1Tato jsou slova, kteráž mluvil Mojžíš ke všemu lidu Izraelskému před Jordánem na poušti, na rovinách proti moři Rudému, mezi Fáran a Tofel a Lában a Hazerot a Dizahab. 2Jedenácte dní cesty jest od Oréb přes hory Seir až do Kádesbarne. 3Stalo se pak čtyřidcátého léta, jedenáctého měsíce, v první den téhož měsíce, že mluvil Mojžíš synům Izraelským všecky věci, kteréž jemu byl přikázal Hospodin oznámiti jim, 4Kdyžto již byl zabil Seona, krále Amorejského, kterýž bydlil v Ezebon, a Oga, krále Bázan, kterýž bydlil v Astarot, zabil v Edrei. 5Před Jordánem, v zemi Moábské, počal Mojžíš vysvětlovati zákona tohoto, řka: 6Hospodin Bůh náš mluvil k nám na Orébě, řka: Dosti jste již na hoře této bydlili. 7Obraťte se, táhněte a jděte k hoře Amorejských, na všecko vůkolí její, buď na roviny, na hory, na údolí, na poledne, i na břehy mořské, k zemi Kananejské a k Libánu, až k řece veliké, k řece Eufrates. 8Ej, ukázal jsem vám tu zemi; vejdětež do ní, a dědičně vládněte jí, kterouž s přísahou zaslíbil dáti Hospodin otcům vašim, Abrahamovi, Izákovi a Jákobovi, i semeni jejich po nich. 9A mluvil jsem k vám toho času, řka: Nemohuť sám nésti vás. 10Hospodin Bůh váš rozmnožil vás, a hle, rozmnoženi jste dnes jako hvězdy nebeské. 11(Hospodin Bůh otců vašich rozmnožiž vás nad to, jakž jste nyní, tisíckrát více, a požehnej vám, jakož jest mluvil vám.) 12Kterak bych nesl sám práci vaši, břímě vaše a nesnáze vaše? 13Vydejte z sebe muže moudré a opatrné, a zkušené z pokolení svých, abych je vám představil. 14I odpověděli jste mi a řekli jste: Dobráť jest ta věc, kterouž jsi učiniti rozkázal. 15Vzav tedy přední z pokolení vašich, muže moudré a zkušené, ustanovil jsem je knížaty nad vámi, hejtmany nad tisíci, setníky, padesátníky, desátníky a správce v pokoleních vašich. 16Přikázal jsem také soudcům vašim toho času, řka: Vyslýchejte pře mezi bratřími svými, a suďte spravedlivě mezi mužem a bratrem jeho, i mezi příchozím jeho. 17Nebudete přijímati osoby v soudu; jakž malého tak i velikého slyšeti budete, nebudete se báti žádného, nebo Boží soud jest. Jestliže byste pak měli jakou věc nesnadnou, vznesete na mne, a vyslyším ji. 18Přikázal jsem vám, pravím, toho času všecko, co byste činiti měli. 19Potom pak hnuvše se z Oréb, přešli jsme všecku poušť tuto velikou a hroznou, kterouž jste viděli, jdouce cestou k hoře Amorejských, jakož nám byl přikázal Hospodin Bůh náš, a přišli jsme až do Kádesbarne. 20I řekl jsem vám: Přišli jste až k hoře Amorejské, kterouž Hospodin Bůh náš dává nám. 21Ej, dal Hospodin Bůh tvůj tu zemi tobě; vstupiž a vládni jí, jakož řekl Hospodin Bůh otců tvých tobě; neboj se, aniž se strachuj. 22Vy pak všickni přistoupili jste ke mně a řekli jste: Pošleme muže před sebou, kteříž by nám shlédli zemi, a oznámili by nám něco o cestě, kterouž bychom vstoupiti měli, i města, do nichž bychom přijíti měli. 23Kterážto řeč líbila se mně, a vzal jsem z vás dvanácte mužů, jednoho muže z každého pokolení. 24A oni obrátivše se a vstoupivše na horu, přišli až k údolí Eškol a shlédli zemi. 25Nabrali také s sebou ovoce země té, a přinesli nám, a oznámili nám o těch věcech, řkouce: Dobráť jest země, kterouž Hospodin Bůh náš dává nám. 26A však jste nechtěli jíti, ale odpírali jste řeči Hospodina Boha svého. 27A reptali jste v staních svých, řkouce: Proto že nás v nenávisti měl Hospodin, vyvedl nás z země Egyptské, aby nás vydal v ruce Amorejského, a zahladil nás. 28Kam bychom šli? Bratří naši zstrašili srdce naše, pravíce: Lid ten jest větší a vyšší nežli my, města veliká a hrazená až k nebi, ano i syny Enakovy tam jsme viděli. 29I řekl jsem vám: Nebojte se, ani se strachujte jich. 30Hospodin Bůh váš, kterýž jde před vámi, onť bojovati bude za vás rovně tak, jakž učinil s vámi v Egyptě, před očima vašima. 31Ano i na poušti viděl jsi, kterak nesl tebe Hospodin Bůh tvůj, jako nosí člověk syna svého, a to po vší cestě, kterouž jste šli, až jste přišli na toto místo. 32A ani tak uvěřili jste Hospodinu Bohu svému, 33Kterýž k vyhledání vám místa, na kterémž byste se klásti měli, v noci předcházel vás cestou v ohni, aby vám ukázal cestu, kterouž byste měli jíti, a v oblace ve dne. 34Uslyšel pak Hospodin hlas řečí vašich, a rozhněval se, a přisáhl, řka: 35Jistě že nižádný z lidí těchto pokolení zlého neuzří země té dobré, kterouž jsem s přísahou zaslíbil dáti otcům vašim, 36Kromě Kálefa, syna Jefonova; tenť ji uzří, a jemu dám zemi, po níž chodil, i synům jeho, proto že cele následoval Hospodina. 37Ano i na mne rozhněval se Hospodin příčinou vaší, řka: Také ani ty nevejdeš tam. 38Jozue, syn Nun, kterýž stojí před tebou, onť vejde tam, jeho posilň, nebo on rozdělí ji losem Izraelovi. 39A dítky vaše, o kterýchž jste pravili, že v loupež budou, a synové vaši, kteříž ještě neznají dobrého ani zlého, oni vejdou do ní, a jim dám ji; oni dědičně ji obdrží. 40Vy pak obrátíce se, jděte na poušť cestou k moři Rudému. 41A odpověděvše, řekli jste ke mně: Zhřešiliť jsme Hospodinu. My vstoupíme a budeme bojovati podlé toho všeho, jakž rozkázal nám Hospodin Bůh náš. A vzavše všickni odění svá válečná na sebe, hotovi jste byli vstoupiti na horu. 42Hospodin pak řekl mi: Rci jim: Nevstupujte a nebojujte, neboť nejsem u prostřed vás, abyste nebyli poraženi před nepřátely svými. 43A když jsem vám to mluvil, neuposlechli jste, nýbrž odporni jste byli řeči Hospodinově, a všetečně vstoupili jste na horu. 44Tedy vytáhl Amorejský, kterýž bydlil na té hoře, proti vám, a honili vás, jako činívají včely, a potřeli vás na hoře Seir až do Horma. 45A navrátivše se, plakali jste před Hospodinem, ale neuslyšel Hospodin hlasu vašeho, a uší svých nenaklonil k vám. 46I zůstali jste v Kádes za mnohé dny, podlé počtu dnů, v nichž jste tam byli.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 MOSES' SPEECH AT THE END OF THE FORTIETH YEAR. (Deu. 1:1-46)
These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel--The mental condition of the people generally in that infantine age of the Church, and the greater number of them being of young or tender years, rendered it expedient to repeat the laws and counsels which God had given. Accordingly, to furnish a recapitulation of the leading branches of their faith and duty was among the last public services which Moses rendered to Israel. The scene of their delivery was on the plains of Moab where the encampment was pitched
on this side Jordan--or, as the Hebrew word may be rendered "on the bank of the Jordan."
in the wilderness, in the plain--the Arabah, a desert plain, or steppe, extended the whole way from the Red Sea north to the Sea of Tiberias. While the high tablelands of Moab were "cultivated fields," the Jordan valley, at the foot of the mountains where Israel was encamped, was a part of the great desert plain, little more inviting than the desert of Arabia. The locale is indicated by the names of the most prominent places around it. Some of these places are unknown to us. The Hebrew word, Suph, "red" (for "sea," which our translators have inserted, is not in the original, and Moses was now farther from the Red Sea than ever), probably meant a place noted for its reeds (
Num 21:14).
Tophel--identified as Tafyle or Tafeilah, lying between Bozrah and Kerak.
Hazeroth--is a different place from that at which the Israelites encamped after leaving "the desert of Sinai."
2 There are eleven days' journey from Horeb--Distances are computed in the East still by the hours or days occupiesd by the journey. A day's journey on foot is about twenty miles--on camels, at the rate of three miles an hour, thirty miles--and by caravans, about twenty-five miles. But the Israelites, with children and flocks, would move at a slow rate. The length of the Ghor from Ezion-geber to Kadesh is a hundred miles. The days here mentioned were not necessarily successive days [ROBINSON], for the journey can be made in a much shorter period. But this mention of the time was made to show that the great number of years spent in travelling from Horeb to the plain of Moab was not owing to the length of the way, but to a very different cause; namely, banishment for their apostasy and frequent rebellions.
mount Seir--the mountainous country of Edom.
3 in the fortieth year . . . Moses spake unto the children of Israel, &c.--This impressive discourse, in which Moses reviewed all that God had done for His people, was delivered about a month before his death, and after peace and tranquillity had been restored by the complete conquest of Sihon and Og.
4 Ashtaroth--the royal residence of Og, so called from Astarte ("the moon"), the tutelary goddess of the Syrians. Og was slain at
Edrei--now Edhra, the ruins of which are fourteen miles in circumference [BURCKHARDT]; its general breadth is about two leagues.
5 On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law--that is, explain this law. He follows the same method here that he elsewhere observes; namely, that of first enumerating the marvellous doings of God in behalf of His people, and reminding them what an unworthy requital they had made for all His kindness--then he rehearses the law and its various precepts.
6 The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount--Horeb was the general name of a mountainous district; literally, "the parched" or "burnt region," whereas Sinai was the name appropriated to a particular peak [see on
Exod 19:2]. About a year had been spent among the recesses of that wild solitude, in laying the foundation, under the immediate direction of God, of a new and peculiar community, as to its social, political, and, above all, religious character; and when this purpose had been accomplished, they were ordered to break up their encampment in Horeb. The command given them was to march straight to Canaan, and possess it [
Deut 1:7].
7 the mount of the Amorites--the hilly tract lying next to Kadesh-barnea in the south of Canaan.
to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon--that is, Phśnicia, the country of Sidon, and the coast of the Mediterranean--from the Philistines to Lebanon. The name "Canaanite" is often used synonymously with that of "Phśnician."
8 I have set the land before you--literally, "before your faces"--it is accessible; there is no impediment to your occupation. The order of the journey as indicated by the places mentioned would have led to a course of invasion, the opposite of what was eventually followed; namely, from the seacoast eastward--instead of from the Jordan westward (see on
Num 20:1).
9 I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone--a little before their arrival in Horeb. Moses addresses that new generation as the representatives of their fathers, in whose sight and hearing all the transactions he recounts took place. A reference is here made to the suggestion of Jethro (
Exod 18:18). In noticing his practical adoption of a plan by which the administration of justice was committed to a select number of subordinate officers, Moses, by a beautiful allusion to the patriarchal blessing, ascribed the necessity of that memorable change in the government to the vast increase of the population.
10 ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude--This was neither an Oriental hyperbole nor a mere empty boast. Abraham was told (
Gen 15:5-
Gen 15:6) to look to the stars, and though they "appear" innumerable, yet those seen by the naked eye amount, in reality, to no more than three thousand ten in both hemispheres. The Israelites already far exceeded that number, being at the last census above six hundred thousand [
Num 26:51]. It was a seasonable memento, calculated to animate their faith in the accomplishment of other parts of the divine promise.
19 we went through all that great and terrible wilderness--of Paran, which included the desert and mountainous space lying between the wilderness of Shur westward, or towards Egypt and mount Seir, or the land of Edom eastwards; between the land of Canaan northwards, and the Red Sea southwards; and thus it appears to have comprehended really the wilderness of Sin and Sinai [FISK]. It is called by the Arabs El Tih, "the wandering." It is a dreary waste of rock and of calcareous soil covered with black sharp flints; all travellers, from a feeling of its complete isolation from the world, describe it as a great and terrible wilderness.
22 ye came . . . and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land--The proposal to despatch spies emanated from the people through unbelief; but Moses, believing them sincere, gave his cordial assent to this measure, and God on being consulted permitted them to follow the suggestion (see on
Num 13:1). The issue proved disastrous to them, only through their own sin and folly.
28 the cities are great, and walled up to heaven--an Oriental metaphor, meaning very high. The Arab marauders roam about on horseback, and hence the walls of St. Catherine's monastery on Sinai are so lofty that travellers are drawn up by a pulley in a basket.
Anakims--(See on
Num 13:33). The honest and uncompromising language of Moses, in reminding the Israelites of their perverse conduct and outrageous rebellion at the report of the treacherous and fainthearted scouts, affords a strong evidence of the truth of this history as well as of the divine authority of his mission. There was great reason for his dwelling on this dark passage in their history, as it was their unbelief that excluded them from the privilege of entering the promised land (
Heb 3:19); and that unbelief was a marvellous exhibition of human perversity, considering the miracles which God had wrought in their favor, especially in the daily manifestations they had of His presence among them as their leader and protector.
34 the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth--In consequence of this aggravated offense (unbelief followed by open rebellion), the Israelites were doomed, in the righteous judgment of God, to a life of wandering in that dreary wilderness till the whole adult generation had disappeared by death. The only exceptions mentioned are Caleb and Joshua, who was to be Moses' successor.
37 Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes--This statement seems to indicate that it was on this occasion Moses was condemned to share the fate of the people. But we know that it was several years afterwards that Moses betrayed an unhappy spirit of distrust at the waters of strife (
Ps 106:32-
Ps 106:33). This verse must be considered therefore as a parenthesis.
39 your children . . . who in that day had no knowledge between good and evil--All ancient versions read "to-day" instead of "that day"; and the sense is--"your children who now know," or "who know not as yet good or evil." As the children had not been partakers of the sinful outbreak, they were spared to obtain the privilege which their unbelieving parents had forfeited. God's ways are not as man's ways [
Isa 55:8-
Isa 55:9].
40 turn you, and take your journey into the . . . Red Sea--This command they disregarded, and, determined to force an onward passage in spite of the earnest remonstrances of Moses, they attempted to cross the heights then occupied by the combined forces of the Amorites and Amalekites (compare
Num 14:43), but were repulsed with great loss. People often experience distress even while in the way of duty. But how different their condition who suffer in situations where God is with them from the feelings of those who are conscious that they are in a position directly opposed to the divine will! The Israelites were grieved when they found themselves involved in difficulties and perils; but their sorrow arose not from a sense of the guilt so much as the sad effects of their perverse conduct; and "though they wept," they were not true penitents. So the Lord would not hearken to their voice, nor give ear unto them.
46 So ye abode at Kadesh many days--That place had been the site of their encampment during the absence of the spies, which lasted forty days, and it is supposed from this verse that they prolonged their stay there after their defeat for a similar period.