Deuteronomy 2

Darby Translation (DARBY) · English

1 And we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as Jehovah had said unto me; and we went round mount Seir many days. 2 And Jehovah spoke to me, saying, 3 Ye have gone round this mountain long enough: turn you northward. 4 And command the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the border of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you; and ye shall be very guarded: 5 attack them not; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot-breadth; for I have given mount Seir as a possession unto Esau. 6 Ye shall buy of them food for money, that ye may eat; and water shall ye also buy of them for money, that ye may drink; 7 for Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee in all the work of thy hand. He hath known thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years hath Jehovah thy God been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing. 8 And we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, by the plain, by Elath, and by Ezion-geber, and we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And Jehovah said to me, Distress not the Moabites, neither engage with them in battle; for I will not give thee of their land a possession; for unto the children of Lot have I given Ar as a possession. 10 (The Emim dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall as the Anakim. 11 They also are reckoned as giants like the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 And in Seir dwelt the Horites in times past; and the children of Esau dispossessed them, and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did to the land of their possession, which Jehovah gave to them.) 13 Now rise up, and pass over the torrent Zered. And we passed over the torrent Zered. 14 Now the days in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we had come over the torrent Zered, were thirty-eight years; until the whole generation of the men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp, as Jehovah had sworn unto them. 15 Moreover the hand of Jehovah was against them to destroy them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed. 16 And it came to pass when all the men of war were consumed, having died off from among the people, 17 that Jehovah spoke to me, saying, 18 Thou art to pass this day over the border of Moab, [which is] Ar, 19 and come near over against the children of Ammon; thou shalt not distress them nor attack them; for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon a possession; for unto the children of Lot have I given it as a possession. 20 (That also is reckoned a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in time past, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim; 21 a people great, and many, and tall as the Anakim; and Jehovah destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them, and dwelt in their stead; 22 as he did to the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, from before whom he destroyed the Horites; and they dispossessed them, and dwelt in their stead, even to this day. 23 And the Avvites who dwelt in the hamlets as far as Gazah — the Caphtorim, who came out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.) 24 Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon. Behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon the king of Heshbon, the Amorite, and his land: begin, take possession, and engage with him in battle. 25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the peoples under the whole heaven; who will hear report of thee, and will tremble, and quake because of thee. 26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon the king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, 27 Let me pass through thy land: by the highway alone will I go; I will neither turn to the right hand nor to the left. 28 Thou shalt sell me food for money that I may eat; and thou shalt give me water for money that I may drink; I will only pass through on my feet, 29 — as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me, — until I shall pass over the Jordan into the land which Jehovah our God giveth us. 30 But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Jehovah thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obdurate, that he might give him into thy hand, as it is this day. 31 And Jehovah said to me, Behold, I begin to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin, take possession, that thou mayest possess his land. 32 And Sihon came out against us for battle, he and all his people, to Jahaz. 33 But Jehovah our God gave him up before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and his whole people. 34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed every city, men, and women, and little ones: we let none escape. 35 Only the cattle we took as booty for ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took. 36 From Aroer, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the ravine even to Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: Jehovah our God delivered all before us. 37 Only thou didst not approach the land of the children of Ammon, the whole border of the river Jabbok, nor the cities of the mountain, nor to whatsoever Jehovah our God had forbidden us.

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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