The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible
Wanderings in the Wilderness
Deuteronomy 2:1–23 — Wanderings in the Wilderness. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.
1Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the LORD had instructed me, and for many days we wandered around Mount Seir.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wan·nê·p̄en wan·nis·sa‘ ham·miḏ·bā·rāh de·reḵ sūp̄ yam- ka·’ă·šer Yah·weh ’ê·lāy dib·ber rab·bîm yā·mîm wan·nā·sāḇ ’eṯ- har- śê·‘îr
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And we-turned and-we-pulled-up-stakes [for] the-wilderness [by] way-of [the] Reed Sea, as spoke Yahweh to-me; and we-circled Mount Seir many days.”
Where the English smooths the original
Then. —In the original simply “And.” There is no note of time. By the way of the Red sea. —i.e., in the direction of the Gulf of Akabah, southwards.
This departure is expressly designated as an act of obedience to the divine command recorded there, by the expression "as Jehovah spake to me."
In these few words Moses comprised the whole of that wandering nomadic life through which they passed during thirty-eight years, shifting from place to place, and regulating their stations by the prospect of pasturage and water.
(a) They obeyed, after God had chastised them.
2At this time the LORD said to me,
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Yah·weh way·yō·mer ’ê·lay lê·mōr
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And-said Yahweh to-me, saying,”
Where the English smooths the original
And the Lord spake unto me,.... While about Mount Seir: saying; as follows.
When Israel, after their long and disheartening wandering, were at the southeastern end of the 'Arabah, God gave them the word to turn their march northward towards Canaan.
the Lord commanded them to turn northwards, i.e., to go round the southern end of Mount Seir, and proceed northwards on the eastern side of it
3“You have been wandering around this hill country long enough; turn to the north
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
sōḇ ’eṯ- haz·zeh hā·hār raḇ- lā·ḵem pə·nū lā·ḵem ṣā·p̄ō·nāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“Enough for-you circling this hill-country; turn for-yourselves northward.”
Where the English smooths the original
Ye have compassed this mountain long enough,.... It was time to be gone from thence, as from Horeb, Deuteronomy 1:6 , turn you northward; from the southern border of Edom towards the land of Canaan, which lay north.
Ye have compassed this mountain long enough ] For the idiom see on Deuteronomy 1:6 .
It would be interesting to know when it was decided that Israel should enter the land of promise by passing over Jordan, instead of going through the Negeb.
4and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’eṯ- ṣaw lê·mōr hā·‘ām ’at·tem ‘ō·ḇə·rîm biḡ·ḇūl ’ă·ḥê·ḵem bə·nê- ‘ê·śāw hay·yō·šə·ḇîm bə·śê·‘îr wə·yî·rə·’ū mik·kem mə·’ōḏ wə·niš·mar·tem
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And the-people command saying: You are-passing-through the-territory of-your-brothers the-sons-of-Esau who dwell in-Seir; and they-will-fear from-you — so take-great-heed for-yourselves.”
Where the English smooths the original
They shall be afraid of you. —According to the prophecy in the song of Moses ( Exodus 15:15 ), “Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed.”
Which dwell in Seir: these words restrain the prohibition to these particular children of Esau, for there were another sort or branch of Esau’s children, which were to be meddled with and destroyed, even the Amalekites
The same people who had haughtily repelled the approach of the Israelites from the western frontier were alarmed now that they had come round upon the weak side of their country.
your brethren, the sons of Esau ] Deuteronomy 23:7 ; Amos 1:11 ; Obadiah 1:10 ; Obadiah 1:12 ; Malachi 1:2 .
5Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
’al- tiṯ·gā·rū ḇām kî lō- ’et·tên lā·ḵem mê·’ar·ṣām ‘aḏ miḏ·raḵ kap̄- rā·ḡel kî- nā·ṯat·tî ’eṯ- har śê·‘îr lə·‘ê·śāw yə·ruš·šāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“Do-not provoke-yourselves against-them, for not will-I-give to-you of-their-land even a tread of [the] sole of [the] foot, because [as] a-possession to-Esau I-have-given Mount Seir.”
Where the English smooths the original
Note the claim made by the God of Israel over other peoples (cp. Amos 1:3 to Amos 2:3 , Amos 9:7 ), also the memory or tradition that on their entry to Canaan Israel had not violated the rights of their kinsfolk. There is no hostile feeling towards Edom, such as became irrepressible in Israel after the Exile.
for I will not give you of their land, no not so much as a foot breadth; or as the sole of a man's foot can tread on, signifying that they should not have the least part of it, not any at all.
Before God brought Israel to destroy their enemies in Canaan, he taught them to forgive their enemies in Edom.
without going to war with the Edomites
6You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”
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tiš·bə·rū mê·’it·tām bak·ke·sep̄ ’ō·ḵel wa·’ă·ḵal·tem wə·ḡam- tiḵ·rū mê·’it·tām bak·ke·sep̄ ma·yim ū·šə·ṯî·ṯem
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“Food you-shall-buy-as-grain from-them with-the-silver, that-you-may-eat; and-also water you-shall-dig/buy from-them with-the-silver, that-you-may-drink.”
Where the English smooths the original
Buy meat of them for money — For though the manna did yet rain upon them, they were not forbidden to buy other meats when they had opportunity, but only were forbidden greedily to hunger after them when they could not obtain them.
Where there are no brooks but only cisterns or easily guarded springs, the peasant possessors of these will refuse to sell even small draughts to one or two passing travellers, as the writer has more than once experienced
or dig water (y) that is, pay for digging of wells for water, or buy water out of wells dug in the land of Edom.
7Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these forty years, and you have lacked nothing.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
kî Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā bê·raḵ·ḵā bə·ḵōl ma·‘ă·śêh yā·ḏe·ḵā yā·ḏa‘ leḵ·tə·ḵā ’eṯ- haz·zeh hag·gā·ḏōl ham·miḏ·bār Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā ‘im·māḵ zeh ’ar·bā·‘îm šā·nāh ḥā·sar·tā lō dā·ḇār
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“For Yahweh your-God has-blessed-you in all the-work of-your-hand; he has-known your-walking [through] this great wilderness. These forty years Yahweh your-God [has been] with-you; you-have- not-lacked a-thing.”
Where the English smooths the original
Note that in harmony with other Sg. passages it affirms the well-being of Israel during the 40 years, while the Pl. passages emphasise their dangers and losses.
he had been their Leader, had chosen for them places to rest in, had provided food for them, and had been their Protector and Guardian all through the forty years of their pilgrimage, so that they had wanted for nothing
Which experience of God’s singular goodness to thee should make thee rely on him still, and not use any unjust practice to procure what thou wantest or desirest.
There is nothing unreasonable in the view suggested by these words, that the Israelites acquired wealth by trade or by ordinary occupations during their wilderness journey.
8So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber, and traveled along the road of the Wilderness of Moab.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wan·na·‘ă·ḇōr mê·’êṯ ’a·ḥê·nū ḇə·nê- ‘ê·śāw hay·yō·šə·ḇîm bə·śê·‘îr wan·nê·p̄en hā·‘ă·rā·ḇāh mid·de·reḵ mê·’ê·laṯ ū·mê·‘eṣ·yōn gå̄·ḇɛ·rs wan·na·‘ă·ḇōr de·reḵ miḏ·bar mō·w·’āḇ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“So we-passed-on from our-brothers the-sons-of-Esau who dwell in-Seir, away-from the-way-of the-Arabah, from Elath and-from Ezion-geber; and-we-turned and-passed-on [by] the-way-of the-wilderness-of Moab.”
Where the English smooths the original
In accordance with this divine command, they went past the Edomites by the side of their mountains, "from the way of the Arabah, from Elath (see at Genesis 14:6 ) and Eziongeber"
The name means "trees;" and is still justified by the grove of palm-trees at Akaba.
They then turned northward, and going round the territory of Edom, reached the country of Moab.
We turned, to wit, from our direct road which lay through Edom’s land.
9Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh way·yō·mer ’ê·lay ’el- tå̄·ṣar ’eṯ- mō·w·’āḇ wə·’al- tiṯ·gār bām mil·ḥā·māh kî lō- ’et·tên lə·ḵā mê·’ar·ṣōw yə·ruš·šāh kî nā·ṯat·tî ’eṯ- ‘ār liḇ·nê- lō·wṭ yə·ruš·šāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And-said Yahweh to-me: Do-not harass Moab and-do-not provoke-yourself against-them [in] war, for not will-I-give to-you of-his-land a-possession, because to-the-sons-of-Lot I-have-given Ar [as] a-possession.”
Where the English smooths the original
The children of Lot; so called to signify that this preservation was not for their sakes, for they were a wicked people; but for Lot’s sake, whose memory God yet honours.
The Moabites and the Ammonites Deuteronomy 2:19 being descended from Lot, the nephew of Abraham Genesis 19:30-38 , were, like the Edomites, kinsmen of the Israelites.
The children of Lot, like those of Ishmael and Esau, had their earthly inheritance before the children of Abraham.
The Israelites were to uphold the bond of blood-relationship with these tribes in the most sacred manner.
10(The Emites used to live there, a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites.
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hā·’ê·mîm lə·p̄ā·nîm yā·šə·ḇū ḇāh ‘am gā·ḏō·wl wə·raḇ wā·rām kā·‘ă·nā·qîm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“(The Emim formerly dwelt in-it, a-people great and many and tall as the-Anakim.”
Where the English smooths the original
These three verses which follow should be read parenthetically. The Emims. —See Genesis 14:5-6 , for the first mention of Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, and Horim.
The word Emim means frightful, and was given to these men probably because of their huge stature and fierce aspect.
whose expulsion by the Moabites is here noted as a great encouragement to the Israelites, for whose sake he would much more drive out the wicked and accursed Canaanites.
These verses are either parenthetical or the insertion of a later hand.
11Like the Anakites, they were also regarded as Rephaim, though the Moabites called them Emites.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
kā·‘ă·nā·qîm ’ap̄- hêm yê·ḥā·šə·ḇū rə·p̄ā·’îm wə·ham·mō·’ā·ḇîm yiq·rə·’ū lā·hem ’ê·mîm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“Rephaim were-they-reckoned, they-also, like the-Anakim; but the-Moabites call them Emim.”
Where the English smooths the original
"a high (i.e., strong) and numerous people, of gigantic stature, which were also reckoned among the Rephaites, like the Enakites (Anakim)." Emim, i.e., frightful, terrible, was the name given to them by the Moabites.
so that it seems this name of Emims was not originally their name, but they are called so by a prolepsis, or anticipation, in Genesis 14:5 since they had it from the Moabites, a people of a later date.
These revolutions show what uncertain things wordly possessions are.
12The Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land that the LORD gave them as their possession.)
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ha·ḥō·rîm lə·p̄ā·nîm yā·šə·ḇū ū·ḇə·śê·‘îr ū·ḇə·nê ‘ê·śāw yî·rā·šūm way·yaš·mî·ḏūm mip·pə·nê·hem way·yê·šə·ḇū taḥ·tām ka·’ă·šer yiś·rā·’êl ‘ā·śāh lə·’e·reṣ ’ă·šer- Yah·weh nā·ṯan lā·hem yə·ruš·šā·ṯōw
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And-in-Seir formerly dwelt the-Horites, but the-sons-of-Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from-before-them and-dwelt in-their-place — just as Israel did to the-land-of his-possession, which Yahweh gave to-them.)”
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They seem to be so called from their dwelling in holes and caves in rocks, which the southern part of Edom or Idumea was full of, and to be the same the Greeks call Troglodytae
The past tense is here put for the future, will give , after the manner of the prophets. 2. Things are oft said to be done when they are only resolved, or decreed, or attempted to be done
"the land of his possession" is the land to the east of the Jordan (Gilead and Bashan), which was conquered by the Israelites under Moses, and divided among the two tribes and a half
Sayce ( Higher Criticism and the Monuments , 204) derives it from a root = white as if in contrast to the red-skinned ‘Edom.
13“Now arise and cross over the Brook of Zered.” So we crossed over the Brook of Zered.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
‘at·tāh qu·mū wə·‘iḇ·rū lā·ḵem ’eṯ- na·ḥal zā·reḏ wan·na·‘ă·ḇōr ’eṯ- na·ḥal zā·reḏ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“Now arise and cross-over the-Brook-of Zered. And we-crossed-over the-Brook-of Zered.”
Where the English smooths the original
The words, "said I," are not in the Hebrew. The words "rise up, and get you over the brook Zered" ( Numbers 21:12 note) connect themselves with Deuteronomy 2:9 , and form the conclusion of what God said to Moses.
It is called the valley of Zered, Numbers 21:12 , the word used signifying both a valley and a brook; and it is very probable there were both a valley and a brook of the same name
This brook formed the boundary line between Edom and Moab, and was the limit of Israel's wanderings in the wilderness.
The brook Zered is not yet identified.
14The time we spent traveling from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the Brook of Zered was thirty-eight years, until that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·hay·yā·mîm ’ă·šer- hā·laḵ·nū miq·qā·ḏêš bar·nê·a‘ ‘aḏ ’ă·šer- ‘ā·ḇar·nū ’eṯ- na·ḥal ze·reḏ šə·lō·šîm ū·šə·mō·neh šā·nāh ‘aḏ- kāl- had·dō·wr ham·mil·ḥā·māh ’an·šê tōm miq·qe·reḇ ham·ma·ḥă·neh ka·’ă·šer Yah·weh niš·ba‘ lā·hem
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And the-days that we-walked from Kadesh-barnea until we-crossed the-Brook-of Zered [were] thirty and eight years, until perished all the-generation, the-men of-war, from-the-midst-of the-camp, as Yahweh swore to-them.”
Where the English smooths the original
The last of the fruitless branches was here taken away, and the vine “purged, that it might bring forth more fruit.”
until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host; all that were twenty years old and upwards, and fit to go out to war upon occasion, when the people were first numbered after they came out of Egypt; all that generation was now consumed within the above space of time, excepting two, Caleb and Joshua
He shows by this, that as God is true in his promise, so his threatenings are not in vain.
15Indeed, the LORD’s hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp, until they had all perished.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·ḡam Yah·weh yaḏ- hā·yə·ṯāh bām lə·hum·mām miq·qe·reḇ ham·ma·ḥă·neh ‘aḏ tum·mām
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And-also the-hand of-Yahweh was against-them, to throw-them-into-confusion from-the-midst-of the-camp, until they-were-finished.”
Where the English smooths the original
The best comment on this discipline is to be found in Psalm 90:8-9 , “Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance; for all our days are passed away in thy wrath.”
It was no natural death of the whole generation, but by special plagues from Jehovah
His power was exerted in a way of wrath and vengeance on them, for their murmurings at the report of the spies
They did not all die a natural death, however, but "the hand of the Lord was against them to destroy them"
16Now when all the fighting men among the people had died,
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way·hî ḵa·’ă·šer- tam·mū kāl- ham·mil·ḥā·māh ’an·šê miq·qe·reḇ hā·‘ām lā·mūṯ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And it-was, when all the-men of-war had-finished [dying] from the-midst-of the-people,”
Where the English smooths the original
Thus it became more fully manifest that the excellency of the power which subdued the warlike Canaanites, was of God and not of man.
The outbreak at Kadesh on the false report of the spies had been the occasion of the fatal decree by which God doomed the whole grown-up population to die in the wilderness
So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed,.... By wasting diseases and judgments of one kind or another
17the LORD said to me,
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Yah·weh way·ḏab·bêr ’ê·lay lê·mōr
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“that-spoke Yahweh to-me, saying,”
Where the English smooths the original
That the Lord spoke unto me,.... At the brook Zered, having passed that, or at Dibongad, which was their next station: saying; as follows.
When this generation had quite died out, the Lord made known to Moses, and through him to the people, that they were to cross over the boundary of Moab
that outbreak only filled up the measure of their iniquities
18“Today you are going to cross the border of Moab at Ar.
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hay·yō·wm ’eṯ- ’at·tāh ‘ō·ḇêr gə·ḇūl mō·w·’āḇ ’eṯ- ‘ār
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“You [are] crossing today the-border-of Moab, [at] Ar.”
Where the English smooths the original
Here as there it is doubtful whether ‘Ar is to be understood as the territory of Mo’ab, their crossing of which Israel are completing this day ; or the N. limit of that territory which they are about to cross. Probably the latter.
Thou art to pass over through Ar,.... That is, over the river Arnon, by the city Ar of Moab, which was situated by it
the boundary of Moab, which was the river Arnon
19But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
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wə·qā·raḇ·tā mūl bə·nê ‘am·mō·wn ’al- tə·ṣu·rêm wə·’al- tiṯ·gār bām kî lō- ’et·tên lə·ḵā mê·’e·reṣ bə·nê- ‘am·mō·wn yə·ruš·šāh kî nə·ṯat·tî·hā liḇ·nê- lō·wṭ yə·ruš·šāh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And-when you-come-near opposite the-sons-of Ammon, do-not harass them and-do-not provoke-yourself against-them, for not will-I-give of-the-land-of the-sons-of-Ammon to-you a-possession, because to-the-sons-of-Lot I-have-given-it [as] a-possession.”
Where the English smooths the original
distress them not, nor meddle with them: lay no siege to any of their cities, nor provoke them to war, nor engage in battle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession
The mention of ‘Ammôn at this stage thus appears proleptic, and coinciding as it does with a change to the Sg. address, may plausibly be maintained to be the insertion of a later writer
The Ammonites, being kindred to the Moabites, were, from regard to the memory of their common ancestor, to remain undisturbed by the Israelites.
when they crossed the Arnon, the Ammonites, whose dwelling was in the wilderness east of the Jordan, would be almost in front of them
20(That too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim, who used to live there, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
’ap̄- hî tê·ḥā·šêḇ ’e·reṣ- rə·p̄ā·’îm rə·p̄ā·’îm yā·šə·ḇū- ḇāh lə·p̄ā·nîm wə·hā·‘am·mō·nîm yiq·rə·’ū lā·hem zam·zum·mîm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“(A land-of Rephaim it-also was-reckoned; Rephaim dwelt in-it formerly, and-the-Ammonites call them Zamzummim,”
Where the English smooths the original
Zamzummim , a name held by some to be formed on the analogy of the Gk ‘Barbaroi,’ as of a people whose speech sounded uncouth; Ar. zamzamah is a distant, confused sound.
Which signifies men most wicked and abominable , or most presumptuous , or most crafty .
"Zamzummim," from זמם, to hum, then to muse, equivalent to the humming or roaring people, probably the same people as the Zuzim mentioned in Genesis 14:5 .
The colossal stone monuments, resembling what in Europe are known by the Celtic names of dolmen , menhir , and cromlech , still to be found in the land of Moab, are supposed to be the work of these aboriginal inhabitants
21They were a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place,
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
‘am gā·ḏō·wl wə·raḇ wā·rām kā·‘ă·nā·qîm Yah·weh way·yaš·mî·ḏêm mip·pə·nê·hem way·yî·rā·šum way·yê·šə·ḇū ṯaḥ·tām
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“a-people great and-many and-tall as the-Anakim; but the-LORD destroyed them from-before-them, and-they-dispossessed them and-dwelt in-their-place,”
Where the English smooths the original
If the children of Lot, Ishmael, and Esau—who were but Gentiles, although they were Abraham’s seed—were able to dispossess these gigantic races, how much more would Israel be able to dispossess the Canaanites under the personal guidance of Jehovah?
The Lord therefore will certainly do as much for his own people.
but the Lord destroyed them before them; destroyed the Zamzummims before the children of Amman; or otherwise they would have been an too much for them, being so numerous, and of such a gigantic stature
22just as He had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ka·’ă·šer ‘ā·śāh liḇ·nê ‘ê·śāw hay·yō·šə·ḇîm bə·śê·‘îr ’ă·šer hiš·mîḏ ’eṯ- ha·ḥō·rî mip·pə·nê·hem way·yî·rā·šum way·yê·šə·ḇū ṯaḥ·tām ‘aḏ haz·zeh hay·yō·wm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“just as he-did for the-sons-of-Esau who dwell in-Seir, when he-destroyed the-Horites from-before-them, and-they-dispossessed-them and-dwelt in-their-place until this day;”
Where the English smooths the original
He did the like things for them as he did for the Ammonites: when he destroyed the Horims from before them: which is repeated from Deuteronomy 2:12 , other instances of the like kind being here recited
These verses, like Deuteronomy 2:10-12 , are in all likelihood an addition made by a later reviser.
If the providence of God has done this for Moabites and Ammonites, much more would his promise do it for Israel, his peculiar people.
23And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorites, who came out of Caphtor and settled in their place.)
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·hā·‘aw·wîm hay·yō·šə·ḇîm ba·ḥă·ṣê·rîm ‘aḏ- ‘az·zāh hiš·mî·ḏum kap̄·tō·rîm hay·yō·ṣə·’îm mik·kap̄·tō·wr way·yê·šə·ḇū ṯaḥ·tām
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And-the-Avvim, who dwell in-villages as-far-as Gaza — the-Caphtorim, who came-out from-Caphtor, destroyed them and-dwelt in-their-place.)”
Where the English smooths the original
"Hazerim" is not strictly a proper name, but means "villages," or "enclosures," probably such as are still common in the East.
This is so often repeated, to possess the minds of the Israelites with a sense of God's providence, which rules everywhere; displacing one people, and settling another in their stead, and fixing their bounds, also, which they shall not pass without leave
By producing these instances of God’s displacing one people, and settling another in their stead, Moses designed to strengthen the faith of the Israelites in the divine promise of giving them the victory over all their enemies, and settling them in the land of Canaan.
The Caphtorim: comp. Amos 9:7 : “The Philistines from Caphtor.”
The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.
AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.
The unit opens on the far bank, in narrative rather than exhortation — the Pulpit Commentary marks the seam exactly: “the language of address is exchanged for that of narrative… the change of subject from ‘ye abode’ to ‘we turned.’” The keyword is a verb of motion bent into a circle: וַנָּ֥סָב (wan·nā·sāḇ, “we circled”) in v. 1, סֹ֖ב (sōḇ) in v. 3 — the wilderness is named by the shape of its walking, a closed loop round one mountain. JFB compresses thirty-eight years into the phrase: “In these few words Moses comprised the whole of that wandering nomadic life.” Then God breaks the loop with His idiom of sufficiency — רַב־לָכֶ֕ם (raḇ-lā·ḵem), “you have had enough of this hill country” — the same formula that ended Horeb (Deut 1:6). The single command is a vector: צָפֹֽנָה, “northward.” The Geneva Bible reads the obedience theologically: “They obeyed, after God had chastised them.”
The advance toward the land begins with a prohibition, not a permission. Edom is אֲחֵיכֶ֛ם (’ă·ḥê·ḵem), “your brothers,” and the kinship binds Israel’s hands: “Do not provoke yourselves against them.” Cambridge catches the audacity of the ground given to the claim — “Note the claim made by the God of Israel over other peoples… the memory… that on their entry to Canaan Israel had not violated the rights of their kinsfolk.” The God who deeds Canaan to Israel has already deeded Seir to Esau as a יְרֻשָּׁ֣ה (yə·ruš·šāh) — the very same legal word. Matthew Henry distils the ethic: “Before God brought Israel to destroy their enemies in Canaan, he taught them to forgive their enemies in Edom… Religion must never be made a cloak for injustice.” And the means of self-restraint is supplied in v. 7: בֵּֽרַכְךָ֗ (bê·raḵ·ḵā), “he has blessed you” — Israel can buy bread and water because grace, not plunder, has funded the march; “these forty years… you have not lacked דָּבָֽר” (dāḇār, a thing).
The itinerary rounds Edom (v. 8) and reaches Moab — kin through בְנֵי־ל֖וֹט (ḇə·nê-lō·wṭ), the sons of Lot, who like Edom hold their land by divine grant (v. 9). Then the narrative pauses to do its grimmest sum. From Kadesh-barnea to the brook Zered was שְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים וּשְׁמֹנֶ֖ה שָׁנָ֑ה, thirty-eight years (v. 14) — set that against the eleven days of Deut 1:2 and the gap is the judgment. The verb is תֹּ֨ם (tōm), “to be finished, used up”; K&D: “to be all gone, to disappear,” until not one of that generation “saw the promised land.” Geneva draws the symmetry of the oath: “as God is true in his promise, so his threatenings are not in vain.” Verse 15 will not let it be mere attrition: לְהֻמָּ֖ם (lə·hum·mām) is a holy-war verb, “to throw into confusion,” the terror God turns on His enemies (Exod 14:24) now turned inward — Ellicott’s comment is the Mosaic Psalm 90: “all our days are passed away in thy wrath.” Only when the old army is wholly spent (v. 16) does a new word from God become possible.
Twice the speech is interrupted by an ethnographer’s archive (vv. 10–12; 20–23), and the two panels rhyme deliberately. The Emim of Moab and the Zamzummim of Ammon are described in one fixed phrase of terror — “great and many and tall, as the Anakim” — the very dread that broke the spies (Deut 1:28), here disarmed. For these giants are רְפָאִ֛ים (rə·p̄ā·’îm), the catalogued dead; and the operative verb of their fall is named twice over the true agent: וַיַּשְׁמִידֵ֤ם יְהוָה֙ — “the LORD destroyed them.” Ellicott states the logic the archive is built to carry: “If the children of Lot, Ishmael, and Esau — who were but Gentiles… were able to dispossess these gigantic races, how much more would Israel… under the personal guidance of Jehovah?” The same conquest-verb used of Israel, יָרַשׁ (yârash, “dispossess”), is lent to Esau, to Ammon, to the Caphtorim — Patrick’s summary, kept by the Pulpit: God “rules everywhere; displacing one people, and settling another in their stead, and fixing their bounds.” Matthew Henry hears in the same archive a warning about the brevity of every earthly tenure: “Families decline, and from them estates are transferred to families that increase; so little continuance is there in these things.” The honest crux is grammatical and historical: “just as Israel did to the land of his possession… unto this day” (vv. 12, 22) reads as an accomplished settlement, which is why Barnes suspects “a later reviser,” while Poole and K&D refer it to the land already taken east of Jordan (Deut 3:20).
⚙ Read whole, Deuteronomy 2:1–23 is a meditation on whose hand sets borders. The chapter opens with Israel walking in a circle — judgment is a verb of motion that never arrives — and God’s first mercy is simply to break the loop: “you have had enough of this mountain; turn north.” But the road home runs straight through a discipline of restraint. Three kindred nations — Edom, Moab, Ammon — are fenced off with the same word God uses to deed Canaan to Israel: I have given it for a possession. The very generation that would not trust God to give them a land must now watch Him refuse to let them take three others; the lesson of grace is taught from its underside. Between the prohibitions runs the chapter’s blackest ledger — eleven days made into thirty-eight years, a whole army “used up” under the hand of the LORD — and then, astonishingly, an archive of dead giants. The Emim, the Zamzummim, the Horites, the Avvim: every terror that ever broke Israel’s nerve has already been cleared from its land by God, for nations far less favoured than Israel. The chapter thus answers Kadesh with its own evidence. Unbelief said the giants were too tall; the archive answers that the giants are already gone, and the God who buried them keeps oaths in both directions — emptying a camp of the faithless and emptying a land of the fearsome, by the same sovereign hand.
The same word — “I have given it for a possession” — that arms Israel for Canaan disarms her before Edom; sovereignty over borders cuts both ways. (⚙ a fallible reading, not Scripture)
AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.
The wadi זֶ֔רֶד (zered, H2218) appears in only three verses of the entire Hebrew Bible, two of them here (Deut 2:13, 14) and the third in the itinerary of Numbers 21:12, where Israel “pitched in the valley of Zared.” The Verifier records the recorded basis as the shared rare lexeme H2218 Zered (in 3 vv) together with H5158 nachal (“brook/wadi”). Because Zered is so rare, the shared word is a genuine verbal tie between Deuteronomy’s retrospect and the older Numbers itinerary it is rehearsing — the same boundary brook, the same crossing, the end of the wandering.
Numbers 21:12
basis: shared rare lexeme H2218 Zered (in 3 vv), with H5158 nachal (in 123 vv); Deut 2:13–14 rehearses the same crossing as the Numbers 21:12 itinerary
The note in v. 10 reaches back to the war of the kings: the אֵמִ֑ים (’êmîm, “Emim,” H368) are named in only three verses, and their first appearance is Genesis 14:5, where Chedorlaomer “smote… the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim.” Ellicott makes the link explicit: “See Genesis 14:5–6, for the first mention of Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, and Horim.” The Verifier’s recorded basis is the shared rare lexeme H368 Emim (in 3 vv). The rarity makes this a verbal link, not a mere theme: Deuteronomy is consciously citing the antediluvian-giant archive of Genesis 14 to prove the land was cleared once before.
Genesis 14:5
basis: shared rare lexeme H368 ʼÊymîym (in 3 vv); Deut 2:10 names the Emim of Gen 14:5, with the same Rephaim/Zuzim archive in view
Verse 12’s archive of Seir leans on the Edomite genealogy of Genesis 36, where “the sons of Seir the Horite” are listed (Gen 36:20–21). The Verifier records the shared rare lexeme חֹרִי (Chôrîy, “Horite,” H2752, in 6 vv) along with Sêʻîyr and the verb yâshab (“dwelt”). The Horite is named in only six verses, so the overlap is verbal: Deuteronomy quietly imports the Genesis 36 record of the Horites whom Esau dispossessed, in order to license the comparison “as Israel did to the land of his possession.”
Genesis 36:20
basis: shared rare lexeme H2752 Chôrîy (in 6 vv), with H8165 Sêʻîyr and H3427 yâshab; Deut 2:12 draws on the Horite genealogy of Gen 36:20–21
The name עָ֑ר (‘âr, “Ar,” H6144) occurs in only six verses; here in v. 9 (and v. 18) it is the city standing for Moab, and Isaiah 15:1 mourns its fall — “in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste.” The Verifier’s recorded basis is the shared rare lexeme H6144 ʻÂr (in 6 vv) together with Môwʼâb. Gill makes the same identification: “Ar of Moab, Isaiah 15:1… here put for the whole country of Moab.” The land God forbade Israel to seize is the land Isaiah later sees judged — sovereignty over Moab’s border belongs to the LORD in both texts.
Isaiah 15:1
basis: shared rare lexeme H6144 ʻÂr (in 6 vv) with H4124 Môwʼâb; same city-for-country usage in Deut 2:9 and Isa 15:1
The term יְרֻשָּׁה (yᵉrushshâh, “possession,” H3425) is rare and characteristically deuteronomic — Cambridge notes it is, in the Hexateuch, “found only in this discourse… and in the deuteronomic Joshua.” In v. 5 it deeds Seir to Esau; the same word reappears in Deut 3:20 (and Joshua 1:15) for the trans-Jordan land Israel is given. The Verifier’s recorded basis for Deut 2:5 ↔ Deut 3:20 is the shared lexeme H3425 yᵉrushshâh (in 12 vv) with the verb nâthan (“give”). But yᵉrushshâh is no quotation: it is a shared discourse-vocabulary word, recurring across twelve verses of this one author’s legal idiom, so we tier the link structural rather than verbal. One legal vocabulary governs every grant — to Esau, to Lot, to Israel — which is the chapter’s whole theological grammar.
Deuteronomy 3:20 · Joshua 1:15
basis: shared deuteronomic discourse-vocabulary H3425 yᵉrushshâh (in 12 vv) with H5414 nâthan — a recurring grant-formula across Deut 2:5, 3:20, Josh 1:15, not a quotation; tiered structural (down from verbal) to under-claim
Twice (vv. 10, 11) the giant Emim are measured against עֲנָקִים (‘ănāqîm, “Anakim,” H6062), the benchmark of terror Israel’s own spies had named at Kadesh: “the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there” (Deut 1:28). The Anakim are named in only nine verses, and Joshua records their end — “there was none of the Anakim left in the land of the children of Israel” (Josh 11:22) — and Caleb’s claim of the very hill where they dwelt (Josh 14:12). The Verifier records the shared rare lexeme H6062 ʻĂnâqîy (in 9 vv). The rarity makes this a verbal tie: the word that broke the first generation’s nerve in Deut 1 is, in this chapter’s archive and in Joshua’s conquest-record, the name of a fear already overthrown.
Joshua 11:22 · Joshua 14:12
basis: shared rare lexeme H6062 ʻĂnâqîy (in 9 vv); the Anakim of Deut 2:10–11 are the Kadesh dread of Deut 1:28, recorded as overthrown in Josh 11:22 and 14:12
Verse 23’s westward note ties to the Table of Nations: the כַּפְתֹּרִים (kap̄·tō·rîm, “Caphtorim,” H3732) of Genesis 10:14 are the stock “out of whom came the Philistines.” The Verifier records the shared rare lexeme H3732 Kaphtôrîy (in 3 vv) with the participle yâtsâʼ (“came out”). Ellicott and the Pulpit add the prophetic confirmations (Amos 9:7; Jer 47:4). The link is verbal and the point is the same as the rest of the chapter: even on the seacoast, beyond Israel’s kin, it is God who exchanges one people for another.
Genesis 10:14 · Amos 9:7
basis: shared rare lexeme H3732 Kaphtôrîy (in 3 vv) with H3318 yâtsâʼ; Deut 2:23 draws the Caphtor/Philistine origin from Gen 10:14, confirmed by Amos 9:7
God’s refusal in v. 5 — not “a tread of the sole of the foot,” מִדְרַ֣ךְ כַּף־רָ֑גֶל — is the exact mirror of His promise in Joshua 1:3: “every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given you.” The Verifier records no rare lexeme; the shared words kaph (“sole,” H3709), regel (“foot,” H7272) and nâthan (“give,” H5414) are all common, so the connection is structural rather than a quotation: the same idiom of foot-tread land-grant, used once to deny Israel Edom and once to grant her Canaan. We tier this thematic and decline to over-claim a verbal tie.
Joshua 1:3
basis: shared common lexemes H3709 kaph, H7272 regel, H5414 nâthan — a shared foot-tread land-grant idiom (Deut 2:5 denies; Josh 1:3 grants), no rare lexeme, so thematic not verbal
Poole defends the past tense of v. 12 (“which the LORD gave them,” of land not yet conquered) by analogy: “Things are oft said to be done when they are only resolved, or decreed… as Abraham to have offered his son, Hebrews 11:17.” This is a cross-Testament link (Greek New Testament ↔ Hebrew), so it cannot rest on a shared Strong’s number and is not a verbal quotation; it is a grammatical-theological analogy supplied by a commentator about the “prophetic perfect.” Because the connection is an interpretive bridge rather than a citation in the text, and the provenance is one expositor’s argument, we record it as flagged for the reader to test.
Hebrews 11:17
basis: cross-Testament (Greek↔Hebrew): no shared Strong’s possible; Poole’s analogy of a decreed/prophetic perfect (Abraham “offered” Isaac, Heb 11:17) is one commentator’s argument, not a textual quotation — flagged for verification
AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.
⚙ Ellicott reads the crossing of Zered (v. 14), where the last of the doomed generation dies, through the figure of the vine: “the vine ‘purged, that it might bring forth more fruit.’” The image is John 15:2 — “every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” The wilderness that buries a faithless generation is, typologically, the Father pruning the vine He brought out of Egypt (Ps 80:8) so that a fruitful generation may cross over. Paul reads the same wilderness deaths as a standing type — “with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness… now these things were our examples” (1 Cor 10:5–6). The figure is ancient and widely held: the wilderness as the place where the old man dies and a purified people is brought to the land prefigures the dying-and-rising pattern fulfilled in Christ, in whom the true Vine (John 15:1) bears the fruit Israel could not.
John 15:2 · Psalm 80:8 · 1 Corinthians 10:5
⚙ The chapter’s archive of fallen giants (vv. 10–12, 20–23) is built on an a fortiori that the New Testament makes its own. Ellicott states the Old-Testament form: if Gentile kin could dispossess the Rephaim, “how much more would Israel… under the personal guidance of Jehovah?” Hebrews lifts the same Kadesh generation as warning (Heb 3:16–4:11) and answers it with a greater Joshua: the rest Israel forfeited is secured in Christ, who has already disarmed the powers — “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly” (Col 2:15). The dead giants of Moab and Ammon are a parable of every terror that paralyses faith: in Christ the conquest is, in the decisive sense, already accomplished, and the “how much more” of Deuteronomy becomes the “much more” of Romans 5. This reading extends the commentators’ logic rather than resting on an explicit ancient identification, so we mark it the more cautiously.
Hebrews 3:16 · Hebrews 4:8 · Colossians 2:15 · Romans 5:9
The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.
Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:
⚙ Honesty notes for this unit. (1) The parentheses. The two ethnographic panels (vv. 10–12 and 20–23) end with phrases — “as Israel did to the land of his possession, which the LORD gave them” (v. 12) and “unto this day” (v. 22) — that read as written after a settlement. Barnes judges them “in all likelihood an addition made by a later reviser,” and Cambridge calls v. 10’s note one “written after the settlement in W. Palestine.” Poole and K&D answer that the perfect tense is prophetic, or that “the land of his possession” means the trans-Jordan already taken (Deut 3:20). We have not adjudicated the date; the notes record both readings as the commentators give them. (2) Translation choices in the BSB. Two are worth flagging: סוּף (v. 1) contains no word for “sea-colour” — “Red Sea” is traditional, the Hebrew is “Sea of Reeds”; and בַּחֲצֵרִים (v. 23) is the common noun “in villages,” not the proper name “Hazerim” the KJV printed (so Barnes, Ellicott). (3) The verb in v. 6. K&D insist כָּרָה “does not signify to buy” but “to dig (a well)”; the Pulpit and Cambridge allow it can also mean “buy” (Hos 3:2). We have kept the Hebrew’s productive ambiguity rather than resolving it. (4) Ammon in v. 19 may be proleptic — Cambridge notes Israel was still some 35 miles from Ammonite land, with the Amorites between — a point recorded, not decided. (5) Cross-Testament threads. Poole’s appeal to Hebrews 11:17 (v. 12) is a Greek↔Hebrew link and so cannot carry a shared Strong’s number; it is flagged as one commentator’s analogy, not a verbal citation. (6) Tier discipline. The יְרֻשָּׁה (yᵉrushshâh, “possession”) link to Deut 3:20 / Josh 1:15 is tiered structural rather than verbal: although the lexeme is uncommon (12 vv), it is a recurring item of this author’s legal discourse-vocabulary, not a quotation, and we under-claim it accordingly. The Anakim link (Deut 2:10–11 → Josh 11:22; 14:12) does rest on a genuinely rare shared lexeme (H6062, 9 vv) and is tiered verbal. All Christ-readings are marked ⚙ as the tool’s own fallible synthesis, to be tested against the text.
✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)