Preface:

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Deuteronomy. This should be the most extensive examination of Deuteronomy 2 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 2:

Introduction

         vv.     1–9           God Tells Israel Not to Meddle with the Edomites

         vv.    10–12         Background Material on Edom

         vv.    13–15         Israel Moves Ahead

         vv.    16–19         God Tells Israel Not to Meddle with the Ammonites

         vv.    20–23         Background Material on the Caphtorim

         vv.    24–25         God Declares Sihon to be Fair Game

         vv.    26–29         Moses Tries to Make Peace with Sihon

         vv.    30–35         Sihon Resists/God Allows Moses to Defeat Sihon in Battle

         vv.    36–37         Summary of What Y^ehowah Did for the Jews

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         The 3 Illustrations

         Introduction         The Prequel of Deuteronomy 2

         Introduction         The Principals of Deuteronomy 2

         Introduction         The Places of Deuteronomy 2

         Introduction         Deuteronomy 2–3 Map

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Deuteronomy 2

         Introduction         Alternate Outlines for Deuteronomy 2

         v.       1              Dead Sea Relief Map

         v.       1              The Time Frame of the Wandering of the Children of Israel

         v.       3              Map of Edom

         v.       3              Deuteronomy 2:2–3 (graphic)

         v.       3              Map of the Route Around Edom

         v.       5              Edom and Mount Seir

         v.       5              Picture of Modern Edom

         v.       7              Deuteronomy 2:7 Graphic

         v.       7              Deuteronomy 2:7 Graphic #2

         v.       7              When Critics Ask, Concerning Israel’s Comfort in the Desert-wilderness

         v.       7              Deuteronomy 2:7 (graphic #3)

         v.       7              God Determines the Borders of Nations

         v.       8              Map of the Route of Israel

         v.       8              The Route of Moses

         v.      11              Emim, Rephaim and Anakim

         v.      12              Poole on the Perfect Tense of to give

         v.      12              What about this parenthetical stuff?

         v.      12              Geisler and Howe on the Reference to the Land of Promise

         v.      13              Pett on the Organization of Moses

         v.      14              Map of Israel’s Movement

         v.      14              Interpreting Deuteronomy 2:14

         v.      14              Problems with the Israelites Spending 38 Years at Mount Hor

         v.      15              Generation X and the Sin unto Death

         v.      19              Map of Moab and Ammon

         v.      22              The Horites/Hivites

         v.      23              The Avvim, the Caphtorim and the Philistines

         v.      24              Map of the Kingdom of Sihon

         v.      24              Deuteronomy 2:24 Graphic

         v.      25              A Theory About God Putting Fear into the Hearts of Men

         v.      25              God promised that the fear of Y^ehowah would fall upon their enemies

         v.      29              Is Moses Lying or Stretching the Truth in his Message to Sihon?

         v.      30              The Hardened Heart of Sihon

         v.      34              Deuteronomy 2:32–34 (a graphic)

         v.      34              The Abbreviated Doctrine of Devoting to God (Chêrem or the Ban)

         v.      34              Coffman’s 3 Degrees of the Ban

         v.      36              Map of Arnon

         v.      36              The Conquest of the Amorites, by James Tissot (graphic)

         v.      37              Jabbok River Photo

         v.      37              Deuteronomy 2:37 (a graphic)

         v.      37              Peter Pett’s Chiasmos of Deuteronomy 2:32–37

         Addendum          Why Deuteronomy 2 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from Deuteronomy 2

         Addendum          Examples from History

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes Deuteronomy 2

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Deuteronomy 2

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Deuteronomy 2

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Deuteronomy 2

——————————

An Introduction to Deuteronomy 2

I ntroduction: Deut. 2 is a continuation of Deut. 1. Moses began speaking to the people of Israel in Deut. 1 and will continue throughout most of the book of Deuteronomy. Moses will chronicle the exploits of the Israelites to the Israelites for several chapters. This tells us that (1) history is important and (2) the correct interpretation of history is important. Two generations of Jews left Egypt. Gen X are those who were 20 and older who were the adults, who made all of the adult decisions. These people were recalcitrant and they opposed God at nearly every turn. Their children, who make up a portion of the generation of promise, were 20 or younger at leaving Egypt. Gen X, because of their negative volition, were all killed in the desert in the 38 years after God gave Moses the Law. This is known as the sin unto death. Their children watched them die premature deaths in the desert; and now Moses speaks to these people (God is actually speaking to the people through Moses).

Moses is telling them what happened; he is explaining to them their history up to this point in time. In this recounting of their history, which Moses will do in the first 4 chapters of Deuteronomy, he will jump from the failure of Gen X at Kadesh-barnea (Deut. 1:21–46) to suddenly, 38 years later, tracking their movement east and then north around the Dead Sea (Deut. 2 and beyond). This is fascinating because this is all recent history. Much of what Moses will talk about has occurred in the past few months. Yet Moses will take the time to recall it and explain it in terms of God’s will.

The next generation, the generation of promise, needs to have a full understanding of all that has taken place and what it all means. That is what Moses is doing in Deut. 1–4. Moses both recalls the clear facts of history as well as the fact that it is the Lord their God who did all of this for the people of Israel. Those listening to Moses cannot deny these facts.

It is for this reason that I will take Bible passages, and then illustrate them with current events. In this way, you understand both what the Bible says and how it related to you today.

Application: The Bible and knowledge of same is a part of our own history. We cannot deny the fact of our history, nor can we deny that the Lord our God has blessed us beyond any other nation on earth and in the history of mankind. The reason is, we founded this country on the concept of divinely-given rights, which means both an acknowledgment of Deity, as well as a real attempt to place ourselves in line with God and His plan for His people on this earth.

Application: We can also see how Jesus Christ has involved Himself in both Japan and South Korea. Japan was our deadliest of enemies; and South Korea was ready to fall to communism. The United States military brought Bibles and the gospel into those countries, and Japan has become one of our enduring allies; and South Korea has become one of the greatest nations on this earth, spreading the gospel throughout the Asian world. As I have used as an illustration many times, what we did in Iraq and Afghanistan will have no lasting value, because we did not take the gospel of Jesus Christ into those countries. Therefore, whatever peace those countries enjoy, it will be transitory; and whatever relationship that we have developed with their governments, that relationship will become strained in a very short period of time; and that relationship will never recover, nor will it be anything like our relationship with Japan or South Korea. For this reason, Iraq and Afghanistan will remain the greatest failures of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. President Bush should have known this history, but he apparently did not. President Obama knows next to nothing about American history; so he is completely unable to salvage these relationships.

Deut. 2 is a continuation of Deut. 1, divided into separate chapters only perhaps, due to their length (also, Deut. 2 seamlessly picks up the narrative 38 years later). Moses covered the trip from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea rather quickly, and then focused in for most of Deut. 1 on the refusal of generation X to take the land given them by God. Deut. 2 will pick up here and follow the Israelites—principally the generation of promise, around as they travel east of the promised land. The primary purpose of what Moses says to the people is God's faithfulness, His integrity, His omnipotence and His veracity. The children of Israel are about to enter into the Land of Promise and spend seven years taking it from the Canaanites and the other indigenous peoples of whom their fathers were afraid. Since they had seemingly learned from the mistakes of generation X, Moses thought it wise to teach them academically of these characteristics of God through illustration.

This way you can understand the places which are named in this chapter.
The Places of Deuteronomy 31
Places	Description

Deuteronomy 2–3 Map; from Generation Word; accessed June 19, 2016. In these two chapters, Moses will discuss that which God has already given to the sons of Israel by way of combat. He will also discuss that peoples that the people of Israel of encountered on their move into the Land of Promise.

A question which ought to be asked is, why are the Jews heading up north on the east side of the Dead Sea? Why don’t they just invade Canaan from the south again? There are at least two reasons. The Amorites and Canaanites know where they are, more than likely, and have had eyes on them from time to time. Because of the first failed attack, it is known that there are 2 million Jews camped out in the desert-wilderness. Secondly, is God’s reason for a different approach. What God will do through Moses is present a series of object lessons, both discussing Israel’s past history and the history of these various peoples that the Jew encounter. The children of Abraham are to learn that, because of the sovereignty of God, some people control the land that they live on and others have been thrown off their land and destroyed. The Jews need to learn to trust their God and His promises.

Application: There are liberal forces out there in the world promoting a non-religious world, non-religious government; a governing body which repudiates religion (they would say myth) and embraces science. All we need to do is look through the dustbin of history—there are atheist governments in recent human history and we know how they have operated. Early Red China and the early U.S.S.R. both touted governments that were based in rationalism, which rejected the tenets and practice of religion. As a result, both governments destroyed millions of their own people, because their own people had backward religious beliefs. So, if you think the key to good government is a non-Christian, pro-science government, we already have examples of where such governments become ruthless and corrupt beyond anything we have ever witnessed in the United States.

Application: I find this fascinating, that these so-called pro-science, ultra-rational types do not recognize that their great experiments have already been tried.

The Expositor’s Bible: It was natural and it was inevitable, therefore, that the author of Deuteronomy, standing, as he did, on the threshold of a great crisis in the history of Israel, should turn the thoughts of his people back to the history of the past. To him the great figure in the history of Israel in those trying and eventful years during which they wandered between Horeb, Kadesh-Barnea, and the country of the Arnon, is Yahweh their God. He is behind all their movements, impelling and inciting them to go on and enjoy the good land He had promised to their fathers. He went before them and fought for them. He bare them in the wilderness, as a man doth bear his son. He watched over them and guided their footsteps in cloud and fire by day and night. Moreover all the nations by whom they passed had been led by Him and assigned their places, and only those nations whom Yahweh chose had been given into Israel's hand. In the internal affairs of the community, too, He had asserted Himself. They were Yahweh's people, and all their national action was to be according to His righteous character. Especially was the administration of justice to be pure and impartial, yielding to neither fear nor favor because the "judgment is God's." And how had they responded to all this loving favor on the part of God? At the first hint of serious conflict they shrank back in fear. Notwithstanding that the land which God had given them was a good and fruitful country, and notwithstanding the promises of Divine help, they refused to incur the necessary toils and risks of the conquest. Every difficulty they might encounter was exaggerated by them; their very deliverance from Egypt, which they had been wont to consider "their crowning mercy," became to their faithless cowardice an evidence of hatred for them on the part of God.

L. M. Grant: From Kadesh Barnea Israel had to virtually retrace their steps, going back toward the Red Sea. Believers today find similar experiences because of lack of faith. Instead of progressing in the path of obedience to God, we must go back to learn afresh what the Red Sea deliverance means, for this speaks of the judgment of sin in the flesh by means of the cross of Christ, and if we do not learn it properly as we begin our wilderness history, we shall have to backtrack in order to more rightly understand it.

A point ought to be made that Moses is not going back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and teaching about them and their lives, and what God did in their lives. Moses is going back and telling the Jews what just happened to them over the past few months. They just lived this, and yet it is Moses who is telling them what it is that they just experienced.

For this reason, I believe that it is apt to take principles of the Bible and set them up along side current events and next to various political figures with whom we are all familiar in order to illustrate a point. Essentially, you are being taught, here’s what the Bible says; and here are some recent events in the progress of American history and government; do you see the parallel? In essence, I am not doing anything different from what Moses is doing. My intent is not to sway huge swaths of people to vote conservative, as the number of people who study these books and doctrines are few. Although much of what I have written has been at least opened by a few people; there are still whole chapters of some books which have never been opened by anyone.

Personally, I take the long view. I love the country that I live in; I love that God allowed me to be born in the United States of America; and I am saddened by the recent events of history (our debt, our lurch toward socialism, societal norms which are in opposition to Bible doctrine); but these are decisions which a society makes as a whole. My place in all of this is to provide the most accurate examination of a few books of the Bible as is possible, given my own academic and life background. That is what God has given me the privilege to do. But what our country chooses to do, going forward, is something else entirely. I do not have the illusion that, through, say, my criticism of the Democratic party, that will somehow have the magic effect of electing a Republican president. That is a silly notion. Furthermore, it is a silly notion to think that we would elect another president as good as Calvin Coolidge or Ronald Reagan—that probably won’t happen in my lifetime.

Application: The problem in our society is both with men and women. Men are not men as they ought to be in today’s society. Men are not taking charge as they ought to, particularly as husbands and fathers. This is key to our future as a nation. Every man is a leader; every man is a general—even if his company consists of one wife and one or two kids. God puts that man in charge of that unit, and he is responsible for what goes on in his home. The other problem is women, who are in rebellion in this country against men and against their own husbands and against the fathers of their children. These are separate but related problems. Too many woman have sex outside of marriage, they have children outside of marriage, and then they make the choice to marry the government instead of the man who impregnated them. Men cannot be dogs unless women allow them to be dogs. Single-mother households will be the death of our society and our country. This is not what God has designed. Male and female children brought up with only a mother have no idea as to what it means to be a man or what it means to marry a man (as opposed to marrying a male). They have never seen a real man close up, day in and day out, in order for a real man to make an impression on their lives.

Application: Like every other child born to a family with a husband in charge, almost everything I learned about being a man, I learned directly from my father. He worked long hours and I observed him many times exhausted and laid out on the couch; but he spent enough time as an example to me, so that, all of my own faults as a male of the species I can completely and fully blame on myself as well as the bad choices I have made in life. What I have learned that is good about my role in society, I learned from my father (as well as from Bible doctrine).

My point is, the applications which I make that are political are not made in hopes to sway some liberal Christian out there; but to illustrate where our society is, and to show the relevance to the teaching of the Bible to what is going on today. Our society is not going to be fixed by convincing every person who reads these words to vote Republican; our society will be fixed by men stepping up and doing what they are supposed to do (get married and raise a family and to lead that family spiritually and morally and ethically). That will keep our society from going over the cliff we seem to be racing towards.

I have added Kretzmann’s Commentary to the literal translations, inasmuch as it is very much like the Emphasized Bible or the Voice, where there is additional text added in order to make the meaning more clear. In this way, it appears to be almost the blending of a translation with a short commentary.

I have also begun to include many more graphics, and I do this for two reasons: (1) to break up the monotony of too much text and (2) as a memory aid. Sometimes it is easier to remember a passage if you associate a graphic or a photograph with it.

A brief note about the lack of quotations marks. Moses is speaking here. He is addressing the children of Israel (specifically, the generation of promise). I will provide quotation marks in Deut. 1 and in any chapter where it says, And Moses said... However, even though Moses is speaking here, I will not have quotations within his quotations throughout. We will just take it for granted that these are the words of Moses to his people throughout.

——————————

God Tells Israel Not to Meddle with the Edomites

Num. 20:14–22 21:4, 11–15

The verse which precedes this one is: After that, you all just lived in Kadesh for awhile. This is after the Israelites failed to take the land as instructed by God.

Between the second-to-the-last verse in Deut. 1 and this verse, there are the thirty-eight silent years, simply covered in Deut. 1:46: "So you remained in Kadesh many days, the days that you remained." Most of generation X has died the sin unto death. It would seem logical that the generation of promise of Israel would move due north and take the land. When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev [i.e., the southern region] heard that Israel was coming by way of Atharim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. So Israel made a vow to Y^ehowah and said, "If You will completely deliver this people into my hand, then I will completely destroy their cities." And Y^ehowah heard the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; then they completely destroyed them and their cities. Thus the name of the place was called Chormah [meaning devoted; i.e., devoted to destruction] (Num. 21:1–3). After defeating a Canaanite tribe, it would seem even more logical for the children of Israel to march immediately into the land and to take it. However, God did not take them that direction for three reasons: (1) there were still some Israelites from generation X who needed to be removed (see Num. 21:6 25:9); and, (2) God needed to present the generation of promise with some object lessons. Moses will explain these object lessons in this chapter. (3) The Canaanites directly north of the Israelites probably had their eyes on them to see if they would try to make another attack from the south. Therefore, instead of moving due north into the Land of Promise, Israel moved carefully and non-aggressively into the land of Edom.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text. I will not make too many references to the Dead Sea Scrolls, because they are not generally helpful when trying to clear up ancient translations which disagree. Not enough of the Bible survived in the Dead Sea Scrolls to allow us to check each and every verse.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. Taken from http://targum.info/targumic-texts/pentateuchal-targumim/ and first published in 1862.

There is a minor problem with identifying the targum texts which occurs about halfway through the exegesis of this chapter.

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        And turning we journeyed into the wilderness, by the way of the Sea of Suph, as the Lord had bidden me, and we compassed Mount Gebal many days.

Latin Vulgate                          And departing from thence we came into the wilderness that leads to the Red Sea, as the Lord had spoken to me: and we compassed mount Seir a long time.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so we turn [away] and so we pull up stakes [to leave] toward the desert-wilderness, a way of a Sea of Çuph, as which spoke Y^ehowah unto me. And so we go around a Mount of Seir days many.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    THEN we turned, and journeyed into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, as the LORD spoke to me; and we circled mount Seir for many days.

Septuagint (Greek)                And we turned and departed into the wilderness, by the way of the Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and we compassed Mount Seir many days.

Significant differences:           The translation the Red Sea ought to be sea of reeds.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Journeys in Transjordan

Next, we turned around and headed back toward the wilderness along the Reed Sea [Or Red Sea] road, exactly as the Lord instructed me. We traveled all around Mount Seir for a long time.

Contemporary English V.       We spent many years wandering around outside the hill country of Seir,...

Easy English                          40 years in the *desert

Then we turned back. We began to walk towards the *desert. We went along the road to the Red Sea, as the *Lord had said. For many days, we walked round the hills in Seir.

Easy-to-Read Version            “Then we did what the Lord told me to do. We went back into the desert on the road that leads to the Red Sea. We traveled for many days to go around the Seir [Another name for Edom.] mountains.

Good News Bible (TEV)         "So then, after we had stayed at Kadesh for a long time, we finally turned and went into the desert, on the road to the Gulf of Aqaba, as the LORD had commanded, and we spent a long time wandering about in the hill country of Edom.

The Message                         Then we turned around and went back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea, as GOD had instructed me. We worked our way in and around the hills of Seir for a long, long time.

New Berkeley Version           “We then turned and moved into the desert along the road to the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me; and for many days we circled around the hill country of Seir. The New Berkeley Bible dates the beginning of this chapter as Late 1407 b.c.

New Century Version             Israel Wanders in the Desert

Then we turned around, and we traveled on the desert road toward the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me to do. We traveled through the mountains of Edom for many days.

New Living Translation           Remembering Israel's Wanderings

"Then we turned around and headed back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea [Hebrew sea of reeds], just as the Lord had instructed me, and we wandered around in the region of Mount Seir for a long time.

The Voice                               Moses: Finally we did as the Eternal had commanded me, and we headed back into the wilderness toward the Red Sea [Literally, Sea of Reeds]. For a long time, we wandered around Mount Seir, until at last I got new instructions from the Eternal:... V. 2 is included for context.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          'Then we turned left and [traveled] through the desert, following the Red Sea, just as Jehovah told me, and we circled Mount Seir for many days.

Beck’s American Translation Don’t Fight Esau, Moab, Ammon

“We turned back and moved into the desert in the direction of the Red Sea as the LORD had told me, and for a long time we went around the mountains of Seir.

Christian Community Bible     Through the desert

We, therefore, turned back and set out towards the desert by the way leading to the Red Sea, as Yahweh had commanded me, and we walked around the mountains of Seir for a long time.

God’s Word™                         We went back into the desert, following the road that goes to the Red Sea as the LORD had told me. For a long time we traveled around the region of Mount Seir.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       So we went back towards the Red Sea, back into the desert, as the Lord had bidden me, and for a long time the centre of our wanderings was the hill country of Seir.

New American Bible (R.E.)    Northward Along Edom.

Then we turned and proceeded into the wilderness on the Red Sea road [Dt 1:40; Nm 14:25.], as the LORD had told me, and circled around the highlands of Seir for a long time. [Deut. 2:1-8] Nm 20:14-21; Jgs 11:15-17.

NIRV                                      Israel Wanders in the Desert

We turned back and started out toward the desert. We went along the road that leads to the Red Sea. That's how the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.

New Jerusalem Bible             'We then turned round and made for the desert, in the direction of the Sea of Suph, as Yahweh had ordered me. For many days we skirted Mount Seir.

New Simplified Bible              »We went back into the desert. We followed the road that leads to the Red Sea as Jehovah told me. For a long time we traveled around the region of Mount Seir.

Revised English Bible            When we turned and set out for the wilderness, making towards the Red Sea as the Lord had instructed us, we spent many days marching round the hill-country of Seir.

Today’s NIV                          Wanderings in the Wilderness

Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea, as the LORD had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      We faced the wilderness and journeyed by way of the Sea of Reeds, as Yahweh spoke to me. We surrounded the Seir mountains many days.

Bible in Basic English             Then we went back, journeying into the waste land by the way to the Red Sea, as the Lord had said to me: and we were a long time going round Mount Seir.

The Expanded Bible              Israel Wanders in the Desert

Then we turned ·around [^Lface], and we traveled on the ·desert [wilderness] road toward the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [Ex. 10:19], as the Lord had told me to do. We traveled through the mountains of ·Edom [^LSeir; 1:44] for many days.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 So you returned, and wept before the Ever-living. But the Ever-living would not hear your voice, nor listened. Consequently you were detained at Kadesh for many days. You remained there a long time; until you turned back and marched to the desert towards the Sea of Suf, as the Ever-living commanded me, and wandered about the hills of Sair a long time. A portion of Deut. 1:45 and all of v. 46 are included for context.

HCSB                                     "Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the LORD had told me, and we traveled around the hill country of Seir for many days.

NET Bible®                             The Journey from Kadesh Barnea to Moab

Then we turned and set out toward the desert land on the way to the Red Sea [Heb “the Reed Sea.” “Reed” is a better translation of the Hebrew סוּף (suf), traditionally rendered “red.” The name “Red Sea” is based on the LXX which referred to it as ἐρυθρς θαλάσσης (eruqra" qalassh", “red sea”). Nevertheless, because the body of water in question is known in modern times as the Red Sea, this term was used in the translation. The part of the Red Sea in view here is not the one crossed in the exodus but its eastern arm, now known as the Gulf of Eilat or Gulf of Aqaba.] just as the Lord told me to do, detouring around Mount Seir for a long time. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

New Heart English Bible        Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Sea of Suf, as the LORD spoke to me; and we encircled Mount Seir many days.

NIV, ©2011                             Wanderings in the Wilderness

Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea [Or the Sea of Reeds. S Ex 14:27; S Nu 21:4], as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir [S Nu 24:18].

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           "Then we turned and began traveling into the desert along the road to the Sea of Suf, as ADONAI had said to me; and we skirted Mount Se'ir for a long time.

exeGeses companion Bible   RESUME' OF THE WANDERINGS OF THE SONS OF YISRA EL

And we turned our face

and pulled stakes into the wilderness

by the way of the Reed sea,

as Yah Veh worded to me:

and we surrounded mount Seir many days.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Thus, after you had remained at Kadesh all that long time [Lit., “many days, like the days that you remained.”], we marched back into the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Reeds, as the Lord had spoken to me, and skirted the hill country of Seir a long time. Deut. 1:46 is included for context; the Tanakh includes it as a part of Deut. 2.

Judaica Press Complete T.    Then we turned and journeyed into the desert by way of the Red Sea, as the Lord had spoken to me, and we circled Mount Seir for many days.

Kaplan Translation                 Introduction

We then turned around and headed into the desert toward the Southern Sea [See Deuteronomy 1:40.] as God had told me. We traveled around in the Seir highlands [See Genesis 14:6, 36:8.] for a long time. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Exodus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Yam Suf, as Hashem spoke unto me; and we circled Mt Seir yamim rabbim (many days).

The Scriptures 1998              “Then we turned and set out into the wilderness, the way of the Sea of Reeds, as יהוה spoke to me, and we went round Mount Sĕʽir, many days.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    Then we turned around and journeyed to the wilderness by the Sea of Weeds road, just as Yahweh had spoken to me; and we were around the hill-country of Seir many days.

Context Group Version          Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as YHWH spoke to me; and we encompassed mount Seir many days.

Darby Translation                  And we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as Jehovah had said unto me; and we went round mount Seir many days.

Emphasized Bible                  Then turned we, and set forward towards the desert by way of the Red Sea, as Yahweh, spake unto me; and we encompassed Mount Seir many days.

English Standard Version      "Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the LORD told me [ch. 1:40; Num. 14:25]. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir.

The Geneva Bible                  Then we turned [They obeyed, after God had chastised them.], 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 [Eight and thirty years, as in (Deut. 2:14).].

Green’s Literal Translation    And we turned and pulled up stakes into the wilderness, the way of the Sea of Reeds, as Jehovah had spoken to me; and we went around the mountain of Seir many days.

NASB                                     Wanderings in the Wilderness

"Then [Num 21:4] we turned and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea [Lit Sea of Reeds], as the Lord spoke to me, and circled Mount Seir [Deut 1:2] for many days.

New King James Version       The Desert Years

"Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and we skirted Mount Seir for many days.

New RSV                               After you had stayed at Kadesh as many days as you did, we journeyed back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea [Or Sea of Reeds], as the Lord had told me, and skirted Mount Seir for many days. Deut. 1:46 is included for context.

World English Bible                Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as Yahweh spoke to me; and we compassed Mount Seir many days.

Young’s Updated LT             “And we turn, and journey into the wilderness, the way of the Red Sea, as Jehovah has spoken unto me, and we go round the mount of Seir many days.

The gist of this verse:          The children of Israel were in the desert-wilderness, and they turned around and went around Mount Seir for many years.

Even though many Bibles with headings list this as Wanderings in the Wilderness or The Desert Years, we go directly from Israel’s failure and defeat at Kadesh-barnea (which occurred in the first 2 years of their leaving Egypt) to the final year that Israel was in the desert-wilderness. What happened in between is not spoken of in this chapter and very little of what occurred in between is found anywhere else (with the exception of a chapter or so in the book of Numbers). In other words, whatever wandering the Israelites did or did not do, is not recorded in the books of Moses.

God kills off Gen X with the sin unto death; but the Bible does not focus on those events. If anything, it gives that generation some privacy as God removes them from Israel.

Now, even though Gen X is removed from Israel they are believers; and they are also illustrative. Many events in the Old Testament are designed to illustrate and to teach. God will, at some point in time, have to separate the righteous from the unrighteous. Now, this is not the same as separating all of the nice people from the not-so- nice people. The unrighteous are those who have not believed in Jesus. This is something they could choose to do, but have chosen not to. The righteous are not really, really wonderful people—they are people who have been made righteous by having faith in Jesus. Our righteousness is imputed to us. Those who have been made righteous by God are not necessarily people that you would look at and say, “Now, that is a righteous person.” Christians can be some of the worst people ever; but they are made righteous because of Jesus Christ; not because of anything that they have done. This destruction of Gen X is illustrative of when God will separate the sheep from the goats; the righteous from the unrighteous.

So that there is no misunderstanding, there is ample evidence that all of Gen X was saved; however, this was a generation of loser-believers.

Translation: We turned [the other way] and we pulled up stakes [to leave, going] toward the desert-wilderness,... Moses here continues to speak to the children of Israel. This is simply a continuation of Deut. 1. There were no chapter breaks in the original Bible. I have left off the quotation marks, but it would be proper to begin this and every paragraph with quotation marks, and to end the final verse in this chapter with ending quotation marks.

The Living Water Commentary: [This] verse is one of the saddest in the Bible. It reads: "Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea." Think of it! For two years and a half the great multitudes of Israel had been journeying toward the promised land; then when they arrived, because of their fear, their unbelief, and their rebellion, God turned them back. These were wasted years so far as any real progress toward Canaan was concerned.

Application: When you are not filled with the Holy Spirit, you are wasting your time here on earth. You might as well take a nap, because, spiritually, that is what you are doing. Furthermore, if you do not grow by means of Bible doctrine in the soul, then are developing no spiritual skills which produce divine good. If you have been a Christian for 5 or 10 years, and you have ignored the Biblical mandate to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, then you are like the assistant to an apprentice of an electrician on a complex electrical job—your contribution is very nearly nothing. In fact, God can use someone like you simply to suffer for Him, as you are not good for doing much else. Or, worst case scenario, you die the sin unto death.

This describes the sons of Abraham and their spiritual state at this time. They have learned nothing under the ministry of Moses; they have seen a plethora of miracles, and yet that has done them no good; and every time God says jump, they sit down and argue with Moses about it.

What we have is Moses describing a narrative of a set of past events. However, he does not use the perfect tense to indicate events which have occurred in the past, Moses writes as though these events are unfolding as he goes along. In this way, the wâw consecutives along with the imperfect verbs describe for us a series of events which are consecutive or, at the very least, coterminous. Interestingly enough, I cannot pull out a quick translation to show you, apart from the ones I have done, which these verbs are in the proper tense. And so you return and so your weep to faces of Y^ehowah and did not listen in your voice Y^ehowah and He did not give ear to you [all]. And so you [all] remain in Kadesh days many as the days which you [all] remained. And so we turn [away] and so we pull up stakes [to leave] toward the desert-wilderness,... The and so’s string together verbs which are probably in order of their action.

So, after the failure of the people in what would become southern Judah, and people regrouped and remained in Kadesh-barnea for a long time. However, at some point, they were to go south, back into the desert-wilderness; and that is what is happening in v. 1.

Regarding the imperfect tenses throughout Moses recollection of these events: usually, the imperfect tense is used for a future event, a continuous event, or a series of chronological events. However, sometimes when a person speaks about the past, they use the present tense. You might tell a story to your friends or co-workers; and you speaking of this story all with present tense verbs, as if these events from the past are unfolding as you tell them. This simply puts the listener more into the event. That is what Moses appears to be doing, as well as giving us a chronological order of these events.

Since the Jews did not go up and take the land, God told them to go back into the desert-wilderness.

Translation: ...[by] way of the Sea of Çuph,... The identification of the Sea of Çuph with the Arabian Gulf is probably correct, but we do not know that for certain. This does not mean that they went down to that sea, but that they went along a road which ends at that destination.

The Sea of Reeds is possibly not the same Sea of Reeds spoken of in the book of Exodus. It apparently referred to any large body of water wherein were reeds. Here, we are either directly south of the Salt Sea and north of the Gulf of Aqaba. The mount or the hill country of Seir is an area south of the Dead Sea. This would indicate a route which is south of the border of Edom.

Dead Sea Relief Map; taken from Bible.org, accessed July 14, 2013. This map is not set on a the typical, north is up; in this case, north is in the upper left-hand corner of the picture. You can see that, even after the Dead Sea ends, there is some lowland which is to the south of it, which lowland leads out to the Gulf of Aqaba. For this reason, there probably was, at one time, a river which flowed out of the Dead Sea.

At some point in time, there seems to have been a flow of water from the Dead Sea down into the Gulf of Aqaba. We do not know when that was or if it predates Moses in this time period. However, this road which is referred to could go along this valley, and this valley might be a sea of reeds which is drying up. However, there is no time when Moses clearly tells us this about the valley. It is pure conjecture based upon the geography of this area. It is possible that the explosions which occurred when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed also cut off the water way between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.

Why hydro-electric power has never been accessed here, I do not know. Possibly the political instability of the general area is why. Or perhaps because this is salt water? Or perhaps there is not a great enough drop off?

Translation: ...just as Y^ehowah had said to me. God told Moses that he could not stay with the people right there just south of what would become Judah. They had to move from there back into the desert-wilderness; which command was not well-received by these Jews (this is why they went back to fight against the Amorites and Canaanites of the land).

This is a good example, by the way, as to why human effort and sincerity do not mean anything in the plan of God. God told the Jews to attack the people of the Land of Promise, but they did not. When God told them, “Alright, you win, don’t fight them. However, now you need to head south back into the desert-wilderness.” Well, they balked and decided to try their hand at war. What that means is, these people are sincerely showing God their meddle; they were trying to earn God’s favor, and that just does not work. So, not only did they lose when they tried to fight the Amorites and Canaanites, but these enemies chased them out like bees, and afterward, God killed Gen X by means of the sin unto death. There was no gaining God’s favor through human merit or human effort.

Translation: Then we went [for] many days around Mount Seir. We have the words many days used twice; here and in Deut. 1:46. I would guess that they moved from where they were in a south/south-easterly direction, which took them around the southern portion of Mount Seir, going toward Arabian Gulf.

Here, many days means an inordinate amount of time; in terms of encampment, that was a period of thirty-eight years, which would have included the time spent in Kadesh-barnea and south of Kadesh. In terms of marching in this place, this may have been just a week or two. This was the land of Edom, given by God to Esau—and the Jews were therefore not allowed to take it from them.

There remains still a remnant of generation X, and you would think that they would have learned by now. Over the past thirty-eight years, they have seen the better part of two million people die the sin unto death. You would think that would have made an impression. It obviously did not. They think that they should go due north into the Land of Promise and they complain when God does not lead them that way. Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Sea of Reeds to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. And the people spoke against God and Moses. "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loath this miserable food." And Y^ehowah sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died (Num. 21:4–5). Moses does not mention this because it is not a part of what he is teaching this new generation prior to the entrance into the Land of Promise. I mention this so that you can be integrated into the historical context that we have just covered in the book of Numbers. This is one example of where some of the men of Gen X died the sin unto death. There were many other things which occurred during those 38 years which are not recorded.

Because there are no chapter breaks in each book of the Old Testament (or verse divisions), so what has been said before continues to what Moses is saying right now. Therefore, combining the final few verses of Deut. 1 with this first verse of Deut. 2, we have: Then Jehovah said to me, ‘Tell them this: do not go up and fight against your enemies in the hill country. I am warning you not to do this and I say this to you, so that you will not be defeated before your enemies.’ I warned all of you but you would not listen to me. You rebelled against the command of Jehovah, acting presumptuously and going up to the hill country to do battle. The Amorites lived in the hill country, and they came out to meet you in battle. They quickly showed their superiority and chased your as bees would. They routed you in Seir and chased you as far as Hormah. Then you returned in shame and wept before Jehovah, but He did not listen to your crying at all. After that, you all just lived in Kadesh for awhile.” We then turned to go the other way. We pulled up stakes and moved out toward the desert-wilderness, going by the road of the Sea of the Reeds, just as Y^ehowah had directed me. Then we walked around Mount Seir for a long time.

So, what had happened was, God told the people to take the land, but they balked at that idea. God then told them to head back into the desert-wilderness, but then they balked at that as well, saying that, “Okay, given the two options, we’ll go to war.” But that first option had closed; it was no longer and option, and God warned them not to try to fight the people of the hill country, as He would not be with them in that fight. They went anyway, and were soundly defeated. They lived in Kadesh-barnea for awhile, then the went back into the desert-wilderness, and then they walked around Mount Seir for a long time. That takes us to this point in time in Moses’ recollection of their recent history.

Historically, this is recorded in Num. 20:22 (And the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.—VW) and Num. 33:37 (They set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom.—VW). This movement did not occur twice; Num. 33 looks back at the various places where Israel camped; so it is also a retrospective.

As we will see, their movement around Edom will be circuitous, because the people of Edom were uncooperative and did not let them pass through their land. In any case, it is not clear exactly how much time was spent in Kadesh-barnea and how much time was spent walking about Mount Seir (in both cases, Moses says many days). Gill thinks they arrived at Mount Seir near the end of the 38 years; whereas Matthew Henry thinks that most of those 38 years were spent wandering in the desert area around Seir.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown also believed that most of this wandering took place in the area around Seir, stating in a footnote: we compassed mount Seir many days--In these few words Moses comprised the whole of that wandering nomadic life through which they passed during thirty-eight years, shifting from place to place, and regulating their stations by the prospect of pasturage and water. Keil and Delitzsch seemed to think this; and Poole definitely did, suggesting that the many days many have been 38 years. Even the Pulpit Commentary teaches this. However, Moses told the people Then you returned and wept before Y^ehowah, but Y^ehowah did not hear your voice and He did not listen to you [all]. Therefore, you lived [for] many days in Kadesh according to the days you remained [there].” (Deut. 1:46); so a considerable amount of time had to be spent in or near Kadesh.

God did give the Jews an order to leave Kadesh-barnea in Num. 14:25b (Tomorrow turn and set out into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.—VW); but that occurred before they tried to attack the hill people and were badly beaten. You see, this was an order from God; but they did not do this; they did not set out the next day to return to the desert-wilderness.

Num. 20 appears to occur 38 years later after Mount Sinai. In Num. 20:23–24 we read: And Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom, saying, Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not go into the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because you rebelled against My mouth at the Waters of Strife. (Green’s literal translation) Aaron dies in v. 28. And in Num. 33:37–38, we read: And they pulled up stakes from Kadesh and camped in Mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom. And Aaron the priest went up into Mount Hor at the mouth of Jehovah; and he died there in the fortieth year after the sons of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first of the month. So they are on the outskirts of Edom with Aaron dying in the 40^th year, after being refused passage through the land of Edom (Num. 33 is a retrospective of their travels with their stops all laid out).

Israel is on the move again. However, they did have to walk a great deal out of the way around Mount Hor to avoid a confrontation with the Edomites. This would have added many days onto their travel, and it did cause them to become impatient, as noted in the doctrine above.

——————————

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Dead Sea Scrolls                   [Then the Lor]d [spoke] to me as follows: “You [masculine singular] have circled this mountain long enough; now turn north.

Targum of Onkelos                And the Lord spake to me, saying: It is enough for you to have dwelt about this mountain: turn you to the north,...

Latin Vulgate                          And the Lord said to me: You have compassed this mountain long enough: go toward the north.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so says Y^ehowah unto me, to say, “Much to you [all] going around the mountain the this; turn away from to you [all] northward.”

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And the LORD spoke to me, saying, You have circled this mountain long enough; turn northward.

Septuagint (Greek)                And the Lord said to me, You have compassed this mountain long enough; turn therefore toward the north.

Significant differences:           The verbiage found in the Hebrew indicates movement by the Israelites. We do not have the word to dwell, as is seen in the targum.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Eventually the Lord said: You've been traveling around this mountain long enough. Head north.

Contemporary English V.       We spent many years wandering around outside the hill country of Seir, until the LORD said: Moses, Israel has wandered in these hills long enough. Turn and go north. V. 1 is included for context.

Easy English                          Then the *Lord said to me, "You have walked round this hill for a long time. Now turn to the north.

Easy-to-Read Version            Then the Lord said to me, ’You have traveled around these mountains long enough. Turn north.

Good News Bible (TEV)         "Then the LORD told me that we had spent enough time wandering about in those hills and that we should go north.

The Message                         Then GOD said, "You've been going around in circles in these hills long enough; go north.

New Berkeley Version           Then the Lord said, to me: You have now spent enough time moving about these hills; turn and head north.

New Century Version             Then the Lord said to me, "You have traveled through these mountains long enough. Turn north and give the people this command:...

The Voice                               For a long time, we wandered around Mount Seir, until at last I got new instructions from the Eternal: "You've wandered around this mountain long enough. Turn north, and give the people these directions from Me: `You're going to cross into the territory of a people who are related to you. Portions of vv. 1 and 4 are included for context.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          And finally, the Lord said to me: You have circled these Mountains long enough; now turn and head north.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Then the Lord said to me, You have spent long enough roaming about these hills, you must go northwards now.

New American Bible (R.E.)    Finally the LORD said to me, You have wandered round these highlands long enough; turn and go north.

NIRV                                      Then the Lord spoke to me. He said, "You have made your way around this hill country long enough. So now turn north.

New Jerusalem Bible             Yahweh then said to me, "You have gone far enough round this mountain; now turn north.

Revised English Bible            Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have been marching round these hills long enough; turn northwards.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Yahweh spoke to me, saying, "Your legions surrounded this mount. You face to the north.

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to me, You have been journeying round this mountain long enough: now go to the north;...

The Expanded Bible              Then the Lord said to me, "You have traveled through these mountains long enough. Turn north and give the people this command: `You will soon go through the land that belongs to your ·relatives [brothers], the ·descendants [sons] of Esau who live in ·Edom [^LSeir; 1:44]. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. V. 4is include for context.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 At last the Ever-living said to me; "You have wandered about this hill enough ! Turn to the north,...

NET Bible®                             At this point the Lord said to me, "You have circled around this mountain long enough; now turn north.

New Heart English Bible        The LORD spoke to me, saying, "You have encircled this mountain long enough. Turn northward.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Finally ADONAI said to me, 'You have been going around this mountain long enough! Head north,...

exeGeses companion Bible   And Yah Veh said to me, saying,

You surround this mountain too much:

turn your face northward:...

Kaplan Translation                 Encountering Esau

God said to me, 'You have traveled around these highlands long enough. Turn around [and head] north.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Hashem spoke unto me, saying, Ye have circled hahar hazeh (this mountain) long enough; turn you northward.

The Scriptures 1998              “And יהוה spoke to me, saying, ‘You have gone around this mountain long enough, turn northward.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                And the Lord spoke to me [Moses], saying, You have roamed around this mountain country long enough; turn northward.

Concordant Literal Version    Then Yahweh spoke to me saying: Long enough you have been around this hill-country. Turn yourselves around northward and instruct the people saying, You shall pass through the territory of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who are dwelling in Seir. They shall fear you, yet you must be very much on guard. V. 4 is include for context.

Context Group Version          And YHWH spoke to me, saying, You { pl } have encompassed this mountain long enough: you { pl } turn northward.

English Standard V. – UK       Then the Lord said to me, `You have been travelling around this mountain country long enough [ch. 1:6]. Turn northwards and command the people, "You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. V. 4 is included for context.

New RSV                               Then the Lord said to me: `You have been skirting this hill country long enough. Head north, and charge the people as follows: You are about to pass through the territory of your kindred, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. A portion of v. 4 is included for context.

Webster’s Bible Translation  And the LORD spoke to me, saying, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

Young’s Updated LT             And Jehovah speaks unto me, saying, ‘Enough to you—is the going round of this mount; turn for yourselves northward.

The gist of this verse:          God tells the Israelites to stop moving about the hill country where they were and to go northward.

Translation: Y^ehowah then spoke to me, saying,... We are going directly from the defeat of the Jews who went up the mountain to the next generation of Jews, 38 years later, who would go up along the east side of the Jordan River to enter into the land of Canaan from the east. However, they are going to run into a number of problems, which is much of what this chapter is about.

Translation:...“You have gone long enough around this mountain;... It sounds here as if the people following Moses were dragging their feet, and God needed to get them on the other side of the Jordan River. They had spent too much time where they were. I could be reading too much into this, and it is possible that they simply reached the point at which they needed to move northward.

However, this does not appear to be the same as what occurred previously in Kadesh barnea, where they spent many days (although a few translators translate this the same way that they do Deut. 1:46, suggesting that the Jews spent many days in the hill country).

The region that the Jews would have been in would have been the mountainous area southeast of the southern tip of the Dead Sea, which land belonged to the Edomites.

Map of Edom taken from the Bible Atlas in E-sword, a portion of the map titled 029—The Route of the Exodus. The first 3 verses read: We turned to go the other way. We pulled up stakes and moved out toward the desert-wilderness, going by the road of the Sea of the Reeds, just as Y^ehowah had directed me. Then we walked around Mount Seir for a long time. Jehovah then said to me, “You have spent too much time around this mountain; turn here and head northward.” You can see where they were in Kadesh-barnea. They then moved southward and eastward, and God is speaking to them from the mountainous region of Seir—probably from the southern portion of those mountains, as they would go north from there. I suggest this route for two reasons: (1) the Arabah is not mentioned in this description (it will be mentioned later) and (2) if they were in the hill country labeled the Wilderness of Zin above, then they would be first going east and then north. Now, it is possible that they were in the southern portion of the Wilderness of Zin then went over to the southern portion of Seir, and then God spoke to Moses to direct them north.

The Israelites moved out of Kadesh-barnea, went into Edom, and circled Mount Seir, being guided by God the Holy Spirit. They seemed to spend most of their time, as has already been discussed, at Kadesh. But there came a point when God wanted them on the move again—and this was after Gen X had all died off.

From Kadesh, Moses sent a message to the Edomites, to see about traveling through their territory. They said “no” and God told Israel that they were not to go to war against Edom. God was going to take Israel up along the eastern side of the Dead Sea, so that meant that there would travel quite a distance around Edom (Seir) in order to avoid hostilities with the Edomites.

McGee writes: I have always thought that the Lord has a sense of humor, and I think we can see it here. You see, they didn't know where to go. all they have been doing is just going around and around Mt. Seir. It was sort of a ring-around-the-rosy; round and round they go. finally God says that He is getting tired of that. He says, "Let's quit this round and round business." I'm afraid many Christians are doing that very same thing. Because they fail to take God at His Word, they are just marking time, and are on a merry-go-round of activity.

Despite McGee’s good-natured, folksy approach, the Jews are not walking around and around Mount Seir (his point about Christians is still valid, however). They are traveling around the land of the Edomites, giving the people a wide berth, which suggests to me that they take a southern route around that mountain formation where the Edomites lived. So they go in a half circle, and God says, “Now it is time to head north.” As has just been discussed, this new generation of Jews are becoming impatient with all of this.

Translation: ...turn [and go] northward.” They were going to make another turn and head northward from where they are. They are at the bottom of the Salt Sea, and they will go north, to travel along the eastern portion of the Salt Sea.

Deuteronomy 2:2–3 (graphic); picture taken from walkhighlands. It is not a picture of Edom; there are many beautiful photos on the page I took this from. Accessed December 29, 2013.

God is leading the sons of Israel; however, they are in a holding pattern as many of them are complaining again. They set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Sea of Reeds to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient beause of the journey. And the people spoke against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food [the manna]." (Num. 21:4–5). God had to remove some of these people—principally gen X—to cleanse the children of Israel completely.

God has taken His people due east, until they reached the Arabah, where, at one time, it appears that there was water running between the Salt Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, and they arrived at the southern portion of the mountains of Seir in Edom, in the southern portion of Edom, where there was a more scattered population and less well-defined boundaries. What Israel would like to do would be to travel through Edom along the King's Highway. Moses, from Kadesh-barnea, sent such messengers to Edom, and then set out behind the messengers. From Kadesh, Moses then sent messengers to the king of Edom; "Thus your brother Israel has said, 'You know all the hardship that has befallen us; that our fathers went down to Egypt and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers poorly. But, when we cried out to Y^ehowah, He heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out from Egypt; now observe, we are at Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. we will go along the king's highway, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.' " (Num. 20:14–17).

Map of the Route Around Edom from A Fire in my Bones, accessed December 18, 2013. The route which we are studying is the green route shown on this map. I do not believe that they needed to go down as far as Ezion-geber, but that the people circled around before then (assuming that they were out of the populated area of the Edomites when they cross over). None of the maps which I found showed them crossing over to the east sooner than we see here. However, this gives us a pretty good idea of the route, with two minor changes (1) although messengers probably went deeper into Edom to deliver the message from Moses, the people of Moses did not go this far into Edom; they would have remained strictly on the outskirts of Edomite country. (2) Simply because the Bible says that they are on the Road of Ezion-geber does not mean that they had to go down as far as Ezion-geber (which is not listed as a stopping point on this particular leg of the march). Ezion-geber was on their route going to Kadesh (Num. 33:36), but it is not listed as one of the stops after Kadesh (Num. 33:37, 41–44). The confusion is actually in this chapter, in Deut. 2:8 We passed through the land of Edom, in close proximity to our brothers, the sons of Esau, those who live in Seir. We went along the road which goes through the Arabah, Elath and Ezion-geber. Then we made another turn and went along the road which went through the unpopulated area of Moab. The road that they are on goes along the Arabah from Elath to Ezion-geber. This does not mean that the Israelites went to Elath or all the way down to Ezion-geber.

There are two sets of mountains on both sides of the valley—the Arabah. Most scholars place Mount Seir east of the valley which runs between the Salt Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. This appears to line up with the end of Num. 20 and the beginning of Num. 21. Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Sea of Reeds, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey (Num. 21:4). This route is also recounted in Judges 11:17–18 And Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Please let me pass on through your land, and the king of Edom did not listen. And Israel sent also to the king of Moab, and he was not willing. And Israel remained in Kadesh. And he went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came in at the rising of the sun to the land of Moab. And they camped beyond Arnon, and did not come into the border of Moab, for Arnon was the border of Moab. (Green’s literal translation) It would make sense that the Israelites would become impatient because they are moving away from the Land of Promise and had they gone in a great half circle.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                ...and command the people, saying, You are to pass by the border of your brethren, the children of Esau, who dwell in Gebala, and they will be afraid of you; be very heedful therefore; provoke them not; for of their land I have not given you as much as the sole of the foot; for I have given Mount Gebal an inheritance unto Esau on account of the honour which he did unto his father.

Latin Vulgate                          And command you the people, saying: You will pass by the borders of your brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, and they will be afraid of you. Take you [all] then good heed that you stir not against them. For I will not give you of their land so much as the step of one foot can tread upon, because I have given mount Seir to Esau, for a possession.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And the people you have commanded, to say, “You [all] passing through a territory of your brothers, sons of Esau, the ones living in Seir (and they are afraid from you [all]) and you [all] take care extremely. You [all] will not stir up strife in them for I am not giving to you [all] from their land as far as tread of a sole of a foot. For a possession of Esau I have given Mount Seir.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And command the people, saying, You are going to pass through the territory of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you; take heed to yourselves therefore; Do not provoke them; for I will not give you a possession of their land, no, not so much as the breadth of a foot to tread on, because I have given mount Seir to Esau for a possession.

Septuagint (Greek)                And command the people, saying, You are going through the borders of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they shall fear you, and dread you greatly. Do not engage in war against them, for I will not give you of their land even enough to set your foot upon, for I have given Mount Seir to the children of Esau as an inheritance.

Significant differences:           The Greek both appears to add an extra phrase and to delete a phrase in the same place, which is found in the Hebrew.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Command the people as follows: You are about to enter into the territory of your relatives who live in Seir: Esau's descendants. They will be afraid of you, so watch yourselves most carefully. Don't fight with them because I will not give the tiniest parcel of their land to you. I have given Mount Seir to Esau's family as their property.

Contemporary English V.       And give the people these orders: "Be very careful, because you will soon go through the land that belongs to your relatives, the descendants of Esau. They are afraid of you, but don't start a war with them. I have given them the hill country of Seir, so I won't give any of it to you, not even enough to set a foot on.

Easy English                          These are my words to the *Israelites, `You will soon go through the country that belongs to the family of Esau. They are your brothers and they live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful.'

`Do not make them angry so that they fight against you. I will not give any of their country to you, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given the hills in Seir to Esau.

Easy-to-Read Version            Tell these things to the people: You will pass through the land of Seir. This land belongs to your relatives, the descendants [A person’s children and their future families.] of Esau. They will be afraid of you. Be very careful. Don’t fight them. I will not give you any of their land—not even a foot of it. Why? Because I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau to keep as his own.

Good News Bible (TEV)         He told me to give you the following instructions 'You are about to go through the hill country of Edom, the territory of your distant relatives, the descendants of Esau. They will be afraid of you, but you must not start a war with them, because I am not going to give you so much as a square foot of their land. I have given Edom to Esau's descendants.

The Message                         Command the people, You're about to cut through the land belonging to your relatives, the People of Esau who settled in Seir. They are terrified of you, but restrain yourselves. Don't try and start a fight. I am not giving you so much as a square inch of their land. I've already given all the hill country of Seir to Esau--he owns it all.

New Berkeley Version           This you shall order the people, ‘Now you will be crossing the frontiers of your brothers, the children of Esau, living in Seir, and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful; do not challenge them; for I will not be giving you any of their land, not a foot of it; for I have already assigned this hill area of Seir to Esau.

New Century Version             ...and give the people this command: `You will soon go through the land that belongs to your relatives, the descendants of Esau who live in Edom. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. Do not go to war against them. I will not give you any of their land-not even a foot of it, because I have given the mountains of Edom to Esau as his own.

New Life Bible                        Tell the people, "You will pass through the land of your brothers the sons of Esau who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful. Do not make them angry. For I will not give you any of their land, not even enough for a foot to step on. I have given Mount Seir to Esau for his own.

New Living Translation           Give these orders to the people: "You will pass through the country belonging to your relatives the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. The Edomites will feel threatened, so be careful. Do not bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Seir as their property, and I will not give you even one square foot of their land.

The Voice                               ...and give the people these directions from Me: `You're going to cross into the territory of a people who are related to you. They're the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They'll be afraid of you, so be very careful what you do. Don't incite a fight with them because I won't give you even a square foot of their land. I gave Mount Seir to Esau, and I want his descendants to live there.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Tell the people that you're going to cross the borders of your brothers, the children of Esau who live in Seir. and that will really make them fear you. But don't fight against [the children of Esau], because I won't give you enough of their land to stand on. For, I have given Mount Seir to the children of Esau as their inheritance.

Beck’s American Translation Instruct the people to do as follows: You are going to pass through the territory of your relatives, Esau’s descendants who live in Seir. They are afraid of you. But be very careful not to start fighting with them, because I’m not giving you any of their land, not even enough to set your foot on, since I have given the mountains of Seir to Esau as a possession.

Christian Community Bible     Give this command to the people: You are to pass through the territory of your brothers, the children of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful that you do not attack them because I will not give you even the parcel of land on which you stand. Know that I have given to Esau the mountains of Seir as a possession.

God’s Word™                         Give the people these instructions: 'You're going to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They'll be afraid of you, but be very careful. Don't start a fight with them, because I'm not giving you any of their land-not even enough to stand on. I've given Esau's descendants the region of Mount Seir as their property.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       And give the people this message, Your way lies by the frontiers of your own brethren, the sons of Edom. They will be alarmed at your coming, and you must take good care not to assail them. These mountains of Seir are the portion I have given to Esau, and you are not to have a foot of ground there for your own.

New American Bible              Give this order to the people: You are now about to pass through the territory of your kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they are afraid of you, be very careful not to come in conflict with them, for I will not give you so much as a foot of their land, since I have already given Esau possession of the highlands of Seir.

New American Bible (R.E.)    Command the people: You are now about to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they are afraid of you, be very careful not to come in conflict with them, for I will not give you so much as a foot of their land, since I have already given Esau possession of the highlands of Seir [Gn 36:6-8.].

NIRV                                      "Here are the orders I want you to give the people. Tell them, `You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives. They are from the family line of Esau. They live in Seir. They will be afraid of you. But be very careful. Do not make them angry. If you do, they will go to war against you. I will not give you any of their land. You will not have even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.

New Jerusalem Bible             And give the people this order: You are about to pass through the territory of your kinsmen, the sons of Esau who live in Seir. They are afraid of you, and you will be well protected. Do not provoke them, for I shall give you none of their land, no, not so much as a foot's length of it. I have given the highlands of Seir to Esau as his domain.

New Simplified Bible              »‘Give these instructions to the people: »You will pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau. They live in Seir. They will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully.

»‘Do not start a fight with them, because I am not giving you any of their land, not so much as one foot. I gave Esau's descendants the region of Mount Seir as their property.

Revised English Bible            Give the people this charge: You are about to pass through the territory of your kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Although they are afraid of you, be very careful not to quarrel with them; for I shall not give you any of their land, not so much as a foot’s breadth: Ihave given the hill-country of Seir to Esau as a possession.

Today’s NIV                          Give the people these orders: 'You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Command the people, saying, 'Pass to the border of your brothers, the sons of Esau dwelling in Seir. They fear you a hundredfold. Keep to yourselves, and do not stir them.' For I give none of their land unto you to tread a sole of a foot, for I gave Seir mountains to Esau for a possession.".

Bible in Basic English             And give the people orders, saying, You are about to go through the land of your brothers, the children of Esau, who are living in Seir; and they will have fear of you; so take care what you do: Make no attack on them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even space enough for a man's foot: because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for his heritage.

The Expanded Bible              ...and give the people this command: `You will soon go through the land that belongs to your ·relatives [brothers], the ·descendants [sons] of Esau who live in ·Edom [^LSeir; 1:44]. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. Do not go to war against them. I will not give you any of their land-not even a foot of it, because I have given the mountains of ·Edom [^LSeir; 1:44] to Esau as his own.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 ...and command the People saying to them, ' Pass over the borders of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who dwell in Sair. But they will be afraid of you, so carefully guard yourselves. And injure them not; for I will not give you a foot's space of their country, because I have given Mount Sair to Esau as a possession. A portion of v. 3 is included for context.

HCSB                                     Command the people: You are about to travel through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful. Don't fight with them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even an inch of it, because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession.

NET Bible®                             Instruct [Heb "command" (so KJV, NASB); NRSV "charge the people as follows."] these people as follows: `You are about to cross the border of your relatives [Heb "brothers"; NAB "your kinsmen."] the descendants of Esau [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).], who inhabit Seir. They will be afraid of you, so watch yourselves carefully. Do not be hostile toward them, because I am not giving you any of their land, not even a footprint, for I have given Mount Seir [Mount Seir is synonymous with Edom.] as an inheritance for Esau.

NIV, ©2011                             Give the people these orders [Nu 20:14-21]: `You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau [Ge 36:8], who live in Seir [ver 1]. They will be afraid [Ex 15:16] of you, but be very careful. Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own [Jos 24:4].

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           ...and give this order to the people: "You are to pass through the territory of your kinsmen the descendants of 'Esav who live in Se'ir. They will be afraid of you, so be very cautious, and don't get into disputes with them; for I am not going to give you any of their land, no, not even enough for one foot to stand on; inasmuch as I have given Mount Se'ir to 'Esav as his possession.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and misvah the people, saying,

You are passing through the border of your brothers

the sons of Esav, who settle in Seir;

and they awe you: guard mightily:

throttle them not;

for I give you not of their land

- no, not so much as a step of the sole of a foot;

because I give mount Seir to Esav for a possession.

Hebrew Names Version         Command you the people, saying, You are to pass through the border of your brothers the children of Esav, who dwell in Se`ir; and they will be afraid of you: take good heed to yourselves therefore; don't contend with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on; because I have given Mount Se`ir to Esav for a possession.

Kaplan Translation                 Give the people the following instructions:

'You are passing by the borders of your brothers, the descendants of Esau [See Genesis 36:8. This is the encounter with Edom, in Numbers 20:14-21.], who live in Seir. Although they fear you, be very careful not to provoke them. I will not give you even one foot of their land, since I have given Mount Seir as Esau's inheritance.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the territory of your brethren the Bnei Esav, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you; be shomer me'od of yourselves therefore: Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a regel (foot) breadth; because I have given Mt Seir unto Esav for a yerushah (possession, inheritance).

The Scriptures 1998              ‘And command the people, saying, “You are about to pass over into the border of your brothers, the descendants of Ěsaw, who live in Sĕʽir, and they are afraid of you. So be on your guard. “Do not strive with them, for I do not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Sĕʽir to Ěsaw as a possession.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                And command the Israelites, You are to pass through the territory of your kinsmen the sons of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So watch yourselves carefully. Do not provoke or stir them up, for I will not give you of their land, no, not enough for the sole of your foot to tread on, for I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession.

Concordant Literal Version    ...and instruct the people saying, You shall pass through the territory of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who are dwelling in Seir. They shall fear you, yet you must be very much on guard. Do not stir yourselves up against them, for I shall not give to you any of their country, not even a tread of a foot's sole--for I have given the hill-country of Seir for a tenancy to Esau.

Context Group Version          And you command the people, saying, You { pl } are to pass through the border of your { pl } brothers the sons of Esau, that dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you { pl }: you { pl } take good heed to yourselves therefore; don't contend with them; for I will not give you { pl } of their land { or earth }, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on; because I have given mount Seir to Esau for a possession.

Darby Translation                  And command the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the border of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you; and ye shall be very guarded: attack them not; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot-breadth; for I have given mount Seir as a possession unto Esau. Ye, in Old English, is y’all (you all) in Texan.

English Standard V. – UK       Turn northwards and command the people, "You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers [ch. 23:7; Amos 1:11; Obad. 10, 12], the people of Esau, who live in Seir [See Gen. 32:3]; and they will be afraid of you [See Num. 20:18-21]. So be very careful. Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given [[See ver. 4 above]; See Gen. 32:3] Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 2 words from v. 3 are included for context.

NASB                                     Now turn north, and command [Num 20:14-21] the people, saying, "You will pass through the territory of your brothers [Gen 36:8] the sons of Esau who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you [Ex 15:15, 16]. So be very careful; do not provoke [Or engage in strife with] them, for I will not give you any of their land, even as little as a footstep [Lit treading of a sole of a foot] because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession [Gen 36:8; Josh 24:4]. 3 words from v. 3 are included for context.

New RSV                               [God is speaking to Moses]: Head north, and charge the people as follows: You are about to pass through the territory of your kindred, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful not to engage in battle with them, for I will not give you even so much as a foot's length of their land, since I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. Two words from v. 3 are included for context.

Webster’s Bible Translation  And command thou the people, saying, Ye [are] to pass through the border of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you: therefore take ye good heed to yourselves: Meddle 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 to Esau [for] a possession.

Young’s Updated LT             And the people command you, saying, you [all] are passing over into the border of your brothers, sons of Esau, who are dwelling in Seir, and they are afraid of you; and you [all] have been very watchful, you [all] do not strive with them, for I do not give to you of their land even the treading of the sole of a foot; for a possession to Esau I have given mount Seir.

The gist of this verse:          God warns Israel that they are passing along the border of Esau, who live in Seir; and that they are afraid of the Jews. The Jews are not to take advantage of this; and they are not to try to take any of their land from them.

Translation: Furthermore, you will command the people, saying,... God is speaking to Moses directly and telling him what to say to the people of Israel. All of this is within a quotation of Moses speaking to the people as a whole, months after these things have taken place.

So God issues a command to Moses; a command which Moses will give to the people before they start heading northward.

Translation:...“You will be passing through the territory of your brothers,... The Jews—the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—will be passing through the territory of the descendants of Esau, who are here called their brothers. They are related to these people in this way. Abraham had a son Isaac and Isaac had two sons: Jacob and Esau. Esau was the firstborn but he was not in the line of promise; his slightly younger brother Jacob continued the line of promise.

The Hebrew appears to be confusing at first. Command is in the 2^nd masculine singular, Piel imperative. Context explains what is going on. This is Moses telling the people what God told him to say to them—a quote within a quote within a quote. God, in speaking to Moses, said, "You [Moses] must command the people; you [all] will be passing through the territory of your relatives [the Edomites]." We have to be careful not to interpret these few verses as though they are consecutive events. The last verb, being on guard, is in the Niphal perfect rather than a Piel imperative again (which is what I would have expected). Rather than continue this command begun in this sentence with a further command, the Niphal is used instead. The Niphal is usually the passive of the Qal (or common) stem. However, the Niphal also emphasizes the effect of an individual on the group and can refer to an action in progress or development, so we often translate the verb along with the word being. This is a continuation of the imperative mood, but said in such a way that each individual is charged here to be on their guard. These verses, 2–5 should be read together, so that we are not so far removed from the context and the meaning of what is said.

Translation: ...the sons of Esau, the ones who live in Seir... The people who live in Seir are called the descendants of Esau. They are also known as the Edomites. God gave them this land.

As an aside, I do a lot of research when putting together these chapters, and I come across some very superficial problems. One website which holds the Bible in low regard, points out, here, God gives the Edomites protection; but over here, God is encouraging the Israelites to fight the Edomites; that’s a contradiction. It is not! We are talking about different generations. There are some generations where most of the people believe in the Revealed God, and God protects those people. There are other generations of Edomites who reject the revealed God outright. Pointing at something like this and claiming that it is a contradiction, is like saying every history book on American and Japanese relationships is false, because on one page, we are their enemy and on another, we are allies.

Translation: ...(and they are afraid of you). Nearly everyone knows what happened in Egypt and how God led the people of Abraham out of Egypt, destroying the Egyptian army. For this reason, the Edomites (those descended from Esau) were afraid of the Jews and worried that they may come into their territory and attack them.

It is important to recognize that having fear does not mean that the Edomites would not go to war against the Israelites. So God wants Moses and the people of Israel to be certain not to provoke a fight.

Translation: You will take great care... The Jews were to exercise great caution; they were to be careful not to do something.

One of the first hit songs written by Moses is found in Ex. 15 written almost forty years prior to this incident as Moses was guided by God the Holy Spirit. He wrote: The peoples have heard—they tremble; anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; the leaders of Moab—trembling grips them; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them; by the greatness of Your arm, they are motionless as stone until You people pass over, O Y^ehowah; until the people pass over whom You have purchased (Ex. 15:14–16). What we read in this portion of Deuteronomy is the fulfillment of the prophecy of this song. A prophet was to be judged by the people of his time by the prophecies that he spoke and whether or not they came to pass. What Moses said almost forty years ago had come to pass.

The route covered by Israel seems to have been a movement from Kadesh-barnea to Mount Seir, which they circled for awhile—my guess is that they were waiting for an official statement of permission to pass through the land of Edom (Num. 20:22 33:37). They marched around Mount Seir (which may have been just a movement below the southern half of these mountains (Num. 21:4 Deut. 2:3–5 Judges 11:18). However, the Edomites refused, so the Israelites proceded southward, skirted the southern border of Edom, and came up along their eastern border. This was going altogether in the opposite direction from the Land of Promise, causing some consternation on the part of some of the Israelites—mostly the generation X remnant (Num. 21:4).

Translation: ...not to stir them up... The Jews were not to cause the Edomites to get upset; Moses was not to push the buttons which would cause the Edomites to be willing to go to war. The Jews were to be very careful not to stir the Edomites up.

The sense of the imperative is continued (there must be a grammatical rule to cover this), however contend is in the 2^nd masculine plural jussive, Hithpael imperfect. The 2^nd person plural is God speaking to Moses to speak to the people of Israel; the jussive expresses volition—it is the command, instruction or granting of permission from a superior to an inferior (when it is spoken from an inferior to a superior, it expresses a request). The Hithpael is the reflexive of the Piel (intensive) stem.

Translation: ...because I am not giving you any of their land where they have walked [lit., a treading of the sole of a foot]. God was giving a great deal of land to the Jews—which land would eventually include that which the Edomites lived on—but for that time, God was only giving a specific area to the Jews. However, this people will become quite aggressive against the Jews, and, for that reason, the Jews will defeat them and take their land from them (it is legitimate in war to take the land and/or resources of those whom you have defeated).

F. B. Meyer: Edom was not to be injured, because of the ancient grant, Genesis 32:3. So with Moab. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. He will remember His Abrahams and His Lots long after they have passed from this mortal sphere, and will care for their children and children's children.

Translation: I have given Mount Seir [to] Esau [as] an inheritance. The Edomites lived in Mount Seir, and God gave that land to them for them to possess.

Whereas, I have given a fairly literal translations (apart from the word order) of this verse, the NASB also gives the gist of it: "Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, even as little as a footstep because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession." Joshua confirms this seven years later: And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says Yehowah, the god of Israel, 'to Isaac, I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau, I gave Mount Sier, to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.' " (Joshua 24:2a, 4).

Edom and Mount Seir

1.      Many years prior to Moses, God gave this plot of land to the Edomites. And Esau dwelt on Mount Seir. Esau is Edom (Gen. 36:8). Also Gen. 32:3 Deut. 2:5 Joshua 24:4b 2Chron. 20:10 2.      This land original belonged to the Horites, so Mount Seir is sometimes called Mount Hor. Gen. 14:6 3.      Although King David, hundreds of years later, conquered the Edomites, they retained possession of their land (2Sam. 8:14 And he put garrisons in all Edom; and all Edom became servants to David. And Jehovah saved David in all places in which he went. —Green’s literal translation). 4.      The Edomites regained their independence when Jehoshaphat was in power (2Kings 8:20–22 In Jehoshaphat’s time, Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and they caused a king to reign over them. And Jehoram passed over to Zair, and all the chariots with him. And it happened, he rose up by night and struck Edom, who had encircled him, and the commanders of the chariots. And the people fled to their tents. Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. —Green’s literal translation slightly edited). 5.      There would come a time when this land of theirs would become a wasteland. Presumably, this would occur because this people would not longer have faith in the Revealed God. Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it. And say to it, So says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch My hand against you, and I will make you a ruin and a waste. I will lay your cities waste, and you shall be a ruin. And they shall know that I am Jehovah. Because there was to you never-ending enmity, and you poured out the sons of Israel to the hands of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end. Therefore, As I live, declares the Lord Jehovah, surely for blood I appoint you, and blood shall pursue you. Since you have not hated blood, so blood shall pursue you. And I will make Mount Seir a ruin and a waste, and cut off from it the one passing through, and the one returning. And I will fill his mountains with his slain. In your hills and in your valleys, and in all your torrents, the slain by the sword shall fall in them. I will make you ruins forever, and your cities shall not be inhabited. And you shall know that I am Jehovah. (Ezek. 35:2–9; Green’s literal translation) Jehovah declares, I loved Jacob, and I have hated Esau and have made his mountains a desolation, and his inheritance to be for the jackals of the wilderness. If Edom says, We are beaten down, but we will return and build the ruined places; so says Jehovah of Hosts: They shall build, but I will tear down. And they shall call them the region of wickedness, and the people with whom Jehovah is indignant until forever. (Mal. 1:2b–4; Green’s literal translation) Picture of Modern Edom from the LaVista Church of Christ website; accessed December 19, 2013. 6.      One problem was, the people of Edom turned against God’s people, the Israelites. So says the Lord Jehovah: Because Edom has acted by taking vengeance against the house of Judah, and they are very guilty and are avenged on them, so the Lord Jehovah says this: I will stretch My hand on Edom and will cut off from it man and beast, and I will lay it waste. From Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword. And I will put My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. And they shall do in Edom as is My anger and as is My fury. And they shall know My vengeance, declares the Lord Jehovah. (Ezek. 25:12–14; Green’s literal translation) 7.      This gift of Mount Seir to Edom was as long as the Edomites had faith in the Revealed God. So says Jehovah of Hosts concerning Edom: Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished? Flee, turn back, go deep to dwell, O people of Dedan. For I will bring the calamity of Esau on him in the time I will visit him. If the grape gatherers come to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves come by night, will they ruin more than enough for them? But I have stripped Esau, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself. His seed is ravaged, also his brothers and his neighbors, and he is not. Leave your orphans, I will keep them alive. And let your widows trust in Me. For so says Jehovah: Behold, those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup drinking have drunk. And are you to be entirely acquitted? You shall not be acquitted, but drinking you shall drink. For I have sworn by Myself, declares Jehovah, that Bozrah shall become a ruin, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. And all its cities shall be wastes forever. I have heard a message from Jehovah, and a herald is sent to the nations: Gather together and come against her, and rise up to the battle. For, behold, I will make you small among the nations, despised among men. Your dreadfulness has deceived you, the pride of your heart, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill. Though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there, declares Jehovah. And Edom shall be a ruin, everyone who goes by it shall be amazed and shall hiss at all its plagues. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and its neighbor, declares Jehovah, no man shall remain there, a son of man shall not live in it. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the home of the strong. But I will suddenly make him run away from it. And who is the chosen one I shall appoint over it? For who is like Me? And who will summon Me? And who then is a shepherd who will stand before Me? So then, hear the counsel of Jehovah which He has planned against Edom, and His purposes which He has purposed against those living in Teman: Surely they shall drag them, the least of the flock. Surely He shall make their dwellings desolate over them. The earth is shaken at the noise of their fall. When they cried, the noise of it was heard in the Sea of Reeds. Behold, he shall come up and fly like the eagle and spread his wings over Bozrah. And at that day the heart of the mighty men of Edom shall be like the heart of a woman being distressed. (Jer. 49:7–22; Green’s literal translation) 8.      However, Obadiah prophesies that they would not possess this land forever; that in the Millennium, their land would be annexed to Israel (Num. 24:18 Obad. 1:19). 9.      God sets the boundaries for all nations. Remember the ancient days, consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will declare to you, your elders, and they shall say to you; when the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance; when He separated the sons of Adam, He set up the bounds of the peoples, according to the number of the sons of Israel. (Deut. 32:7; Green’s literal translation) "The God who made the world and all the things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having predetermined [their] appointed times, and boundaries of their habitation." (Acts 17:24–26). See also Gen. 10.