Deuteronomy 2 Study Notes

2:20-23 This is another parenthesis.

2:22 See note at vv. 4-7.

2:23 The Caphtorim appear to be equivalent to the earlier Philistines of the patriarchal era (Gn 21:32,34; 26:1,8). They are said to have settled in the vicinity of Gaza (Jos 13:3), and elsewhere they are said to have originated in Caphtor, likely on the island of Crete (Jr 47:4; Am 9:7; cp. Gn 10:14). Thus, the common argument that considers Philistines in Genesis as anachronistic has no real substance.

2:24-3:7 This recounts the events originally told in Nm 21:21-35.

2:24 Heshbon, the capital city of the Amorites’ King Sihon, is identified by many scholars with Tell Hesban, near Amman, Jordan. However, this seems unlikely because Hesban is too small to have been a capital and it did not exist as early as the biblical date of the conquest.

2:25 This was confirmed when Joshua’s spies spoke with Rahab in Jos 2:8-11.

2:30 The Lord making Sihon’s spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate is similar to God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart before the exodus (Ex 9:12; 10:1,20)—an act of God that followed Pharaoh’s consistent hardening of his own heart (Ex 8:15,32; 9:34). The hardening in both cases was so God’s deliverance could be seen as a miracle on behalf of his people (Dt 2:30; Ex 7:3-5).

2:31 Apparently God intended for some of the tribes of Israel to live in Transjordan.

2:34-35 Sihon’s destruction sanctioned by the Lord must be viewed not as a cruel act but as a means of eliminating a hopelessly unrepentant people who, if left alive, would corrupt the Israelites through intermarriage and religious syncretism (7:1-6). In fact, Israel’s failure to obey God in this respect brought about precisely this result (1Kg 11:1-6; 2Kg 17:7-17).

2:36-37 These words echo Nm 13:28 when the spies complained that the cities were too strongly fortified.