Deuteronomy 2

Then we turned around and set out into the desert, going toward the Red Sea, just as the LORD had told me. For a long time we traveled back and forth around the hill country of Seir.

1Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.

Note"Red Sea" translates Hebrew *yam suph*, literally "sea of reeds." The name covers more than one body of water; here, given the route described, it means the Gulf of Aqaba, the eastern arm of the Red Sea. Seir is the rugged highland region running south and east of the Dead Sea, the homeland of Edom.

2Then the LORD spoke to me. He said,

2And the LORD spake unto me, saying,

3"You have circled this hill country long enough. Now turn and go north.

3Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

4Give the people this command: 'You are about to pass through the land of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful.

4And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

NoteEsau was the twin brother of Jacob, who was also called Israel. Israelites traced themselves to Jacob and Edomites to Esau, so the two peoples were reckoned as brother nations, which is why the text calls them "relatives" rather than simply neighbors.

5Do not pick a fight with them. I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on, because I have given the hill country of Seir to Esau to own.

5Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

6You must pay them with silver for the food you eat, and pay them with silver for the water you drink.'"

6Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.

NoteThere were no coins in this period. Payment was made by weighing out silver, so "pay them with silver" means handing over metal measured by weight rather than counted-out money.

7The LORD your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched over your journey through this huge desert. For these forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked a thing.

7For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

8So we went on past our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the road through the Arabah valley, which comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber, and we traveled along the road that goes through the desert of Moab.

8And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

NoteThe Arabah is the deep rift valley that runs from the Dead Sea south to the Gulf of Aqaba. Elath and Ezion-geber were ports at the head of that gulf.

9Then the LORD said to me, "Do not trouble the Moabites or start a war with them. I will not give you any of their land to own, because I have given the city of Ar to the descendants of Lot to own."

9And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.

NoteLot was Abraham's nephew; the ancestry of both Moab and Ammon is traced back to him in Genesis, which makes them distant kin to Israel. Ar was a chief town, or possibly the district around it, in Moabite territory east of the Dead Sea.

10(The Emites used to live there. They were a strong people, and there were many of them, and they were as tall as the Anakites.

10The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;

NoteThe Anakites were remembered as a pre-Israelite people of unusual height, and are the standard yardstick in these texts for a formidably tall population. The name Emites means something like "terrors" or "frightful ones."

11Like the Anakites, they were counted as Rephaim, but the Moabites called them Emites.

11Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.

Note"Rephaim" is a term for a legendary population of giant stature said to have occupied the land before its later inhabitants. Older English Bibles simply translate it "giants." The verse notes that the same people were known by different names to different neighbors.

12The Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land the LORD gave them to own.)

12The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them.

NoteThe Horites were the earlier inhabitants of Seir, displaced by Edom. Verses 10-12 are an aside written from a later standpoint, looking back after Israel was already settled in its land.

13"Now get up and cross the Zered Valley stream." So we crossed the Zered.

13Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.

NoteThe Zered is a wadi, a valley whose stream runs only in the rainy season and is dry for much of the year. It marked the boundary between Edomite and Moabite territory.

14The time from when we left Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Zered was thirty-eight years. By then that whole generation of fighting men had died off from the camp, just as the LORD had sworn to them.

14And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.

NoteKadesh-barnea was the oasis in the wilderness south of Canaan where Israel had stayed for a long period, and from which scouts were sent into the land. "Sworn" refers back to the oath recorded in Numbers 14 that the adults of that generation would not enter Canaan.

15Indeed, the LORD's hand was against them, wiping them out from the camp until they were all gone.

15For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

Note"The LORD's hand" is an idiom for his power in action, not a description of a body part.

16So when all the fighting men among the people had died,

16So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,

17the LORD spoke to me. He said,

17That the LORD spake unto me, saying,

18"Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar.

18Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:

19When you come near the Ammonites, do not trouble them or pick a fight with them. I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites to own, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot to own."

19And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.

NoteThe Ammonites lived east of the Jordan, north of Moab; like the Moabites, they are traced back to Lot, Abraham's nephew.

20(That land was also counted as a land of the Rephaim. The Rephaim used to live there, but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.

20(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

NoteZamzummites is the Ammonite name for the same legendary giant-sized earlier population that the Moabites called Emites.

21They were a strong people, and there were many of them, and they were as tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them as the Ammonites advanced, so the Ammonites drove them out and settled in their place.

21A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

22He did the same for the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day.

22As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:

23And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorites, who came from Caphtor and settled in their place.)

23And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)

NoteThe Avvim were an earlier people of the coastal plain. Caphtor is usually identified with Crete or the Aegean region generally, and the Caphtorites are elsewhere linked with the Philistines. "Gaza" is the coastal city on the southern edge of that plain; the older English spelling is Azzah.

24"Get up, set out, and cross the Arnon Valley. Look, I have handed over to you Sihon the Amorite, the king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take it over, and go to war against him.

24Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

NoteThe Arnon is a deep gorge running west into the Dead Sea; it formed the northern boundary of Moab. "Amorite" is used broadly in these texts for the pre-Israelite population of the hill country and the lands east of the Jordan. Heshbon was Sihon's capital, north of the Arnon.

25Starting today I will make all the nations under the whole sky dread you and fear you. They will hear reports about you, and they will shake and be in pain because of you."

25This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

Note"All the nations under the whole sky" is a stock phrase for the surrounding world as far as news could travel, not a literal claim about every nation on earth.

26From the desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon with an offer of peace. They said,

26And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

NoteKedemoth was a district on the desert fringe east of the Arnon; the name means roughly "eastern places."

27"Let us pass through your land. We will stay on the main road and will not turn off it to the right or to the left.

27Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.

NoteThe "main road" is probably the north-south trade route through Transjordan later known as the King's Highway. Staying on it, turning neither right nor left, was a promise not to stray into fields, wells or villages along the way.

28Sell us food to eat and water to drink, and we will pay you in silver. Just let us pass through on foot,

28Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;

29the way the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us. Let us do this until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us."

29(As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us.

30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through his land. The LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart hard, so that he would hand him over to you, as has now happened.

30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

NoteIn Hebrew usage the "heart" is the seat of thought, decision and will rather than of feeling; a hard heart means a mind set and unwilling to be moved, not a cruel disposition.

31Then the LORD said to me, "Look, I have begun to hand Sihon and his land over to you. Now start taking it over, so that his land becomes yours."

31And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

32Then Sihon and all his army came out to fight us at Jahaz.

32Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

NoteJahaz was a town on the desert edge of Sihon's territory, north of the Arnon.

33The LORD our God handed him over to us, and we struck him down along with his sons and his whole army.

33And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

34At that time we captured all his cities. In every city we completely destroyed the men, the women, and the children. We left no one alive.

34And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

Note"Completely destroyed" translates a specific Hebrew term (*herem*) meaning to place something under a ban: to hand it over irrevocably, so that it may not be kept, sold or used. Applied to a captured town it meant killing the inhabitants rather than taking them as slaves or absorbing them. "Children" here renders a phrase meaning the dependants of a household, the young and those unable to fight.

35We kept only the livestock and the goods we took from the cities we captured.

35Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

36From Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley, and from the town in the valley, all the way to Gilead, no city had walls too strong for us. The LORD our God handed all of them over to us.

36From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:

NoteAroer stood on the rim of the Arnon gorge. Gilead is the hill country east of the Jordan, north of Sihon's kingdom. "Walls too strong" is literally "too high", the towns of the period were defended by raised walls, so height was the measure of a town's strength.

37But you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, or any place along the Jabbok River, or the cities in the hill country, or any other place the LORD our God had told us to stay away from.

37Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us.

NoteThe Jabbok is a river running west into the Jordan, roughly midway along its length; it marked the western boundary of Ammonite territory.