Deuteronomy 2:9-19

9 And Yahweh said to me, 'You shall not attack Moab, and you shall not engage in war with them, for I will not give you any of his land [as] a possession; I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot [as] a possession.'
10 (The Emim previously lived in it, a people large, numerous, and tall, like the Anakites.
11 They were reckoned also [as] Rephaim as the Anakites [were]; but the Moabites called them Emim.
12 The Horites previously lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them {from among themselves}, as Israel did with respect to the land of their possession that Yahweh gave to them.)
13 So [now] arise and cross over the wadi of Zered yourselves; and [so] we crossed the wadi of Zered.
14 Now the {length of time} that we had traveled from Kadesh Barnea until [the time when] we crossed the wadi of Zered [was] thirty-eight years, until the perishing of all of that generation; [that is], the men of war from the midst of the camp as Yahweh had sworn to them.
15 The hand of Yahweh was against them to root them out from the midst of the camp until they perished completely.
16 "{And then} when all the men of war {had died} from among the people,
17 Yahweh spoke to me, {saying},
18 'You [are] about to cross over the boundary of Moab {today} at Ar.
19 When you approach {the border of} the {Ammonites}, you shall not harass them, and you shall not get involved in battle with them, for I have not given the land of {the Ammonites} to you as a possession; because I have given it to the descendants of Lot [as] a possession.

Deuteronomy 2:9-19 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.

Footnotes 19

  • [a]. Or "battle"
  • [b]. Or "sons"
  • [c]. Or "great" in the sense of influential
  • [d]. Or "sons"
  • [e]. Literally "from their presence"
  • [f]. Literally "its/his"
  • [g]. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
  • [h]. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
  • [i]. Literally "days"
  • [j]. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
  • [k]. Literally "And it happened"
  • [l]. Or "battle"
  • [m]. Literally "had finished/completed to die"
  • [n]. Literally "to say"
  • [o]. Literally "the day"
  • [p]. Literally "opposite"
  • [q]. Literally "the sons/children of Ammon"
  • [r]. Literally "the sons/children of Ammon"
  • [s]. Or "sons"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.