Deuteronomy 1-2

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Deuteronomy 1:1 tn Heb “These are the words.”
2. Deuteronomy 1:1 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 הַיַּרְדֵּן (b^eʿever hayyarden) 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.
3. Deuteronomy 1:1 tn The Hebrew term מוֹל (mol) may also mean “in front of” or “near” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
4. Deuteronomy 1:1 sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan.
5. Deuteronomy 1:1 tn The Hebrew term בֵּין (ben) may suggest “in the area of.”
6. Deuteronomy 1:1 sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).
7. Deuteronomy 1:1 sn Tophel refers possibly to eṭ-Ṭafîleh, 15 mi (25 km) SE of the Dead Sea, or to Dâbîlu, another name for Paran. See H. Cazelles, “Tophel (Deut. 1:1),” VT 9 (1959): 412-15.
8. Deuteronomy 1:1 sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).
9. Deuteronomy 1:1 sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to ʿAin Khadra. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199-200.
10. Deuteronomy 1:1 sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.
11. Deuteronomy 1:2 sn An eleven-day journey was about 140 mi (233 km).
12. Deuteronomy 1:2 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.
13. Deuteronomy 1:2 sn Kadesh Barnea. Possibly this refers to ʿAin Qudeis, about 50 mi (80 km) southwest of Beer Sheba, but more likely to ʿAin Qudeirat, 5 mi (8 km) NW of ʿAin Qudeis. See R. Cohen, “Did I Excavate Kadesh Barnea?” BAR 7 (1981): 20-33.
14. Deuteronomy 1:2 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.”
15. Deuteronomy 1:3 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.
16. Deuteronomy 1:3 sn The eleventh month is Shebat in the Hebrew calendar, January/February in the modern (Gregorian) calendar.
17. Deuteronomy 1:3 sn The fortieth year would be 1406 b.c. according to the “early” date of the exodus. See E. H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 66-75.
18. Deuteronomy 1:3 tn Heb “according to all which.”
19. Deuteronomy 1:4 tn Heb “when he struck [or “smote”].”
20. Deuteronomy 1:4 sn See Deut 2:26-3:22.
21. Deuteronomy 1:4 tn Heb “who lived.”
22. Deuteronomy 1:4 sn Heshbon is probably modern Tell Hesban, about 7.5 mi (12 km) south southwest of Amman, Jordan.
23. Deuteronomy 1:4 tn Heb “who lived.”
24. Deuteronomy 1:4 sn Ashtaroth is probably Tell ʿAshtarah, about 22 mi (35 km) due east of the Sea of Galilee.
25. Deuteronomy 1:4 sn Edrei is probably modern Derʿa, 60 mi (95 km) south of Damascus (see Num 21:33; Josh 12:4; 13:12, 31).
26. Deuteronomy 1:5 tn Heb “this instruction”; KJV, NIV, NRSV “this law”; TEV “God’s laws and teachings.” The Hebrew noun תּוֹרָה (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.
27. Deuteronomy 1:6 tn Heb “lived”; “dwelled.”
28. Deuteronomy 1:7 tn Heb “turn”; NAB “Leave here”; NIV, TEV “Break camp.”
29. Deuteronomy 1:7 sn As a geographic feature the rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. The reference here probably includes the Jordan Valley and continues to the wider part of the rift valley below the Dead Sea. Some versions transliterate the name as Arabah (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
30. Deuteronomy 1:7 tn The שְׁפֵלָה (sh^ephelah) is the geographical region between the Mediterranean coastal plain and the hill country, sometimes called the “western foothills” (NIV, CEV, NLT), “Judean foothills” (Holman), “lowland” (NASB, ESV), or by the Hebrew “Shephelah” (NRSV).
31. Deuteronomy 1:7 sn The Negev is the area of central, southern Judah, south of the hill country and Beer Sheba and west of the rift valley. As a geographic feature it is a depression extending south to the gulf of Aqaba, but the reference here is probably to the northern portion of the region.
32. Deuteronomy 1:8 tn Heb “I have placed before you the land.”
33. Deuteronomy 1:8 tn Heb “the Lord.” Since the Lord is speaking, it is preferable for clarity to supply the first person pronoun in the translation.
34. Deuteronomy 1:8 tn Heb “swore” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). This refers to God’s promise, made by solemn oath, to give the patriarchs the land.
35. Deuteronomy 1:8 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 11, 21, 35).
36. Deuteronomy 1:8 tn Heb “their seed after them.”
37. Deuteronomy 1:10 tn Heb “multiplied you.”
38. Deuteronomy 1:10 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
39. Deuteronomy 1:11 tn Heb “may he bless you.”
40. Deuteronomy 1:13 tn The Hebrew verb נְבֹנִים (n^evonim, from בִּין [bin]) is a Niphal referring to skill or intelligence (see T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:652-53).
41. Deuteronomy 1:15 tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”
42. Deuteronomy 1:16 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).
43. Deuteronomy 1:16 tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.
44. Deuteronomy 1:16 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).
45. Deuteronomy 1:16 tn Heb “between a man and his brother.” The first use of “brother” in this verse refers broadly to fellow citizens. This second use is narrower, being in opposition to the “resident foreigner.” The גֵּר (ger) “resident foreigner” was not simply a foreigner (Hebrew נֵכָר; nekar) but was essentially a naturalized citizen and had equal protection under the law. This is one of the verses designed to ensure that equal treatment (see also Deut 10:16-19; 16:18-20; Exod 12:49; Num 15:16, 29).
46. Deuteronomy 1:16 sn On the Hebrew ger (גֵּר) “resident foreigner,” see notes at Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:11.
47. Deuteronomy 1:17 tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).
48. Deuteronomy 1:17 tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.
49. Deuteronomy 1:20 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).
50. Deuteronomy 1:21 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid repetition.
51. Deuteronomy 1:21 tn Or “has given you the land” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).
52. Deuteronomy 1:23 tn Heb “the thing was good in my eyes.”
53. Deuteronomy 1:23 tn Or “selected” (so NIV, NRSV, TEV); Heb “took.”
54. Deuteronomy 1:24 tn Or “the Wadi Eshcol” (so NAB).sn The Eshcol Valley is a verdant valley near Hebron, still famous for its viticulture (cf. Num 13:22-23). The Hebrew name “Eshcol” means “trestle,” that is, the frame on which grape vines grow.
55. Deuteronomy 1:25 tn The Hebrew text includes “in their hand,” which is unnecessary and somewhat redundant in English style.
56. Deuteronomy 1:26 tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord your God.” To include “the mouth” would make for odd English style. The mouth stands by metonymy for the Lord’s command, which in turn represents the Lord himself.
57. Deuteronomy 1:27 tn Heb “in your tents,” that is, privately.
58. Deuteronomy 1:28 tn Heb “have caused our hearts to melt.”
59. Deuteronomy 1:28 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).
60. Deuteronomy 1:28 tn Or “as the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
61. Deuteronomy 1:28 tn Heb “we have seen.”
62. Deuteronomy 1:28 tn Heb “the sons of the Anakim.”sn Anakites were giant people (Num 13:33; Deut 2:10, 21; 9:2) descended from a certain Anak whose own forefather Arba founded the city of Kiriath Arba, i.e., Hebron (Josh 21:11).
63. Deuteronomy 1:29 tn Heb “do not tremble and do not be afraid.” Two synonymous commands are combined for emphasis.
64. Deuteronomy 1:30 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).
65. Deuteronomy 1:30 tn Heb “according to all which he did for you in Egypt before your eyes.”
66. Deuteronomy 1:31 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun (“him”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
67. Deuteronomy 1:34 tn Heb “and swore,” i.e., made an oath or vow.
68. Deuteronomy 1:35 tn Heb “Not a man among these men.”
69. Deuteronomy 1:36 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 Lord’s power (Num 13:6, 8, 16, 30; 14:30, 38).
70. Deuteronomy 1:36 tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun (“me”) has been employed in the translation, since it sounds strange to an English reader for the Lord to speak about himself in third person.
71. Deuteronomy 1:38 tn Heb “the one who stands before you”; NAB “your aide”; TEV “your helper.”
72. Deuteronomy 1:38 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
73. Deuteronomy 1:39 tn Heb “would be a prey.”
74. Deuteronomy 1:39 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.
75. Deuteronomy 1:40 tn The Hebrew pronoun is plural, as are the following verbs, indicating that Moses and the people are addressed (note v. 41).
76. Deuteronomy 1:40 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 (eruthras thalassēs, “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.
77. Deuteronomy 1:43 tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.” See note at 1:26.
78. Deuteronomy 1:44 tn Heb “in that hill country,” repeating the end of v. 43.
79. Deuteronomy 1:44 tn Heb “came out to meet.”
80. Deuteronomy 1:44 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.
81. Deuteronomy 1:45 tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun (“he”) has been employed in the translation here for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
82. Deuteronomy 1:45 tn Heb “did not hear your voice and did not turn an ear to you.”
83. Deuteronomy 1:46 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.
84. Deuteronomy 2:1 tn Heb “Reed Sea.” See note on the term “Red Sea” in Deut 1:40.
85. Deuteronomy 2:4 tn Heb “command” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “charge the people as follows.”
86. Deuteronomy 2:4 tn Heb “brothers”; NAB “your kinsmen.”
87. Deuteronomy 2:4 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).
88. Deuteronomy 2:5 sn Mount Seir is synonymous with Edom.
89. Deuteronomy 2:6 tn Heb includes “with silver.”
90. Deuteronomy 2:7 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).
91. Deuteronomy 2:7 tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”
92. Deuteronomy 2:7 tn Heb “he has.” This has been converted to first person in the translation in keeping with English style.
93. Deuteronomy 2:7 tn Heb “known” (so ASV, NASB); NAB “been concerned about.”
94. Deuteronomy 2:7 tn Heb “the Lord your God has.” This has been replaced in the translation by the first person pronoun (“I”) in keeping with English style.
95. Deuteronomy 2:8 tn Or “brothers”; NRSV “our kin.”
96. Deuteronomy 2:8 sn As a geographic feature the rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) extends from the Gulf of Aqaba to Galilee. Traveling up the middle of the rift valley probably would have been the easiest path, at least up to the Dead Sea.
97. Deuteronomy 2:8 tn Heb “from.”
98. Deuteronomy 2:8 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 farther 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.
99. Deuteronomy 2:8 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.
100. Deuteronomy 2:9 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.
101. Deuteronomy 2:9 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.
102. Deuteronomy 2:10 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).
103. Deuteronomy 2:11 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 Tel 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.
104. Deuteronomy 2:12 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).
105. Deuteronomy 2:12 tn Most modern English versions, beginning with the ASV (1901), regard vv. 10-12 as parenthetical to the narrative.
106. Deuteronomy 2:13 sn Wadi Zered. Now known as Wadi el-Ḥesa, this valley marked the boundary between Moab to the north and Edom to the south.
107. Deuteronomy 2:13 tn Heb “we crossed the Wadi Zered.” This has been translated as “we did so” for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
108. Deuteronomy 2:15 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.”
109. Deuteronomy 2:16 tn Heb “and it was when they were eliminated, all the men of war, to die from the midst of the people.”
110. Deuteronomy 2:18 sn Ar. See note on this word in Deut 2:9.
111. Deuteronomy 2:19 sn Lot’s descendants. See note on this phrase in Deut 2:9.
112. Deuteronomy 2:20 sn Rephaites. See note on this word in Deut 2:11.
113. Deuteronomy 2:20 sn Zamzummites. Just as the Moabites called Rephaites by the name Emites, the Ammonites called them Zamzummites (or Zazites; Gen 14:5).
114. Deuteronomy 2:21 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Rephaites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
115. Deuteronomy 2:21 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Ammonites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
116. Deuteronomy 2:23 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.
117. Deuteronomy 2:23 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).
118. Deuteronomy 2:23 tn Heb “Caphtor”; the modern name of the island of Crete is used in the translation for clarity (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT).
119. Deuteronomy 2:24 sn Heshbon is the name of a prominent site (now Tel Hesbān, 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.
120. Deuteronomy 2:25 tn Heb “under heaven” (so NIV, NRSV).
121. Deuteronomy 2:25 tn Heb “from before you.”
122. Deuteronomy 2:26 sn Kedemoth. This is probably Aleiyan, about 8 mi (13 km) north of the Arnon and between Dibon and Mattanah.
123. Deuteronomy 2:27 tn Heb “in the way in the way” (בַּדֶּרֶךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ, badderekh badderekh). The repetition lays great stress on the idea of resolute determination to stick to the path. IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
124. Deuteronomy 2:28 tn Heb “silver.”
125. Deuteronomy 2:28 tn Heb “and water for silver give to me so that I may drink.”
126. Deuteronomy 2:30 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.”
127. Deuteronomy 2:30 tn Heb “hardened his spirit” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “made his spirit stubborn.”
128. Deuteronomy 2:30 tn Heb “made his heart obstinate” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “made his heart defiant.”
129. Deuteronomy 2:30 tn Heb “into your hand.”
130. Deuteronomy 2:32 tn Heb “people.”
131. Deuteronomy 2:32 sn Jahaz. This is probably Khirbet el-Medeiyineh. See J. Dearman, “The Levitical Cities of Reuben and Moabite Toponymy,” BASOR 276 (1984): 55-57.
132. Deuteronomy 2:33 tc The translation follows the Qere or marginal reading; the Kethib (consonantal text) has the singular, “his son.”
133. Deuteronomy 2:33 tn Heb “all his people.”
134. Deuteronomy 2:34 tn Heb “every city of men.” This apparently identifies the cities as inhabited.
135. Deuteronomy 2:34 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.sn Divine judgment refers to God’s designation of certain persons, places, and things as objects of his special wrath and judgment because, in his omniscience, he knows them to be impure and hopelessly unrepentant.
136. Deuteronomy 2:36 sn Aroer. Now known as ʿAraʾir 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).
137. Deuteronomy 2:36 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.
138. Deuteronomy 2:37 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).