Deuteronomy 2:14
Ver. 14. And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea,.... The space of time; or, "the days" {b}; the number of them:
until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; that is, from the time that the spies were sent and searched the land, and brought a report of it; for they were sent from Kadeshbarnea, Nu 32:8 unto the passage of the Israelites over Zered, were thirty eight years; so long they had been travelling in the wilderness, after they were come to the borders of the land: until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host; all that were twenty years old and upwards, and fit to go out to war upon occasion, when the people were first numbered after they came out of Egypt; all that generation was now consumed within the above space of time, excepting two, Caleb and Joshua;as the Lord sware unto them; Nu 14:21.{b} Mymyhw "et dies", Montanus; "dies autem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. Deuteronomy 2:15Ver. 15. For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them,.... His power was exerted in a way of wrath and vengeance on them, for their murmurings at the report of the spies; and therefore, it is no wonder they were consumed, for strong is his hand, and high is his right hand; and when lifted up it falls heavy, and there is no standing up under it, or against it: it smote them with one disease or another, or brought one judgment or another upon them: as the sword of Amalek, by which many were cut off, and the plague at Shittim in the plains of Moab, in which died 24,000; besides the destruction of Korah and his company, which was quickly after the affair of the spies, and the plague at that time, of which died 14,700; and thus, by one stroke after another, he went on todestroy them from among the host until they were consumed, even all of them but two, as follows. Deuteronomy 2:16Ver. 16. So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed,.... By wasting diseases and judgments of one kind or another:and dead from among the people; the rising and surviving generation. Deuteronomy 2:17Ver. 17. That the Lord spoke unto me,.... At the brook Zered, having passed that, or at Dibongad, which was their next station:saying; as follows. Deuteronomy 2:18Ver. 18. Thou art to pass over through Ar,.... That is, over the river Arnon, by the city Ar of Moab, which was situated by it; see De 2:9 and so Moses and the people of Israel were to pass along by that,and by the coast of Moab; for they were not admitted to enter the land and pass through it; only to travel on the borders of it, and that they were to begin to do this day; the day the Lord spake to Moses. Deuteronomy 2:19Ver. 19. And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon,.... Who dwelt near the Moabites, and were brethren, both descending from Lot, Ge 19:37distress them not, nor meddle with them: lay no siege to any of their cities, nor provoke them to war, nor engage in battle with them:for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; that is, any part of it which was now in their hands; otherwise half their land was given to the tribe of Gad; but then that was what Sihon king of the Amorites had taken from them, and which Israel retook from him, and so possessed it not as the land of the Ammonites, but of the Amorites, one of the seven nations, whose land they were to inherit; see Jos 13:25,because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession; the Ammonites were the children of Lot by his second daughter, Ge 19:38. Deuteronomy 2:20Ver. 20. That also was accounted a land of giants,.... Ammon was so reckoned as well as Moab, De 2:10giants dwelt therein in old time; the Rephaim dwelt there, as they did also in Ashteroth Karnaim, Ge 14:5and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; they are thought to be the same with the Zuzims in Ge 14:5 who had their name, as Hillerus {c} thinks, from Mezuzah, a door post, from their tall stature, being as high as one; and for a like reason Saph the giant might have his name, 2Sa 21:18. The word Zamzummims, according to him {d}, signifies contrivers of evil and terrible things; they were inventors of wickedness, crafty and subtle in forming wicked and mischievous designs, which struck terror into people, and made them formidable to them.{c} Onomastic. Sacr. p. 158, 288, 289. {d} Onomastic. Sacr. p. 161, 310, 428. Deuteronomy 2:21Ver. 21. A people great and many, and tall as the Anakims,.... As the Emims were, De 2:10 but the Lord destroyed them before them; destroyed the Zamzummims before the children of Amman; or otherwise they would have been an too much for them, being so numerous, and of such a gigantic stature:and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead; and in this way, and by these means, he gave them their land for a possession, De 2:19. Deuteronomy 2:22Ver. 22. As he did to the children of Esau which dwelt in Seir,.... He did the like things for them as he did for the Ammonites:when he destroyed the Horims from before them: which is repeated from De 2:12, other instances of the like kind being here recited:and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead, even unto this day;See Gill on "De 2:12". Deuteronomy 2:23Ver. 23. And the Avim, which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah,.... The same with the Avites, who appear to have inhabited some part of the land of the Philistines, in which Azzah or Gaza was, which was one of the five lordships of the Philistines, Jos 13:3. The word Hazerim signifies courts, and a learned man {e} interprets it of tents or huts placed in a square or circular form, so as to have an area in the middle; and in such the Avim may be supposed to dwell, while in Palestine, as far as Gaza:the Caphtorim, which came from out of Caphtor, destroyed them; according to the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, these were Cappadocians, that came out of Cappadocia; but it seems manifest that they were originally of Egypt, see Ge 10:14 and Bochart {f} thinks they went from thence into that part of Cappadocia that was near Colchis; but things not answering their expectations, they returned, and drove out the Avim from their country:and dwelt in their stead; See Gill on "Jer 47:4" see Gill on "Am 9:7". Though it seems as if they were not utterly destroyed, but some escaped into Assyria, and settled there, where was a place called Ava from them; and from whence they were sent by the king of Assyria to repeople the cities of Samaria, after the captivity of the ten tribes; see 2Ki 17:24. Now these several instances are observed to encourage the children of Israel to hope and believe that they should be able to dispossess the Canaanites, and inherit their land; such dispossessions having been very frequent, when it was the will of God they should take place.{e} Clayton's Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 65. {f} Phaleg. l. 4. c. 32. col. 291, 292. Deuteronomy 2:24Ver. 24. Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon,.... Which was on the border of Moab, and divided between Moab and the Amorites, Nu 21:13behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon, the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; that is, he had determined to give it to the Israelites, for as yet it was not actually given; of this king, and the place he was king of, See Gill on "Nu 21:21 see Gill on "Nu 21:26" begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle; provoke him to war, fight with him, take his land from him, and enter upon the possession of it, hereby assuring of victory. Deuteronomy 2:25Ver. 25. This day will I begin to put the dread of thee,.... And so fulfil the prophecies delivered by Moses in Ex 15:14and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven; not only the neighbouring nations, the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines, and Canaanites, but nations more remote even throughout the whole world:who shall report of thee; of what was done for Israel in Egypt, and at the Red sea, and in the wilderness; and particularly of the delivery of Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, and of their kingdoms into their hands:and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee; lest they should proceed on, and make conquests of their lands also; see Jos 2:9. Deuteronomy 2:26Ver. 26. And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth,.... A city in the tribe of Reuben, and given by them to the Levites in later times, having been taken from the Amorites with others; near this lay a wilderness, which took its name from it, and seems to be the same with Jeshimon, Nu 21:20. Aben Ezra takes it to be the wilderness of Matthanah, which according to Jerom {g} was situated on Arnon, twelve miles to the east of Medeba; seeNu 21:18 from hence messengers were sent by Moses,unto Sihon king of Heshbon, with words of peace; in a peaceable and respectful manner, desiring to be at peace and in friendship with him, and a continuance of it, which was done to leave him inexcusable; as afterwards a like method was ordered to be taken, when they came to any city, to proclaim peace, and if an answer of peace was given, no hostilities were to be committed, De 20:10,saying; as follows.{g} De loc. Heb. fol. 93. C. Deuteronomy 2:27Ver. 27. Let me pass through thy land,.... See Gill on "Nu 21:22",I will go along by the highway; the king's highway, as in the place referred to, the public road:I will neither turn to the right hand nor to the left; to go into his fields and vineyards, and gather the fruit, or tread down the corn and vines, or do any manner of mischief to them; see the above place. Deuteronomy 2:28Ver. 28. Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat,.... If they thought fit to have provision of them, they desired no other but to pay for it:and give me water for money, that I may drink; see De 2:6,only I will pass through on my feet; for they were all footmen, Nu 11:21, of the phrase,See Gill on "Nu 20:19". Deuteronomy 2:29Ver. 29. As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me,.... Which respects, as Jarchi observes, not the affair of passing through their land requested, for neither of them granted that, but buying food and drink; for though the Edomites at first seem not to have granted that, yet afterwards they did. The mountain of Seir, and the city Ar, are put for the whole countries of Edom and Moab:until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God giveth us; this is observed to remove any suspicion or jealousy of their seizing his country, and taking possession of it, and dwelling in it; since they only proposed to pass through it on their journey to the land of Canaan, which lay on the other side Jordan, over which they must pass in order to possess it, which they had a right unto by the gift of God. Deuteronomy 2:30Ver. 30. But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him,.... Or through his country, as was desired:for the Lord had hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate; as he did Pharaoh's, for whom he will he hardens; so that he would not listen to the proposals made to him, nor grant the requests asked of him, but with pride and haughtiness of spirit despised and disdained Israel:that he might deliver him into thine hand; that so an opportunity might offer of fighting with him, and taking his country from him; whereas, had he been peaceable and flexible, he had continued in the enjoyment of his land, and Israel would not have had that advantage against him; but God, who has the hearts of kings and of all men in his hands, so wrought upon him that he should take the steps he did, which made way for the delivery of him and his country into the hands of the Israelites:as appeareth this day: for when Moses made this speech, the kingdom of Sihon was possessed by the Israelites, Nu 21:24. Deuteronomy 2:31Ver. 31. And the Lord said unto me,.... After or about the time when the messengers were sent to Sihon, perhaps when they had returned and had brought his answer:behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee; by hardening his heart, which was a sure token of his ruin, and a leading step to the delivery of him into the hands of Israel:begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land; move towards it and enter into it, not fearing any opposition made by him. Deuteronomy 2:32Ver. 32. Then Sihon came out against us,.... Perceiving they were upon their march towards his land or into it, he gathered all his people and went out of Heshbon their capital city, where he resided:he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz; a city which he had taken from the king of Moab, and which in later times, after the captivity of the ten tribes, came into their hands again, Isa 15:4,See Gill on "Nu 21:21". Deuteronomy 2:33Ver. 33. And the Lord our God delivered him before us,.... With their lands:and we smote him and his sons, and all his people; with the edge of the sword; slew them all: the Cetib or textual reading is "his son", though the Keri or margin is "his sons", which we follow. So Jarchi observes, it is written "his son", because he had a son mighty as himself, he says. Deuteronomy 2:34Ver. 34. And we took all his cities at that time,.... As Heshbon, and others mentioned in Nu 21:25,and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones of every city, we left none to remain; for the Amorites were one of the seven nations who were devoted to destruction, the measure of whose iniquity was now full, and therefore vengeance was taken. Deuteronomy 2:35Ver. 35. Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves,.... These they did not destroy, but preserved alive for their own use and profit, and took them as their own property:and the spoil of the cities which we took; as household goods, gold, silver, and whatever valuable was found by them; this they took as plunder, and shared it among themselves. Deuteronomy 2:36Ver. 36. From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river Arnon.... Upon the border of Moab, and the principal city of it; see Jer 48:19and from the city that is by the river; or even the city that is in the midst of the river, the city Aroer, which seems to be meant; seeJos 12:2. This river is afterwards called the river of Gad, 2Sa 24:5 in the midst of it Aroer was, perhaps because it was possessed by the tribe of Gad:even unto Gilead; Mount Gilead and the country adjacent to it, which belonged to Og king of Bashan:there was not one city too strong for us; that could hold out against them, when attacked and besieged by them, but presently surrendered:the Lord our God delivered all unto us; Moses ascribes all the victories and success they had unto the Lord, not to their own might and power, but to the power of God with them, and his blessing on them. Deuteronomy 2:37Ver. 37. Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not,.... Which was then in their possession; otherwise what Sihon had took away from them, that the children of Israel came into and enjoyed, as before observed, De 2:19nor unto any place of the river Jabbok; any town or city situated on this river, which was the border of the children of Ammon, De 3:16,See Gill on "Ge 32:22",nor unto the cities in the mountains; much less did they penetrate into the innermost parts of their country, the mountainous part thereof, and the cities there:nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbad us: whether in Edom, Moab, or Ammon, particularly the latter, of which he is more especially and peculiarly speaking.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.