Deuteronomy 4:20-23

4:20 You, however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace, ¹  to be his special people ²  as you are today. 4:21 But the Lord became angry with me because of you and vowed that I would never cross the Jordan nor enter the good land that he ³  is about to give you. ⁴  4:22 So I must die here in this land; I will not cross the Jordan. But you are going over and will possess that ⁵  good land. 4:23 Be on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any kind, just as he ⁶  has forbidden ⁷  you.

[4:20]  ¹ tn A כּוּר (kur) was not a source of heat but a crucible (“iron-smelting furnace”) in which precious metals were melted down and their impurities burned away (see I. Cornelius, NIDOTTE 2:618-19); cf. NAB “that iron foundry, Egypt.” The term is a metaphor for intense heat. Here it refers to the oppression and suffering Israel endured in Egypt. Since a crucible was used to burn away impurities, it is possible that the metaphor views Egypt as a place of refinement to bring Israel to a place of submission to divine sovereignty.

[4:20]  ² tn Heb “to be his people of inheritance.” The Lord compares his people to valued property inherited from one’s ancestors and passed on to one’s descendants.

[4:21]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 4:3.

[4:21]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text includes “(as) an inheritance,” or “(as) a possession.”

[4:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “this.” The translation uses “that” to avoid confusion; earlier in the verse Moses refers to Transjordan as “this land.”

[4:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 4:3.

[4:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “commanded.”