¹tn Heb “Reed Sea.” See note on the term “Red Sea” in Deut 1:40.
²tn Heb “Command.”
³tn Heb “brothers.”
⁴sn 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).
⁵sn Mount Seir is synonymous with Edom.
⁶tn Heb includes “with silver.”
⁷tn The Hebrew text does not have the first person pronoun; it has been supplied for purposes of English style (the Lord is speaking here).
⁸tn Heb “all the work of your hands.”
⁹tn Heb “he has.”
¹⁰tn Heb “known.”
¹¹tn Heb “the Lord your God has.”
¹²tn Or “brothers.”
¹³tn Heb “Arabah.”
¹⁴sn 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 further west along the northern coast. See G. Pratico, BASOR 259 (1985): 1-32.
¹⁵sn 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) SSW from Tell el-Kheleifah.
¹⁶sn 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.
¹⁷sn 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.
¹⁸sn 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).
¹⁹sn 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 Tell àAshtarah (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, HTR 67 (1974): 265-74.
²⁰sn 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).
²¹tn The Hebrew text omits the first person pronoun, which has been used in the translation to maintain consistency with v. 9.
²²sn Wadi Zered. Now known as Wadi el-H£esa, this valley marked the boundary between Moab to the north and Edom to the south.
²³tn Heb “we crossed the Wadi Zered.” This has been translated as “we did so” for stylistic reasons.
²⁴tn Heb “and it was when they were eliminated, all the men of war, to die from the midst of the people.”
²⁵sn Ar. See note on this word in Deut 2:9.
²⁶sn Lot’s descendants. See note on this phrase in Deut 2:9.
²⁷sn Rephaites. See note on this word in Deut 2:11.
²⁸sn Zamzummites. Just as the Moabites called Rephaites by the name Emites, the Ammonites called them Zamzummites (or Zazites; Gen 14:5).
²⁹tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Rephaites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
³⁰tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Ammonites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
³¹sn 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.
³²sn 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 (M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 2:37-38; J. B. Pritchard, ANET, 138; Gadd, CAH 1/2:428-30). They originated in Crete (OT “Caphtor”) and are identified as the ancestors of the Philistines (Gen 10:14; Jer 47:4).
³³sn Heshbon is the name of a prominent site (now Tell Hesba„n, about 7.5 mi [12 km] south SW 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.
³⁴tn Heb “under heaven.”
³⁵tn Heb “from before you.”
³⁶sn Kedemoth. This is probably àAleiya‚n, about 8 mi (13 km) north of the Arnon and between Dibon and Mattanah.
³⁷tn Heb “in the way in the way” (Er#D#B^ Er#D#B^). The repetition lays great stress on the idea of resolute determination to stick to the path. IBHS 116.
³⁸tn Heb “silver.”
³⁹tn Heb “and water for silver give to me so that I may drink.”
⁴⁰tc The translation follows the LXX in reading the first person pronoun. The Hebrew text has a second person masculine singular pronoun, “your.”
⁴¹tn Heb “hardened his spirit.”
⁴²tn Heb “made his heart obstinate.”
⁴³tn Heb “into your hand.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “people.”
⁴⁵sn Jahaz. This is probably Khirbet el-Medeiyineh. See J. Dearman, BASOR 276 (1984): 55-57.
⁴⁶tc The translation follows the Qere or marginal reading; the Kethib (consonantal text) has the singular, “his son.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “all his people.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “every city of men.” This apparently identifies the cities as inhabited.
⁴⁹sn 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. The verb employed is <r^j* (j*r^<, usually in the Hiphil) and the associated noun is <r#j@. See J. Naudé, NIDOTTE, 2:276-77, and, for a more thorough discussion, Susan Niditch, War in the Hebrew Bible, 28-77.
⁵⁰sn Aroer. Now known as àAraáir 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).
⁵¹tn 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. Christensen, Deuteronomy 1-11, 49.
⁵²sn 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).