Deuteronomy 4:38-49

4:38 to dispossess nations greater and stronger than you and brought you here this day to give you their land as your property. ¹  4:39 Today realize and carefully consider that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below – there is no other! 4:40 Keep his statutes and commandments that I am setting forth ²  today so that it may go well with you and your descendants and that you may enjoy longevity in the land that the Lord your God is about to give you as a permanent possession.

The Narrative Concerning Cities of Refuge

4:41 Then Moses selected three cities in the Transjordan, toward the east. 4:42 Anyone who accidentally killed someone ³  without hating him at the time of the accident ⁴  could flee to one of those cities and be safe. 4:43 These cities are Bezer, in the desert plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassehites.

The Setting and Introduction of the Covenant

4:44 This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites. ⁵  4:45 These are the stipulations, statutes, and ordinances that Moses spoke to the Israelites after he had brought them out of Egypt, 4:46 in the Transjordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. (It is he whom Moses and the Israelites attacked after they came out of Egypt. 4:47 They possessed his land and that of King Og of Bashan – both of whom were Amorite kings in the Transjordan, to the east. 4:48 Their territory extended ⁶  from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon valley as far as Mount Siyon ⁷  – that is, Hermon – 4:49 including all the Arabah of the Transjordan in the east to the sea of the Arabah, ⁸  beneath the watershed ⁹  of Pisgah.)

[4:38]  ¹ tn Heb “(as) an inheritance,” that is, landed property that one can pass on to one’s descendants.

[4:40]  ² tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV).

[4:42]  ³ tn Heb “the slayer who slew his neighbor without knowledge.”

[4:42]  ⁴ tn Heb “yesterday and a third (day).” The point is that there was no animosity between the two parties at the time of the accident and therefore no motive for the killing.

[4:44]  ⁵ tn Heb “the sons of Israel” (likewise in the following verse).

[4:48]  ⁶ tn The words “their territory extended” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 47-49 are all one sentence, but for the sake of English style and readability the translation divides the text into two sentences.

[4:48]  ⁷ sn Mount Siyon (the Hebrew name is שִׂיאֹן [si’on], not to be confused with Zion [צִיּוֹן, tsiyyon]) is another name for Mount Hermon, also called Sirion and Senir (cf. Deut 3:9).

[4:49]  ⁸ sn The sea of the Arabah refers to the Dead Sea, also known as the Salt Sea in OT times (cf. Deut 3:17).

[4:49]  ⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term אַשְׁדֹּת (’ashdot) is unclear. It is usually translated either “slopes” (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or “watershed” (NEB).