Deuteronomy 2

Berean Standard Bible (BSB) · English

1 Then 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. 2 At this time the LORD said to me, 3 “You have been wandering around this hill country long enough; turn to the north 4 and 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. 5 Do 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. 6 You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’” 7 Indeed, 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. 8 So 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. 9 Then 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.” 10 (The Emites used to live there, a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites. 11 Like the Anakites, they were also regarded as Rephaim, though the Moabites called them Emites. 12 The 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.) 13 “Now arise and cross over the Brook of Zered.” So we crossed over the Brook of Zered. 14 The 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. 15 Indeed, the LORD’s hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp, until they had all perished. 16 Now when all the fighting men among the people had died, 17 the LORD said to me, 18 “Today you are going to cross the border of Moab at Ar. 19 But 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.” 20 (That too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim, who used to live there, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 They 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, 22 just 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. 23 And 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.) 24 “Arise, set out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. 25 This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.” 26 So from the Wilderness of Kedemoth I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon, saying, 27 “Let us pass through your land; we will stay on the main road. We will not turn to the right or to the left. 28 You can sell us food to eat and water to drink in exchange for silver. Only let us pass through on foot, 29 just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving us.” 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day. 31 Then the LORD said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.” 32 So Sihon and his whole army came out for battle against us at Jahaz. 33 And the LORD our God delivered him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and his whole army. 34 At that time we captured all his cities and devoted to destruction the people of every city, including women and children. We left no survivors. 35 We carried off for ourselves only the livestock and the plunder from the cities we captured. 36 From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them. 37 But you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, or the land along the banks of the Jabbok River, or the cities of the hill country, or any place that the LORD our God had forbidden.

Commentary — not Bible text

Deuteronomy 2:1-2

Introduction

Moses continues to relate how they compassed Mount Seir, Deu 2:1. And the commands they received not to meddle with the descendants of Esau, Deu 2:2-8; nor to distress the Moabites, Deu 2:9. Of the Emims, Deu 2:10, Deu 2:11; the Horims, Deu 2:12. Their passage of the brook Zered, Deu 2:13. The time they spent between Kadesh-barnea and Zered, Deu 2:14; during which all the men of war that came out of Egypt were consumed, Deu 2:15, Deu 2:16. The command not to distress the Ammonites, Deu 2:17-19. Of the Zamzummims, Deu 2:20, the Anakims, Deu 2:21, the Horims, Deu 2:22, the Avims and Caphtorims, all destroyed by the Ammonites, Deu 2:23. They are commanded to cross the river Arnon, and are promised the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, Deu 2:24, Deu 2:25. Of the message sent to Sihon, to request a passage through his territories, Deu 2:26-29. His refusal, Deu 2:30.The consequent war, Deu 2:31, Deu 2:32. His total overthrow, Deu 2:33; and extermination of his people, Deu 2:34. The spoils that were taken, Deu 2:35. And his land possessed from Aroer to Arnon by the Israelites, Deu 2:36; who took care, according to the command of God, not to invade any part of the territories of the Ammonites, Deu 2:37.

Deuteronomy 2:3-4

Verse 3

Turn you northward - From Mount Seir, in order to get to Canaan. This was not the way they went before, viz., by Kadesh-barnea, but they were to proceed between Edom on the one hand, and Moab and Ammon on the other, so as to enter into Canaan through the land of the Amorites.

Deuteronomy 2:5-6

Verse 5

Meddle not with them - That is, the Edomites. See on Num 20:14-21 (note).

Deuteronomy 2:7-9

Verse 7

The Lord - hath blessed thee, etc. - God had given them much property, and therefore they had no need of plunder; they had gold and silver to buy the provender they needed, and therefore God would not permit them to take any thing by violence.

Deuteronomy 2:10

Verse 10

The Emims dwelt therein - Calmet supposes that these people were destroyed in the war made against them by Chedorlaomer and his allies, Gen 14:5. Lot possessed their country after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are generally esteemed as giants; probably they were a hardy, fierce, and terrible people, who lived, like the wandering Arabs, on the plunder of others. This was sufficient to gain them the appellation of giants, or men of prodigious stature. See next verse, Deu 2:11 (note).

Deuteronomy 2:11

Verse 11

Which also were accounted giants - This is not a fortunate version. The word is not giants, but רפאים Rephaim, the name of a people. It appears that the Emim, the Anakim, and the Rephaim, were probably the same people, called by different names in the different countries where they dwelt; for they appear originally to have been a kind of wandering free-booters, who lived by plunder. (See on Deu 2:10 (note)). It must be granted, however, that there were several men of this race of extraordinary stature. And hence all gigantic men have been called Rephaim. (See on Gen 6:4 (note), and Gen 14:5 (note)). But we well know that fear and public report have often added whole cubits to men's height. It was under this influence that the spies acted, when they brought the disheartening report mentioned Num 13:33.

Deuteronomy 2:12-19

Verse 12

The Horims also dwelt in Seir - The whole of this verse was probably added by Joshua or Ezra.

Deuteronomy 2:20-28

Verse 20

That also was accounted a land of giants - That was accounted the land or territory of the Rephaim.

Zamzummims - Supposed to be the same as the Zuzim, Gen 14:5. Of these ancient people we know very little; they were probably inconsiderable tribes or clans, "pursuing and pursued, each other's prey," till at length a stronger totally destroyed or subdued them, and their name became either extinct or absorbed in that of their conquerors. From the 10th to the 12th, and from the 20th to the 23d verse inclusive (Deu 2:10-12, Deu 2:20-23), we have certain historical remarks introduced which do not seem to have been made by Moses, but rather by Joshua or Ezra. By the introduction of these verses the thread of the narrative suffers considerable interruption. Dr. Kennicott considers both these passages to be interpolations. That they could not have made a part of the speech of Moses originally, needs little proof.

Deuteronomy 2:29

Verse 29

As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir - See the note on Num 20:21.

Deuteronomy 2:30-35

Verse 30

The Lord - hardened his spirit - See the notes on Exo 4:21, and Exo 9:15 (note), etc.

Deuteronomy 2:36

Verse 36

From Aroer - by the brink of the river of Arnon - See on Num 21:13 (note), etc.

Deuteronomy 2:37

Verse 37

Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not - God gave them their commission; and those only were to be cut off, the cup of whose iniquity was full. Though the Moabites and Ammonites were thus spared, they requited good with evil, for they fought against the Israelites, and cast them out of their possessions, Jdg 11:4, Jdg 11:5; 2Chr 20:1, etc., and committed the most shocking cruelties; see Amo 1:13. Hence God enacted a law, that none of these people should enter into the congregation of the Lord even to their tenth generation: see Deu 23:3-6.

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