Deuteronomy 2:2-12

2 "And the LORD spoke to me, saying,
3 'You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north,
4 1and command the people, saying, "You will pass through the 2territory of your brothers the sons of Esau who live in Seir; and 3they will be afraid of you. So be very careful;
5 do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, even as little as a footstep * * 4because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
6 "You shall buy food from them with money so that you may eat, and you shall also purchase water from them with money so that you may drink.
7 "For the LORD your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this 5great wilderness. These 6forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing."'
8 "So we passed beyond * our brothers the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the 7Arabah road, away from Elath and 8from Ezion-geber. And we turned and passed through by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
9 "Then the LORD said to me, 'Do not harass Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given 9Ar to 10the sons of Lot as a possession.
10 (The 11Emim lived there formerly, a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim.
11 Like the Anakim, they are also regarded as 12Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
12 13The Horites formerly lived in Seir, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, 14just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the LORD gave to them.)

Deuteronomy 2:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 2

In this chapter Moses goes on with his account of the affairs of the people of Israel, and what befell them, how they turned into the wilderness again; but passes over in silence their travels there, till they came to Mount Self, where having been some time they were bid to depart, De 2:1-3, and were directed not to meddle with the Edomites, or take anything from them, but pay them for what they should have of them, since they lacked not, De 2:4-8, nor to distress the Moabites, of whose country, as formerly inhabited, and also of Edom, some account is given, De 2:9-12, when they were bid to go over the brook Zered, to which from their coming from Kadeshbarnea was the space of thirty eight years, in which time the former generation was consumed, De 2:13-16 and now passing along the borders of Moab, they were ordered not to meddle with nor distress the children of Ammon, of whose land also, and the former inhabitants of it, an account is given, De 2:17-23, then passing over the river Arnon, they are bid to fight with Sihon king of the Amorites, and possess his land, De 2:24,25 to whom they sent messengers, desiring leave to pass through his land, and to furnish them with provisions for their money, as the Edomites and Moabites had done, De 2:26-29 but he refusing, this gave them an opportunity to attack him, in which they succeeded, slew him and his people, and took possession of his country, De 2:30-37.

Cross References 14

  • 1. Numbers 20:14-21
  • 2. Genesis 36:8
  • 3. Exodus 15:15, 16
  • 4. Genesis 36:8; Joshua 24:4
  • 5. Deuteronomy 1:19
  • 6. Numbers 14:33, 34; Numbers 32:13; Deuteronomy 2:14
  • 7. Deuteronomy 1:1
  • 8. Numbers 33:35; 1 Kings 9:26
  • 9. Numbers 21:15, 28; Deuteronomy 2:18, 29
  • 10. Genesis 19:36, 37
  • 11. Genesis 14:5
  • 12. Genesis 14:5; Deuteronomy 2:20
  • 13. Genesis 36:20; Deuteronomy 2:22
  • 14. Numbers 21:25, 35

Footnotes 6

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