¹tn Heb “These are the words.&rd
²tn Heb “to all Israel.”
³tn 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 /D}r+Yh^ rb#u@B= 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.
⁴tn The Hebrew term lom may also mean “in front of” or “near.”
⁵sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan.
⁶tn The Hebrew term /yB@ may suggest “in the area of.”
⁷sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).
⁸sn Tophel refers possibly to et£-T£afîleh, 15 mi (25 km) SE of the Dead Sea, or to Da‚bîlu, another name for Paran. See H. Cazelles, “Tophel (Deut. 1:1),” VT 9 (1959): 412-15.
⁹sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).
¹⁰sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to àAin Khadra. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199-200.
¹¹sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.
¹²sn An eleven-day journey was about 140 mi (233 km).
¹³sn Horeb is another name for Sinai. “Horeb” occurs 9 times in the Book of Deuteronomy and “Sinai” only once . “Sinai” occurs 13 times in the Book of Exodus and “Horeb” only 3 times.
¹⁴sn Kadesh Barnea. Possibly this refers to àAin Qudeis, about 50 mi (80 km) SW of Beer Sheba, but more likely to àAin Qudeirat, 5 mi (8 km) NW of àAin Qudeis. See R. Cohen, BAR 7/3 (1981): 2-33.
¹⁵sn Mount Seir is synonymous with Edom. “By way of Mount Seir” refers to the route from Horeb that ended up in Edom.
¹⁶tn 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.
¹⁷sn The eleventh month is Shebat in the Hebrew calendar, January/February in the modern (Gregorian) calendar.
¹⁸sn 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.
¹⁹tn Heb “according to all which.”
²⁰tn Heb “when he struck [or “smote”].”
²¹sn See Deut 2:26-3:22.
²²tn Heb “who lived.”
²³sn Heshbon is probably modern Tell Hesba„n, about 7.5 mi (12 km) south SW of Amman, Jordan.
²⁴tn Heb “who lived.”
²⁵sn Ashtaroth is probably Tell àAshtarah, about 22 mi (35 km) due east of the Sea of Galilee.
²⁶sn Edrei is probably modern Deràa, 60 mi (95 km) south of Damascus (see Num 21:33; Josh 12:4; 13:12, 31).
²⁷tn Heb “this instruction.” The Hebrew noun hr`ot is derived from the verb hry (“to teach”) and here it refers to the Book of Deuteronomy, not the Pentateuch as a whole.
²⁸tn Heb “lived”; “dwelled.”
²⁹tn Heb “turn.”
³⁰tn Heb “go (to).”
³¹tn Heb “its dwelling places.”
³²tn Heb “the Arabah.”
³³sn The Shephelah is the geographical region between the Mediterranean coastal plain and the Judean hill country. The Hebrew term can be translated “lowlands” or “steppes.”
³⁴sn The Hebrew term Negev means literally “desert” or “south.” It refers to the area south of Beer Sheba and generally west of the Arabah Valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.
³⁵tn Heb “I have placed before you the land.”
³⁶tn Heb “the Lord.” Since the Lord is speaking, it is preferable for clarity to use the first person pronoun.
³⁷tn Heb “swore.” This refers to God’s promise, made by solemn oath, to give the patriarchs the land.
³⁸tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 11, 21).
³⁹tn Heb “their seed after them.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “multiplied you.”
⁴¹tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term <y]m^v* (v*m^y]<) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
⁴²tn Heb “may he bless you.”
⁴³tn The Hebrew verb <yn]b)n+ (from /yb) is a Niphal referring to skill or intelligence (see T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:652-53).
⁴⁴tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”
⁴⁵tn Or “you.” A number of translations treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse.
⁴⁶tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.
⁴⁷tn The Hebrew word qd#x# (“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).
⁴⁸tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner.” The Hebrew word rg} commonly means “foreigner.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse.
⁵¹tn The Hebrew participle has an imminent future sense here.
⁵²tn Heb “the Lord your God.”
⁵³tn Heb “has placed before you the land.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “the thing was good in my eyes.”
⁵⁵tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”
⁵⁶tn Or “Wadi Eshcol.”
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.
⁵⁷The Hebrew text includes “in their hand,” which is unnecessary and somewhat redundant in English style.
⁵⁸tn 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.
⁵⁹tn Heb “in your tents,” that is, privately.
⁶⁰tn Heb “have caused our hearts to melt.”
⁶¹tn Heb “greater.” Many translations understand this to refer to physical size rather than numbers (cf. “stronger,” NAB, NIV, NRSV; “bigger,” NASB).
⁶²tn Or “as the sky.” The Hebrew term <y]m^v* (v*m^y]<) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
⁶³tn Heb “we have seen.”
⁶⁴sn 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).
⁶⁵tn Heb “do not tremble and do not be afraid.” Two synonymous commands are combined for emphasis.
⁶⁶tn The Hebrew participle indicates imminent future action here.
⁶⁷tn Heb “according to all which he did for you in Egypt before your eyes.”
⁶⁸tn Heb “the Lord your God.”
⁶⁹tn Heb “and swore,” i.e., made an oath or vow.
⁷⁰tn Heb “Not a man among these men.”
⁷¹tn Heb “fathers.”
⁷²sn 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).
⁷³tn Heb “the Lord.”
⁷⁴tn Heb “the one who stands before you.”
⁷⁵tn Heb “it”; the referent (the land) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁷⁶tn Heb “would be a prey.”
⁷⁷sn 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.
⁷⁸tn The Hebrew pronoun is plural, as are the following verbs, indicating that Moses and the people are addressed (note v. 41).
⁷⁹tn Heb “the Reed Sea.” “Reed” is a better translation of the Hebrew [Ws, usually rendered “red.” The name “Red Sea” is based on the LXX which referred to it as erythra thalassa, “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.
⁸⁰tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.” See note at 1:26.
⁸¹tn Heb “in that hill country,” repeating the end of v. 43.
⁸²tn Heb “came out to meet.”
⁸³sn 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 <rj, “to ban; to exterminate.” See Num 21:3.
⁸⁴tn Heb “the Lord.”
⁸⁵tn Heb “did not hear your voice and did not turn an ear to you.”
⁸⁶tn 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.