far as the Great River, that is, the Euphrates. 1:8 Look! I have already given the land to you. 36 Go, occupy the territory that I, 37 the Lord, promised 38 to give to your ancestors 39 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants.” 40 1:9 I also said to you at that time, “I am no longer able to sustain you by myself. 1:10 The Lord your God has increased your population 41 to the point that you are now as numerous as the very stars of the sky. 42 1:11 Indeed, may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing you 43 just as he said he would! 1:12 But how can I alone bear up under the burden of your hardship and strife? 1:13 Select wise and practical 44 men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.” 1:14 You replied to me that what I had said to you was good. 1:15 So I chose 45 as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials. 1:16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they 46 should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens 47 and judge fairly, 48 whether between one citizen and another 49 or a citizen and a resident foreigner. 50 1:17 They 51 must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly 52 and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.
1:18 So I instructed you at that time regarding everything you should do. 1:19 Then we left Horeb and passed through all that immense, forbidding wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the Lord our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea. 1:20 Then I said to you, “You have come to the Amorite hill country which the Lord our God is about to give 53 us. 1:21 Look, he 54 has placed the land in front of you! 55 Go up, take possession of it, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to do. Do not be afraid or discouraged!” 1:22 So all of you approached me and said, “Let’s send some men ahead of us to scout out the land and bring us back word as to how we should attack it and what the cities are like there.” 1:23 I thought this was a good idea, 56 so I sent 57 twelve men from among you, one from each tribe. 1:24 They left and went up to the hill country, coming to the Eshcol Valley, 58 which they scouted out. 1:25 Then they took 59 some of the produce of the land and carried it back down to us. They also brought a report to us, saying, “The land that the Lord our God is about to give us is good.”
1:26 You were not willing to go up, however, but instead rebelled against the Lord your God. 60 1:27 You complained among yourselves privately 61 and said, “Because the Lord hates us he brought us from Egypt to deliver us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us! 1:28 What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage 62 by describing people who are more numerous 63 and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven 64 itself! Moreover, they said they saw 65 Anakites 66 there.” 1:29 So I responded to you, “Do not be terrified 67 of them! 1:30 The Lord your God is about to go 68 ahead of you; he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt 69 1:31 and in the desert, where you saw him 70 carrying you along like a man carries his son. This he did everywhere you went until you came to this very place.” 1:32 However, through all this you did not have confidence in the Lord your God, 1:33 the one who was constantly going before you to find places for you to set up camp. He appeared by fire at night and cloud by day, to show you the way you ought to go.
1:34 When the Lord heard you, he became angry and made this vow: 71 1:35 “Not a single person 72 of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors! 1:36 The exception is Caleb son of Jephunneh; 73 he will see it and I will give him and his descendants the territory on which he has walked, because he has wholeheartedly followed me.” 74 1:37 As for me, the Lord was also angry with me on your account. He said, “You also will not be able to go there. 1:38 However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, 75 will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land. 76 1:39 Also, your infants, who you thought would die on the way, 77 and your children, who as yet do not know good from bad, 78 will go there; I will give them the land and they will possess it. 1:40 But as for you, 79 turn back and head for the desert by the way to the Red Sea.” 80
1:41 Then you responded to me and admitted, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will now go up and fight as the Lord our God has told us to do.” So you each put on your battle gear and prepared to go up to the hill country. 1:42 But the Lord told me: “Tell them this: ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you and you will be defeated by your enemies.’” 1:43 I spoke to you, but you did not listen. Instead you rebelled against the Lord 81 and recklessly went up to the hill country. 1:44 The Amorite inhabitants of that area 82 confronted 83 you and chased you like a swarm of bees, striking you down from Seir as far as Hormah. 84 1:45 Then you came back and wept before the Lord, but he 85 paid no attention to you whatsoever. 86 1:46 Therefore, you remained at Kadesh for a long time – indeed, for the full time. 87
2:1 Then we turned and set out toward the desert land on the way to the Red Sea 88 just as the Lord told me to do, detouring around Mount Seir for a long time. 2:2 At this point the Lord said to me, 2:3 “You have circled around this mountain long enough; now turn north. 2:4 Instruct 89 these people as follows: ‘You are about to cross the border of your relatives 90 the descendants of Esau, 91 who inhabit Seir. They will be afraid of you, so watch yourselves carefully. 2:5 Do not be hostile toward them, because I am not giving you any of their land, not even a footprint, for I have given Mount Seir 92 as an inheritance for Esau. 2:6 You may purchase 93 food to eat and water to drink from them. 2:7 All along the way I, the Lord your God, 94 have blessed your every effort. 95 I have 96 been attentive to 97 your travels through this great wasteland. These forty years I have 98 been with you; you have lacked for nothing.’”
2:8 So we turned away from our relatives 99 the descendants of Esau, the inhabitants of Seir, turning from the desert route, 100 from Elat 101 and Ezion Geber, 102 and traveling the way of the Moab wastelands. 2:9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass Moab and provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as your territory. This is because I have given Ar 103 to the descendants of Lot 104 as their possession. 2:10 (The Emites 105 used to live there, a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites. 2:11 These people, as well as the Anakites, are also considered Rephaites; 106 the Moabites call them Emites. 2:12 Previously the Horites 107 lived in Seir but the descendants of Esau dispossessed and destroyed them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land it came to possess, the land the Lord gave them.) 108 2:13 Now, get up and cross the Wadi Zered.” 109 So we did so. 110 2:14 Now the length of time it took for us to go from Kadesh Barnea to the crossing of Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, time for all the military men of that generation to die, just as the Lord had vowed to them. 2:15 Indeed, it was the very hand of the Lord that eliminated them from within 111 the camp until they were all gone.
2:16 So it was that after all the military men had been eliminated from the community, 112 2:17 the Lord said to me, 2:18 “Today you are going to cross the border of Moab, that is, of Ar. 113 2:19 But when you come close to the Ammonites, do not harass or provoke them because I am not giving you any of the Ammonites’ land as your possession; I have already given it to Lot’s descendants 114 as their possession.
2:20 (That also is considered to be a land of the Rephaites. 115 The Rephaites lived there originally; the Ammonites call them Zamzummites. 116 2:21 They are a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites. But the Lord destroyed the Rephaites 117 in advance of the Ammonites, 118 so they dispossessed them and settled down in their place. 2:22 This is exactly what he did for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir when he destroyed the Horites before them so that they could dispossess them and settle in their area to this very day. 2:23 As for the Avvites 119 who lived in settlements as far west as Gaza, Caphtorites 120 who came from Crete 121 destroyed them and settled down in their place.)
2:24 Get up, make your way across Wadi Arnon. Look! I have already delivered over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, 122 and his land. Go ahead! Take it! Engage him in war! 2:25 This very day I will begin to fill all the people of the earth 123 with dread and to terrify them when they hear about you. They will shiver and shake in anticipation of your approach.” 124
2:26 Then I sent messengers from the Kedemoth 125 Desert to King Sihon of Heshbon with an offer of peace: 2:27 “Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the roadway. 126 I will not turn aside to the right or the left. 2:28 Sell me food for cash 127 so that I can eat and sell me water to drink. 128 Just allow me to go through on foot, 2:29 just as the descendants of Esau who live at Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land the Lord our God is giving us.” 2:30 But King Sihon of Heshbon was unwilling to allow us to pass near him because the Lord our 129 God had made him obstinate 130 and stubborn 131 so that he might deliver him over to you 132 this very day. 2:31 The Lord said to me, “Look! I have already begun to give over Sihon and his land to you. Start right now to take his land as your possession.” 2:32 When Sihon and all his troops 133 emerged to encounter us in battle at Jahaz, 134 2:33 the Lord our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, along with his sons 135 and everyone else. 136 2:34 At that time we seized all his cities and put every one of them 137 under divine judgment, 138 including even the women and children; we left no survivors. 2:35 We kept only the livestock and plunder from the cities for ourselves. 2:36 From Aroer, 139 which is at the edge of Wadi Arnon (it is the city in the wadi), 140 all the way to Gilead there was not a town able to resist us – the Lord our God gave them all to us. 2:37 However, you did not approach the land of the Ammonites, the Wadi Jabbok, 141 the cities of the hill country, or any place else forbidden by the Lord our God.
[11:1] 1 tn This collocation of technical terms for elements of the covenant text lends support to its importance and also signals a new section of paraenesis in which Moses will exhort Israel to covenant obedience. The Hebrew term מִשְׁמָרוֹת (mishmarot, “obligations”) sums up the three terms that follow – חֻקֹּת (khuqot), מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishppatim), and מִצְוֹת (mitsot).
[1:1] 2 tn Heb “These are the words.”
[1:1] 3 tn Heb “to all Israel.”
[1:1] 4 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.
[1:1] 5 tn The Hebrew term מוֹל (mol) may also mean “in front of” or “near” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
[1:1] 6 sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan.
[1:1] 7 tn The Hebrew term בֵּין (ben) may suggest “in the area of.”
[1:1] 8 sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).
[1:1] 9 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.
[1:1] 10 sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).
[1:1] 11 sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to àAin Khadra. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199-200.
[1:1] 12 sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.
[1:2] 3 sn An eleven-day journey was about 140 mi (233 km).
[1:2] 4 sn Horeb is another name for Sinai. “Horeb” occurs 9 times in the Book of Deuteronomy and “Sinai” only once (33:2). “Sinai” occurs 13 times in the Book of Exodus and “Horeb” only 3 times.
[1:2] 5 sn Kadesh Barnea. Possibly this refers to àAin Qudeis, about 50 mi (80 km) southwest of Beer Sheba, but more likely to àAin Qudeirat, 5 mi (8 km) NW of àAin Qudeis. See R. Cohen, “Did I Excavate Kadesh-Barnea?” BAR 7 (1981): 20-33.
[1:2] 6 sn Mount Seir is synonymous with Edom. “By way of Mount Seir” refers to the route from Horeb that ended up in Edom Cf. CEV “by way of the Mount Seir Road”; TEV “by way of the hill country of Edom.”
[1:3] 4 tn Heb “in” or “on.” Here there is a contrast between the ordinary time of eleven days (v. 2) and the actual time of forty years, so “not until” brings out that vast disparity.
[1:3] 5 sn The eleventh month is Shebat in the Hebrew calendar, January/February in the modern (Gregorian) calendar.
[1:3] 6 sn The fortieth year would be 1406
[1:3] 7 tn Heb “according to all which.”
[1:4] 5 tn Heb “when he struck [or “smote”].”
[1:4] 6 sn See Deut 2:26–3:22.
[1:4] 8 sn Heshbon is probably modern Tell Hesban, about 7.5 mi (12 km) south southwest of Amman, Jordan.
[1:4] 10 sn Ashtaroth is probably Tell àAshtarah, about 22 mi (35 km) due east of the Sea of Galilee.
[1:4] 11 sn Edrei is probably modern Deràa, 60 mi (95 km) south of Damascus (see Num 21:33; Josh 12:4; 13:12, 31).
[1:5] 6 tn Heb “this instruction”; KJV, NIV, NRSV “this law”; TEV “God’s laws and teachings.” The Hebrew noun תוֹרָה (torah) is derived from the verb יָרָה (yarah, “to teach”) and here it refers to the Book of Deuteronomy, not the Pentateuch as a whole.
[1:6] 7 tn Heb “lived”; “dwelled.”
[1:7] 8 tn Heb “turn”; NAB “Leave here”; NIV, TEV “Break camp.”
[1:7] 10 tn Heb “its dwelling places.”
[1:7] 11 tn Heb “the Arabah” (so ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[1:7] 12 tn Heb “lowlands” (so TEV) or “steppes”; NIV, CEV, NLT “the western foothills.”
[1:7] 13 sn The Hebrew term Negev means literally “desert” or “south” (so KJV, ASV). It refers to the area south of Beer Sheba and generally west of the Arabah Valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.
[1:8] 9 tn Heb “I have placed before you the land.”
[1:8] 10 tn Heb “the
[1:8] 11 tn Heb “swore” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to God’s promise, made by solemn oath, to give the patriarchs the land.
[1:8] 12 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 11, 21, 35).
[1:8] 13 tn Heb “their seed after them.”
[1:10] 10 tn Heb “multiplied you.”
[1:10] 11 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
[1:11] 11 tn Heb “may he bless you.”
[1:13] 12 tn The Hebrew verb נְבֹנִים (nÿvonim, from בִּין [bin]) is a Niphal referring to skill or intelligence (see T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:652-53).
[1:15] 13 tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”
[1:16] 14 tn Or “you.” A number of English versions treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[1:16] 15 tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.
[1:16] 16 tn The Hebrew word צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “fairly”) carries the basic idea of conformity to a norm of expected behavior or character, one established by God himself. Fair judgment adheres strictly to that norm or standard (see D. Reimer, NIDOTTE 3:750).
[1:16] 17 tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”
[1:16] 18 tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner”; NAB, NIV “an alien”; NRSV “resident alien.” The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) commonly means “foreigner.”
[1:17] 15 tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).
[1:17] 16 tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.
[1:20] 16 tn The Hebrew participle has an imminent future sense here, although many English versions treat it as a present tense (“is giving us,” NAB, NIV, NRSV) or a predictive future (“will give us,” NCV).
[1:21] 17 tn Heb “the
[1:21] 18 tn Or “has given you the land” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[1:23] 18 tn Heb “the thing was good in my eyes.”
[1:23] 19 tn Or “selected” (so NIV, NRSV, TEV); Heb “took.”
[1:24] 19 tn Or “the Wadi Eshcol” (so NAB).
[1:25] 20 tn The Hebrew text includes “in their hand,” which is unnecessary and somewhat redundant in English style.
[1:26] 21 tn Heb “the mouth of the
[1:27] 22 tn Heb “in your tents,” that is, privately.
[1:28] 23 tn Heb “have caused our hearts to melt.”
[1:28] 24 tn Heb “greater.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “stronger,” NAB, NIV, NRSV; “bigger,” NASB).
[1:28] 25 tn Or “as the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
[1:28] 26 tn Heb “we have seen.”
[1:28] 27 tn Heb “the sons of the Anakim.”
[1:29] 24 tn Heb “do not tremble and do not be afraid.” Two synonymous commands are combined for emphasis.
[1:30] 25 tn The Hebrew participle indicates imminent future action here, though some English versions treat it as a predictive future (“will go ahead of you,” NCV; cf. also TEV, CEV).
[1:30] 26 tn Heb “according to all which he did for you in Egypt before your eyes.”
[1:31] 26 tn Heb “the
[1:34] 27 tn Heb “and swore,” i.e., made an oath or vow.
[1:35] 28 tn Heb “Not a man among these men.”
[1:36] 29 sn Caleb had, with Joshua, brought back to Israel a minority report from Canaan urging a conquest of the land, for he was confident of the
[1:36] 30 tn Heb “the
[1:38] 30 tn Heb “the one who stands before you”; NAB “your aide”; TEV “your helper.”
[1:38] 31 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:39] 31 tn Heb “would be a prey.”
[1:39] 32 sn Do not know good from bad. This is a figure of speech called a merism (suggesting a whole by referring to its extreme opposites). Other examples are the tree of “the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen 2:9), the boy who knows enough “to reject the wrong and choose the right” (Isa 7:16; 8:4), and those who “cannot tell their right hand from their left” (Jonah 4:11). A young child is characterized by lack of knowledge.
[1:40] 32 tn The Hebrew pronoun is plural, as are the following verbs, indicating that Moses and the people are addressed (note v. 41).
[1:40] 33 tn Heb “the Reed Sea.” “Reed” is a better translation of the Hebrew סוּף (suf), traditionally rendered “red.” The name “Red Sea” is based on the LXX which referred to it as ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης (eruqra" qalassh", “red sea”). Nevertheless, because the body of water in question is known in modern times as the Red Sea, this term was used in the translation. The part of the Red Sea in view here is not the one crossed in the exodus but its eastern arm, now known as the Gulf of Eilat or Gulf of Aqaba.
[1:43] 33 tn Heb “the mouth of the
[1:44] 34 tn Heb “in that hill country,” repeating the end of v. 43.
[1:44] 35 tn Heb “came out to meet.”
[1:44] 36 sn Hormah is probably Khirbet el-Meshash, 5.5 mi (9 km) west of Arad and 7.5 mi (12 km) SE of Beer Sheba. Its name is a derivative of the verb חָרָם (kharam, “to ban; to exterminate”). See Num 21:3.
[1:45] 35 tn Heb “the
[1:45] 36 tn Heb “did not hear your voice and did not turn an ear to you.”
[1:46] 36 tn Heb “like the days which you lived.” This refers to the rest of the forty-year period in the desert before Israel arrived in Moab.
[2:1] 37 tn Heb “Reed Sea.” See note on the term “Red Sea” in Deut 1:40.
[2:4] 38 tn Heb “command” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “charge the people as follows.”
[2:4] 39 tn Heb “brothers”; NAB “your kinsmen.”
[2:4] 40 sn The descendants of Esau (Heb “sons of Esau”; the phrase also occurs in 2:8, 12, 22, 29). These are the inhabitants of the land otherwise known as Edom, south and east of the Dead Sea. Jacob’s brother Esau had settled there after his bitter strife with Jacob (Gen 36:1-8). “Edom” means “reddish,” probably because of the red sandstone of the region, but also by popular etymology because Esau, at birth, was reddish (Gen 25:25).
[2:5] 39 sn Mount Seir is synonymous with Edom.
[2:6] 40 tn Heb includes “with silver.”
[2:7] 41 tn The Hebrew text does not have the first person pronoun; it has been supplied for purposes of English style (the Lord is speaking here).
[2:7] 42 tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”
[2:7] 43 tn Heb “he has.” This has been converted to first person in the translation in keeping with English style.
[2:7] 44 tn Heb “known” (so ASV, NASB); NAB “been concerned about.”
[2:7] 45 tn Heb “the
[2:8] 42 tn Or “brothers”; NRSV “our kin.”
[2:8] 43 tn Heb “the way of the Arabah” (so ASV); NASB, NIV “the Arabah road.”
[2:8] 44 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.
[2:8] 45 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.
[2:9] 43 sn Ar was a Moabite city on the Arnon River east of the Dead Sea. It is mentioned elsewhere in the “Book of the Wars of Yahweh” (Num 21:15; cf. 21:28; Isa 15:1). Here it is synonymous with the whole land of Moab.
[2:9] 44 sn The descendants of Lot. Following the destruction of the cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah, as God’s judgment, Lot fathered two sons by his two daughters, namely, Moab and Ammon (Gen 19:30-38). Thus, these descendants of Lot in and around Ar were the Moabites.
[2:10] 44 sn Emites. These giant people, like the Anakites (Deut 1:28), were also known as Rephaites (v. 11). They appear elsewhere in the narrative of the invasion of the kings of the east where they are said to have lived around Shaveh Kiriathaim, perhaps 9 to 11 mi (15 to 18 km) east of the north end of the Dead Sea (Gen 14:5).
[2:11] 45 sn Rephaites. The earliest reference to this infamous giant race is, again, in the story of the invasion of the eastern kings (Gen 14:5). They lived around Ashteroth Karnaim, probably modern Tell Ashtarah (cf. Deut 1:4), in the Bashan plateau east of the Sea of Galilee. Og, king of Bashan, was a Rephaite (Deut 3:11; Josh 12:4; 13:12). Other texts speak of them or their kinfolk in both Transjordan (Deut 2:20; 3:13) and Canaan (Josh 11:21-22; 14:12, 15; 15:13-14; Judg 1:20; 1 Sam 17:4; 1 Chr 20:4-8). They also appear in extra-biblical literature, especially in connection with the city state of Ugarit. See C. L’Heureux, “Ugaritic and Biblical Rephaim,” HTR 67 (1974): 265-74.
[2:12] 46 sn Horites. Most likely these are the same as the well-known people of ancient Near Eastern texts described as Hurrians. They were geographically widespread and probably non-Semitic. Genesis speaks of them as the indigenous peoples of Edom that Esau expelled (Gen 36:8-19, 31-43) and also as among those who confronted the kings of the east (Gen 14:6).
[2:12] 47 tn Most modern English versions, beginning with the ASV (1901), regard vv. 10-12 as parenthetical to the narrative.
[2:13] 47 sn Wadi Zered. Now known as Wadi el-H£esa, this valley marked the boundary between Moab to the north and Edom to the south.
[2:13] 48 tn Heb “we crossed the Wadi Zered.” This has been translated as “we did so” for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
[2:15] 48 tn Heb “from the middle of.” Although many recent English versions leave this expression untranslated, the point seems to be that these soldiers did not die in battle but “within the camp.”
[2:16] 49 tn Heb “and it was when they were eliminated, all the men of war, to die from the midst of the people.”
[2:18] 50 sn Ar. See note on this word in Deut 2:9.
[2:19] 51 sn Lot’s descendants. See note on this phrase in Deut 2:9.
[2:20] 52 sn Rephaites. See note on this word in Deut 2:11.
[2:20] 53 sn Zamzummites. Just as the Moabites called Rephaites by the name Emites, the Ammonites called them Zamzummites (or Zazites; Gen 14:5).
[2:21] 53 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Rephaites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:21] 54 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Ammonites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:23] 54 sn Avvites. Otherwise unknown, these people were probably also Anakite (or Rephaite) giants who lived in the lower Mediterranean coastal plain until they were expelled by the Caphtorites.
[2:23] 55 sn Caphtorites. These peoples are familiar from both the OT (Gen 10:14; 1 Chr 1:12; Jer 47:4; Amos 9:7) and ancient Near Eastern texts (Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:37-38; ANET 138). They originated in Crete (OT “Caphtor”) and are identified as the ancestors of the Philistines (Gen 10:14; Jer 47:4).
[2:23] 56 tn Heb “Caphtor”; the modern name of the island of Crete is used in the translation for clarity (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).
[2:24] 55 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.
[2:25] 56 tn Heb “under heaven” (so NIV, NRSV).
[2:25] 57 tn Heb “from before you.”
[2:26] 57 sn Kedemoth. This is probably Aleiyan, about 8 mi (13 km) north of the Arnon and between Dibon and Mattanah.
[2:27] 58 tn Heb “in the way in the way” (בַּדֶּרֶךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ, baderekh baderekh). The repetition lays great stress on the idea of resolute determination to stick to the path. IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
[2:28] 60 tn Heb “and water for silver give to me so that I may drink.”
[2:30] 60 tc The translation follows the LXX in reading the first person pronoun. The MT, followed by many English versions, has a second person masculine singular pronoun, “your.”
[2:30] 61 tn Heb “hardened his spirit” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “made his spirit stubborn.”
[2:30] 62 tn Heb “made his heart obstinate” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “made his heart defiant.”
[2:30] 63 tn Heb “into your hand.”
[2:32] 62 sn Jahaz. This is probably Khirbet el-Medeiyineh. See J. Dearman, “The Levitical Cities of Reuben and Moabite Toponymy,” BASOR 276 (1984): 55-57.
[2:33] 62 tc The translation follows the Qere or marginal reading; the Kethib (consonantal text) has the singular, “his son.”
[2:33] 63 tn Heb “all his people.”
[2:34] 63 tn Heb “every city of men.” This apparently identifies the cities as inhabited.
[2:34] 64 tn Heb “under the ban” (נַחֲרֵם, nakharem). The verb employed is חָרַם (kharam, usually in the Hiphil) and the associated noun is חֵרֶם (kherem). See J. Naudé, NIDOTTE, 2:276-77, and, for a more thorough discussion, Susan Niditch, War in the Hebrew Bible, 28-77.
[2:36] 64 sn Aroer. Now known as àAraáir on the northern edge of the Arnon river, Aroer marked the southern limit of Moab and, later, of the allotment of the tribe of Reuben (Josh 13:9, 16).
[2:36] 65 tn Heb “the city in the wadi.” This enigmatic reference may refer to Ar or, more likely, to Aroer itself. Epexegetically the text might read, “From Aroer…, that is, the city in the wadi.” See D. L. Christensen, Deuteronomy 1–11 (WBC), 49.
[2:37] 65 sn Wadi Jabbok. Now known as the Zerqa River, this is a major tributary of the Jordan that normally served as a boundary between Ammon and Gad (Deut 3:16).
