Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Deuteronomy 1:1-5
Deuteronomy 1 . Preamble, History and Failure.
The Preamble (Deuteronomy 1:1).
Deuteronomy 1-5 of the chapter set the scene for the whole book. They are carefully constructed so as to form a literary unit. Note the chiastic literary pattern which opens and closes the two sections. ‘These are the words - which Moses spoke to all Israel - in Beyond Jordan --- in Beyond Jordan - in the land of Moab began Moses to declare - this instruction.' (Deuteronomy 1:1 a, Deuteronomy 1:5). In between we are given the whereabouts of the place in which they were given, the dating of the event, what the event was (the declaration to the children of Israel of all Yahweh's commands), and the particular historical event that brought it about, the defeat of Og and Bashan and the seizing of their lands. It was this last which was to be their incentive for going forward. They had seen it happen, and partaken in it, and they were to recognise that what Yahweh had done once He could do again.
From this we may learn certain lessons. Firstly that God has everything dated. In His own time will come about His own will. Secondly that while we may sometimes find ourselves ‘in the wilderness', often a wilderness of our own deserving, as long as we keep going forward in faith we can be sure that the victories that He gives us there will lead us on into greater victories, so that we will be able to possess all that He has for us in the spiritual realm (see Ephesians 6:10). And thirdly that in order to obtain those blessings we must walk in the way of obedience to His will as revealed in His word, in His New Testament (Covenant).
We may analyse these verse as follows:
a ‘The words -- which Moses spoke -- in Beyond Jordan' (Deuteronomy 1:1 a).
b In the wilderness, in the Arabah over against Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab (Deuteronomy 1:1 b).
c It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea (Deuteronomy 1:2).
c In the eleventh month in the fortieth year, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, in accordance with all that Yahweh had given him in commandment to them (Deuteronomy 1:3).
b After he had smitten Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth, at Edrei (Deuteronomy 1:4).
a In Beyond Jordan -- began Moses to declare -- this instruction (Deuteronomy 1:5).
We note that in ‘a' we have a description which in the parallel is similar but in reverse order stressing that we have here the words of Moses given in Beyond Jordan. In ‘b' we have a geographical description of where they were safely encamped and in the parallel how they came to be safely encamped there, with geographical descriptions. In ‘c' the number ‘eleven' is mentioned and the same occurs in the parallel. They look back on their ‘eleven day' journey, and in the ‘eleventh' month they look forward to the future.
‘ These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel in Beyond Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah over against Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab. It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.'
Note the connection back to Numbers 36:13. This is a continuation of what he has written before. But these words are looking forward. The purpose of the book is said to be in order to present ‘the words of Moses' spoken to ‘all Israel' (compare Exodus 18:25; Numbers 16:34). The phrase ‘All Israel' is used fairly regularly in this book, and is used throughout the historical books. It simply indicates the nation as one whole including all who have been incorporated within the covenant. ‘All Israel' are at this stage one people. Its use here may reflect among other things the requirement that Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh maintain their loyalty to the one Israel. They must all be one together.
In the first twenty eight Chapter s (including Deuteronomy 29:1) ‘All Israel' occurs four times on the lips of Moses and three times in narrative, and is used where a stress is required on the fact that Israel as a whole is involved, and ‘children of Israel' occurs twice on the lips of Moses and six times in narrative when no such stress is required and the reference is to Israel in general, although it usually also indicates all Israel. In Chapter s Deuteronomy 29:2 to Deuteronomy 34:12 ‘All Israel' occurs once on the lips of Yahweh and five times in narrative, again where there is a stress on the whole of Israel, while ‘children of Israel' occurs once on the lips of Moses, three times on the lips of Yahweh, three times in the poem in Deuteronomy 32 and five times in narrative. Again it is more general in significance. Sometimes ‘all Israel' would have been unsuitable, but in other cases either expression could have been used. Both expressions are therefore clearly equally satisfactory to the writer, one stressing Israel (‘thou') as one whole, the other regularly referring to the whole of Israel (‘ye') but without quite the same stress on oneness. It was important to recognise that ‘all Israel' were involved in the covenant. There were to be no exceptions.
The place where this first speech was given is here carefully described in language reminiscent of someone who knew exactly where it was and was at pains to pinpoint it fairly accurately, and yet wishes to stress that all that they have gone through is behind them. It is intended to bring out the excitement of the situation. Here they were after all that has passed, on the very verge of the promised land. They were in ‘Beyond Jordan', eleven days journey from Sinai, with Paran, Kadesh-barnea and Hazeroth behind them, and the promised land before them. Now, whatever the past, they could begin again.
“Beyond Jordan”. This was a technical description of the land in the Arabah valley through which the Jordan flowed, together with its wider surrounds, (much as we might use Transjordan today, although it is not the same area as Transjordan, being on both sides of the Jordan). It merely signified being ‘in the region around the Jordan'. It could refer to land either side of the Jordan. It does not necessarily signify that the writer was west of Jordan looking east. He could have said to anyone who was with him, ‘we are in Beyond Jordan' (compare Joshua 9:1). See Numbers 32:19 which refers to ‘Beyond Jordan eastward', and compare ‘Beyond Jordan westward' in Joshua 5:1; Joshua 12:7. See also Joshua 9:1 where ‘this side of Jordan' is strictly ‘Beyond Jordan' so that the writer is there speaking of them as being in ‘Beyond Jordan').
The Arabah was the name for the Jordan rift valley in that area, coming down from the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee), through the Dead Sea valley, and into Seir (Edom). As the area in which the speech took place was not settled, and would not have a specific name recognisable to all, he designates it in terms of places more identifiable and with significance to Israel. Indeed the difficulty in describing precisely where it was comes out in the description. This is in itself an evidence of authenticity. They had entered the Wilderness of Paran from Hazaroth, and if Hazaroth here is to be identified with the Hazaroth in Numbers 11:35; Numbers 13:1 with Numbers 26; Numbers 33:17 it was the last staging post before the wilderness of Paran and Kadesh. So it is saying that all that was behind them. The same may be true of Laban if it is the same as Libnah (Numbers 33:19). Suph was the closest place to where they were, the nearest local identifiable site. It may have been near the River Arnon but any current identification is speculative. Tophel and Di-zahab are unknown, but were probably to the north. Thus they were between the past and the future. Others have sought to identify all the names with local sites, which is very tentative, but equally possible. Many duplications of names occurred as local peoples gave similar names to places in their localities.
The sites of the different places named cannot be definitely identified by us, as we would in fact expect in view of the nature of the area, although noble attempts have been made, often based on places with similar sounding names. Such identifications are notoriously difficult and always tentative until some more definite evidence is found. There are indeed even now few sites that we can identify with absolute certainty. It is a rare thing to find the name of a city written down on something at the site as at Gibeon. They would, however, have been identifiable to those who had recently traversed the area. They were thus identifiable at the time. The mention of such unknown places confirms that Deuteronomy is very ancient.
“It is eleven days” journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.' Horeb is the area around Sinai which included where Israel encamped. (There is no mention of a Mount Horeb in Deuteronomy - it is only in fact found in the Pentateuch in Exodus 33:6 where it could be any local mountain). The ‘way of Mount Seir' was clearly an identifiable ‘highway' which led through the wilderness, a rough wilderness track used by caravans and travellers. Kadesh-barnea was a large oasis (or group of oases) in the Negeb south of Canaan, which they visited twice in their wandering and stayed at for some time. ‘Eleven days' is a specific description which indicates exactness (unlike, say, ‘seven days' or ‘forty days' which could simply indicate a general period of time), and it is actually accurate. Whoever wrote this knew how long it took. He had travelled that way. It is an unusual enough number to demonstrate that it was not an invention. An inventor would have used a round number.
The indication of the length of journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea of eleven days, contrasts strongly with the fact that it was now the fortieth year and they were still not yet in the land. What then had caused the delay? The reason for it will shortly be brought out.
‘ And it came about in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, in accordance with all that Yahweh had given him in commandment to them, after he had smitten Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.'
The time of this first speech, going up to Deuteronomy 4:40, is precisely dated. Such dating was common in ancient records long before the time of Moses, and its form bears comparison with other ancient records, Egyptian and otherwise. It was seemingly thirty nine years and ten months after the original Passover (on the fourteenth day of the first month). The necessary ‘forty years' had passed (Numbers 14:33). His final purpose was to summarise all the historical events which had revealed Yahweh's overlordship, to call them to response, and then to outline all the commandments that Yahweh had given them, but this would necessarily involve abbreviation, and not covering all the detail. Thus is the One Who is making this covenant with them introduced. It is Yahweh Who speaks.
This took place after the defeat of Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites (Numbers 21:21). The defeat of those kings, which would eventually lead to the possessing of their land, brought home to Israel that the dream was now becoming a reality. They had achieved their first victories in the process of possessing the land, and their hearts were lifted high. Unlike their fathers they were going forth in belief and obedience.
Heshbon was the royal city of the Amorites in the area (Numbers 21:25). It has not yet been clearly identified. It became a levitical city (Joshua 21:39). It was restored by Reuben (Numbers 32:37), came into the possession of Gad, and then was later in the times of Isaiah and Jeremiah taken by Moab, before again being captured by Israel. Ashtaroth was a city probably connected with the worship of the goddess Asherah and dating back to the third millennium BC, and was the royal city of Og in Bashan. It was mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions, the Amarna letters and in Assyrian inscriptions. The city was again taken by Joshua (Joshua 12:4) but not retained (Joshua 13:12) although it later became a levitical city (Joshua 21:27), for the conquest was not a straightforward process. The original inhabitants did not just give up. They fled and came back, and had to be driven out again. For Edrei (probably modern Der‘ah) see Deuteronomy 3:1; Numbers 21:33; Joshua 12:4; Joshua 13:12; Joshua 13:21.
‘ In Beyond Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare (expound, make clear) this instruction (torah - law), saying,'
This verse basically recapitulates Deuteronomy 1:1 in reverse and stresses that his speeches took place in the region of Beyond Jordan, on the very verge of the promised land, ‘in the land of Moab', a general designation of the area. The ‘land of Moab' was not just the area occupied by Moab. Sihon had seized part of the land of Moab, and Moab still saw it as theirs centuries later (see Judges 11:13).