Deuteronomy 2:8-15

5. PASSING THROUGH MOAB (Deuteronomy 2:8-15)

And we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And Jehovah said unto me, Vex not Moab, neither contend with them in battle; for I will not give thee of this land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession. 10 (The Emim dwelt therein aforetime, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim: 11 these also are accounted Rephaim, as the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 The Horites also dwelt in Seir aforetime, bur the children of Esau succeeded them; and they destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which Jehovah gave unto them.) 13 Now rise up, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered. 14 And the days in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, were thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the midst of the camp, as Jehovah sware unto them, 15 Moreover the hand of Jehovah was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 2:8-15

39.

From whence came the Moabites? Cf. Genesis 19:30-38.

40.

There are three names for giants; what are they?

41.

What and where is Ar?

42.

Compare Numbers 13:33 with Deuteronomy 2:10 and state the significance.

43.

How did Moses know of this history of the Rephaim and Horites?

44.

Is there a time when the mercy of God ends and judgment begins? At what point?

AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 2:9-15

9 And the Lord said to me, Do not trouble or assault Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot for a possession.
10 (The Emim dwelt there in times past, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim;
11 These also are known as Rephaim [of giant stature], as are the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
12 The Horites also formely lived in Seir, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the Lord gave to them.)
13 Now rise up, and go over the brook Zered. So we went over the brook Zered.
14 And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we had come over the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until the whole generation of the men of war had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.
15 Moreover the hand of the Lord was against them, to exterminate them from the midst of the camp, until they were all gone.

COMMENT 2:8-15

Numbers 21:10-13 supplies us with a geographical link between this passage and the former. And the children of Israel journeyed, and encamped in Oboth (Deuteronomy 2:10). Oboth (meaning water skins) is located near the south end of the Dead Sea and east of Edom. After Oboth they encamped at Iye-abarim (Literally, ruins of Abarim) in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising (Deuteronomy 2:11). Numbers 33:44 simply refers to the latter station as in the border of Moab.

VEX NOT MOAB (Deuteronomy 2:9)Moab and Ammon were the incestuous sons of Lot, Abraham's nephew, (Genesis 11:27-28; Genesis 19:30-38). Thus as in Deuteronomy 2:8 the Edomites as our brethren the children of Esau (because Esau was Jacob's brother) were not to be molested, so here the children of Lot, whom God had given this land, were not to be attacked in battle.

BECAUSE I HAVE GIVEN AR UNTO THE CHILDREN OF LOT FOR A POSSESSION (Deuteronomy 2:9)In Deuteronomy 2:18 Ar is called the border of Moab, and is apparently the city of Moab, Numbers 22:36, where we have the additional statement, which is on the border of the Arnon which is in the utmost part of the [eastern] border. Ar of Moab (Numbers 21:28, Isaiah 15:1) was a leading city on the upper reaches of the Arnon river, It appears from both this context and the various happenings in the closing Chapter s of Numbers, that at this period the northern boundary of Moab extended along the northeast shore of the Dead Sea to the mouth of the Jordan (Numbers 33:49). They are still in the plains of Moab and the land of Moab as Deuteronomy closes (Deuteronomy 34:1; Deuteronomy 34:5-8).

THE EMIM DWELT THEREIN AFORETIME, A PEOPLE GREAT, AND MANY, AND TALL, AS THE ANAKIM: THESE ALSO ARE ACCOUNTED REPHAIM, AS THE ANAKIM: BUT THE MOABITES CALLED THEM EMIM, (Deuteronomy 2:10-11)The Rephaim, an ancient race of large stature, dwelt in quite an extensive area surrounding the Dead Sea. The Moabites called them Emim, but the Ammonites called them Zamzummim (Deuteronomy 2:20). We first encounter them in the siege of Chedorlaomer (Genesis 14:5), and God had pledged their land to Abraham's seed (Genesis 15:18-21). The word is rendered giant with reference to Goliath in 1 Chronicles 20:4. It appears that the Emm, the Anakim, and the Rephaim, were probably the same people, called by different names in the different countries where they dwelt; for they appear originally to have been a kind of wandering free-booters, who lived by plunder.Clarke

Such persons had originally struck terror into the heart of the spies and then the people (Numbers 13:33). But now Israel goes forth to conquer the same gigantic race!

THE HORITES ALSO DWELT IN SEIR AFORETIME, BUT THE CHILDREN OF ESAU SUCCEEDED THEM. AS ISRAEL DID UNTO THE LAND OF HIS POSSESSION, WHICH JEHOVAH GAVE UNTO THEM (Deuteronomy 2:12If Moses wrote these words on the plains of Moab as stated in Deuteronomy 1:1 (cf. Deuteronomy 34:1; see also Deuteronomy 31:9; Deuteronomy 31:24), there is no need to suppose this passage to be the work of some editor or redactor. But even if this, and other brief historical passages we will meet in this book, be the work of a later editor, the inspiration and veracity of Deuteronomy is not altered one iota. It was universally accepted by the Jews that Ezra was the writer of these historical notes, and he was just as inspired as Moses.[19]

[19] See the article on the authorship at the conclusion of this volume.

Israel had, indeed by that time dispossessed many of the native inhabitants east of the Jordan. And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all of the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the towns thereof. So they smote him [Sihon, king of the Amorites at Heshbon], and his sons and all his people, until there was none left him remaining: and they possessed his land (Numbers 21:25; Numbers 21:35).

AND WE WENT OVER THE BROOK ZERED (Deuteronomy 2:13)Later, the natural boundary between Edom and Moab, flowing northwesterly into the Dead Sea at its southern extremity.

AND THE DAYS IN WHICH WE CAME FROM KADESH-BARNEA, UNTIL WE WERE COME OVER THE BROOK ZERED, WERE THIRTY AND EIGHT YEARS; UNTIL ALL THE GENERATION OF THE MEN OF WAR WERE CONSUMED (Deuteronomy 2:14)That is, from their first visit at Kadesh, mentioned in Deuteronomy 1:19. See notes under Deuteronomy 1:46 and Deuteronomy 2:1. It had only been a matter of months from their second visit to that place, for their second arrival was in the first month of the fortieth year (Numbers 20:1). After that, Miriam died (mourned for thirty days?), the incident at Meribah takes place, and Israel is refused passage through Edom (Numbers 20:2-21). Then they journeyed from Kadesh (Numbers 20:22), stopping soon at Mount Hor, where Aaron died and was mourned for thirty days (Numbers 20:22-29). His death was on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year (Numbers 33:38). Then follows a victory over the Canaanite king Arad (Numbers 21:1-3), the discouraging trip around mount Seir just mentioned (which includes the Brazen Serpent incident) and finally their arrival at the Zered river. And by the time Moses begins this discourse just east of the Jordan, it is the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month (Deuteronomy 1:3). Thus though we do not know how long a time is covered by the many-' days of Deuteronomy 2:1, we do know that from Aaron's death and mourning period (40th year, 6thmonth) till their arrival at the Zered river was a period of six months.

MOREOVER, THE HAND OF JEHOVAH WAS AGAINST THEM (Deuteronomy 2:15)That is, his decree (that the numbered Israelites be destroyed) was to be fulfilled before Israel could enter their promised country. All the men of war were dead by the time they crossed the northeastern border of Moab (Deuteronomy 2:16-18).