¹sn Hittites. The center of Hittite power was in Anatolia (central modern Turkey). In the Late Bronze Age (1550-1200 b.c.) they were at their zenith, establishing outposts and colonies near and far. Some elements were obviously in Canaan at the time of the Conquest (1400-1350 b.c.).
²sn Girgashites. These cannot be ethnically identified and are unknown outside the OT. They usually appear in such lists only when the intention is to have seven groups in all (see also the note on the word “seven” later in this verse).
³sn Amorites. Originally from the upper Euphrates region (Amurru), the Amorites appear to have migrated into Canaan beginning in 2200 b.c. or thereabouts.
⁴sn Canaanites. These were the indigenous peoples of the land, going back to the beginning of recorded history (ca. 3000 b.c.). The OT identifies them as descendants of Ham (Gen 10:6), the only Hamites to have settled north and east of Egypt.
⁵sn Perizzites. This is probably a subgroup of Canaanites (Gen 13:7; 34:30).
⁶sn Hivites. These are usually thought to be the same as the Hurrians, a people well-known in ancient Near Eastern texts. They are likely identical to the Horites (see note on the term “Horites” in Deut 2:12).
⁷sn Jebusites. These inhabited the hill country, particularly in and about Jerusalem (cf. Num 13:29; Josh 15:8; 2 Sam 5:6; 24:16).
⁸sn seven. This is an ideal number in the OT, one symbolizing fullness or completeness. Therefore, the intent of the text here is not to be precise and list all of Israel’s enemies but simply to state that Israel will have a full complement of foes to deal with. For other lists of Canaanites, some with fewer than seven peoples, see Exod 3:8; 13:5; 23:23, 28; 33:2; 34:11; Deut 20:17; Josh 3:10; 9:1; 24:11. Moreover, the “Table of Nations” (Gen 10:15-19) suggests that all of these (possibly excepting the Perizzites) were offspring of Canaan and therefore Canaanites.
⁹tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
¹⁰tn In the Hebrew text the infinitive absolute before the finite verb emphasizes the statement. The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.
¹¹sn Sacred pillars. The Hebrew word (tb)X@m^, m^X@b)t) denotes a standing pillar, usually made of stone. Its purpose was to mark the presence of a shrine or altar thought to have been visited by deity. Though sometimes associated with pure worship of the Lord (Gen 28:18, 22; 31:13; 35:14; Exod 24:4), these pillars were usually associated with pagan cults and rituals (Exod 23:24; 34:13; Deut 12:3; 1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 17:10; Hos 3:4; 10:1; Jer 43:13).
¹²sn Sacred Asherah poles. A leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon was Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles (Hebrew <yr!v@a& [a&v@r]<], as here). They were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
¹³tn That is, “set apart.”
¹⁴tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
¹⁵tn Or “treasured.” The Hebrew term hL*g%s= describes Israel as God’s choice people, those whom he elected and who are most precious to him (cf. Exod 19:4-6; Deut 14:2; 26:18; 1 Chr 29:3; Ps 135:4; Eccl 2:8 Mal 3:17). See E. Carpenter, NIDOTTE 3:224.
¹⁶tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on “He” in 7:6.
¹⁷tn For the verb “to love” (bha) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.
¹⁸tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).
¹⁹tn Heb “swore on oath.”
²⁰tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).
²¹sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root pdh) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the Lord as ransom in exchange for deliverance from bondage and death (Exod 12:1-14). Later, the firstborn sons of Israel, represented by the Levites, became the ransom (Num 3:11-13). These were all types of the redemption effected by the death of Christ who described his atoning work as “a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; cf. 1 Pet 1:18).
²²tn Heb “hand.”
²³tn Heb “the God.” The article here expresses uniqueness.
²⁴tn Heb “who keeps covenant and loyalty.” The syndetic construction of tyr!B= and ds#j\ should be understood not as “covenant” plus “loyalty” but as an adverbial construction in which ds#j# (“loyalty”) modifies the verb rmv (“keeps”).
²⁵tn For the term “hate” as synonymous with rejection or disobedience see note on the word “reject” in Deut 5:9.
²⁶tn Heb “he will not hesitate concerning.”
²⁷tn Heb “will keep with you the covenant and loyalty.” On the construction used here, see v. 9.
²⁸tn Heb “which he swore on oath.” The relative pronoun modifies “covenant,” so one could translate “will keep faithfully the covenant (or promise) he made on oath to your ancestors.”
²⁹tn Heb “will bless the fruit of your womb.”
³⁰sn One of the ironies about the promises to the patriarchs concerning offspring was the characteristic barrenness of the wives of the men to whom these pledges were made (cf. Gen 11:30; 25:21; 29:31). Their affliction is in each case described by the very Hebrew word used here (hr*q*u&, u&q*r`h), an affliction that will no longer prevail in Canaan.
³¹tn Heb “devour.” The verbal form (a perfect with vav consecutive) is understood here as having an imperatival or obligatory nuance (cf. the instructions and commands that follow). Another option is to take the statement as a continuation of the preceding conditional promises and translate “and you will destroy.”
³²tn Or “serve.”
³³tn Heb “recalling, you must recall.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute before the finite verb for emphasis.
³⁴tn Heb “testings,” a reference to the plagues. See note at 4:34.
³⁵tn Heb “the strong hand and outstretched arm.” See 4:34.
³⁶tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
³⁷tn The meaning of the term translated “hornets” (hu*r+x!) is debated. Various suggestions are “discouragement” (HALOT 817; cf. NEB “panic”) and “leprosy” (Ibn Ezra; J. Tigay, Deuteronomy, 360, n. 33; cf. NRSV “the pestilence”), as well as “hornet” (BDB 864; cf. NIV). The latter seems most suitable to the verb jlv (“send”; cf. Exod 23:28; Josh 24:12).
³⁸tn Heb “the remnant and those who hide themselves.”
³⁹tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 7:19.
⁴⁰tn Heb “he will confuse them (with) great confusion.” The verb used here means “shake, stir up” (see Ruth 1:19; 1 Sam 4:5; 1 Kgs 1:45; Ps 55:2); the accompanying cognate noun refers to confusion, unrest, havoc, or panic (1 Sam 5:9, 11; 14:20; 2 Chr 15:5; Prov 15:16; Isa 22:5; Ezek 7:7; 22:5; Amos 3:9; Zech 14:13).
⁴¹tn Heb “you will destroy their name from under heaven.”
⁴²tn The Hebrew word hb*u@oT (“abhorrent; detestable”) describes anything detestable to the Lord because of its innate evil or inconsistency with his own nature and character. Frequently such things (or even persons) must be condemned to annihilation (<r#j@) lest they become a means of polluting or contaminating others (cf. Deut 13:17; 20:17-18). See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:315.
⁴³sn The Hebrew word translated an object of divine wrath (<r#j@, j@r#<) refers to persons or things placed under God’s judgment, usually to the extent of their complete destruction. See note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.
⁴⁴tn Or “like it is.”
⁴⁵tn This Hebrew verb (Jqv) is essentially synonymous with the next verb (but; cf. hb*u@oT; see note on the word “abhorrent” in v. 25), though its field of meaning is more limited to cultic abomination (cf. Lev 11:11, 13; Ps 22:25).
⁴⁶tn Heb “detesting you must detest and abhorring you must abhor.” Both verbs are preceded by a cognate infinitive absolute indicating emphasis.