1Dies sind die Reden, die Mosche redete zu allem Jissrael jenseit des Jordans, in der Wüste, in der Steppe, gegen Ssuf zu, zwischen Paran und Tofel, Laban, Chazerot, Di-Sahab. 2Elf Tagreisen sinds vom Choreb, auf dem Weg zum Gebirge Sseďr, bis Kadesch Barnea, 3aber es war im vierzigsten Jahr: in der elften Mondneuung, am ersten auf die Neuung redete Mosche zu den Söhnen Jissraels, allwie ER ihn an sie entbot, 4nachdem er geschlagen hatte Ssichon König des Amoriters, der in Cheschbon saß, und Og König des Baschan, der in Aschtarot saß, - bei Edreď. 5Jenseit des Jordans, im Lande Moab unterwand sich Mosche diese Weisung zu erklären, sprechend: 6ER unser Gott redete zu uns am Choreb, sprechend: Genug eures Sitzens an diesem Berg! 7Wendet und zieht ihr, daß ihr ins Gebirg des Amoriters kommt und zu all seinen Anwohnern in der Steppe, im Gebirg, in der Niedrung, im Südstrich und an der Küste des Meers, das Land des Kanaaniters, an den Libanon, bis zum großen Strom, dem Strom Euphrat: 8sieh, ich gab das Land vor euch hin, kommt und ererbet das Land, das ER euren Vätern, Abraham, Jizchak und Jaakob, zuschwor ihnen zu geben und ihrem Samen nach ihnen. - 9Ich sprach mit euch zu jener Frist, sprach: Ich für mich vermag nicht euch zu tragen. 10ER euer Gott hat euch gemehrt, da seid ihr heut wie die Sterne des Himmels an Menge 11- ER der Gott eurer Väter füge zu euch tausendfach soviel, wie euer sind, er segne euch, wie er geredet hat für euch - ! 12Wie doch soll ich für mich allein tragen eure Bürde, eure Tracht, euren Streit! 13Stellt für euch Männer, weise, verständige, erfahrne, nach euren Zweigen, daß ich sie einsetze als eure Häupter. 14Ihr antwortetet mir, ihr spracht: Gut zu tun ist die Rede, die du geredet hast. 15Ich nahm die Häupter eurer Zweige, weise erfahrene Männer, ich gab sie als Häupter über euch, Obre von Tausendschaften, Obre von Hundertschaften, Obre von Fünfzigschaften, Obre von Zehnschaften, und als Rollenführer für eure Zweige. 16Ich gebot euren Richtern zu jener Frist, sprechend: Anhört, was zwischen euren Brüdern ist, richten sollt ihr wahrheitlich zwischen einem Mann und seinem Bruder oder seinem Gastsassen. 17Ihr sollt kein Ansehn betrachten im Gericht, so Kleinen so Großen sollt ihr anhören. Nicht sollt ihr bangen vor Mannes Ansehn, denn das Gericht ist Gottes. Die Sache aber, die euch zu hart ist, sollt ihr mir nahen, daß ich sie höre. 18Ich gebot euch zu jener Frist all die Sachen, die ihr tun solltet. 19Wir zogen vom Choreb, wir gingen durch alljene große und furchtbare Wüste, die ihr gesehen habt, den Weg zum Gebirg des Amoriters, wie ER unser Gott uns geboten hatte, wir kamen bis Kadesch Barnea. 20Ich sprach zu euch: Ihr seid bis zum Gebirg des Amoriters gekommen, das ER unser Gott uns gibt, 21sieh, gegeben hat ER dein Gott das Land vor dich hin, steig hinan, ererbe. wie ER der Gott deiner Väter zu dir geredet hat, fürchte nimmer, zage nimmer! 22Ihr aber nahtet mir alle, ihr spracht: Wir wollen Männer vor uns her senden, daß sie uns das Land ausforschen und uns Rede erstatten: den Weg, den wir hinansteigen, die Städte, zu denen wir kommen. 23Gut war in meinen Augen die Rede, ich nahm von euch zwölf Männer, je einen Mann für den Zweig. 24Sie wandten sich, stiegen den Bergstock hinan, kamen bis zum Traubengrund, sie durchspähten es, 25sie nahmen in ihre Hand von der Frucht des Lands, brachtens zu uns herunter, sie erstatteten uns Rede, sie sprachen: Gut ist das Land, das ER unser Gott uns gibt. 26Nicht wart ihr gewillt hinanzusteigen, ihr widerstrebtet SEINEM eures Gottes Mund, 27ihr hetztet einander auf in euren Zelten, ihr spracht: Da ER uns haßt, hat er uns aus dem Land Ägypten geführt, uns in die Hand des Amoriters zu geben, um uns zu vertilgen. 28Wohin sollen wir steigen! unsre Brüder haben uns das Herz geschmolzen, sprechend: Ein Volk, größer und höher als wir, Städte groß, umwehrt an den Himmel, auch Anakitersöhne haben wir dort gesehn. 29Ich sprach zu euch: Ängstet euch nicht, fürchtet euch nicht vor ihnen! 30ER euer Gott, der vor euch hergeht, selber wird er für euch kämpfen, allwie er mit euch in Ägypten vor euren Augen tat 31und in der Wüste, die du sahst, wo ER dein Gott dich trug, wie ein Mann seinen Sohn trägt, auf all dem Weg, den ihr gingt, bis zu eurem Kommen bis zu diesem Ort. 32Noch auf diese Rede bliebt ihr ohne Vertraun auf IHN euren Gott, 33der vor euch herging auf dem Weg, euch Ort auszuspüren, um euch zu lagern, im Feuer nachts, euch sehen zu lassen auf dem Weg, den ihr gehen solltet, und in der Wolke tags. 34ER hörte die Stimme eurer Reden, er ergrimmte, er schwor, sprechend: 35Sieht ein Mann je von diesen Männern, diesem bösen Geschlecht, das gute Land, das zu geben ich euren Vätern zuschwor, ...! 36außer Kaleb Sohn Jefunnes, er solls sehen, ihm gebe ich das Land, durch das er den Weg zog, und seinen Söhnen. Weil er völlig IHM nachfolgte. 37Auch über mich erzürnte ER um euretwillen, sprechend: Auch du wirst dort nicht hinkommen, 38Jehoschua Sohn Nuns, der vor dir steht, er wird dorthin kommen, ihn stärke, denn er wird Jissrael in es eineignen. 39Und euer Kleinvolk, von dem ihr sprachet: Zur Beute wirds, eure Söhne, die heut Gut und Böse nicht auseinanderkennen, die sollen dorthin kommen, ihnen gebe ich es, sie sinds, die es ererben sollen,- 40ihr aber, wendet ihr und zieht in die Wüste, den Weg zum Schilfmeer! 41Ihr antwortetet, ihr spracht zu mir: Gesündigt haben wir IHM, selber wollen aufsteigen wir und kämpfen, allwie ER unser Gott uns geboten hat. Ihr umgürtetet jedermann sein Kampfgerät und nahmets leicht, das Gebirg zu ersteigen. 42ER aber sprach zu mir: Sprich zu ihnen: Steigt nicht auf, kämpfet nicht, denn ich bin nicht mehr drinnen bei euch, - daß ihr nicht hingestoßen werdet vor eure Feinde! 43Ich redete es zu euch, aber ihr hörtet nicht, ihr widerstrebtet SEINEM Mund, ihr vermaßt euch, ihr stiegt das Gebirge hinan. 44Ausfuhr der Amoriter, der in jenem Gebirge siedelt, euch entgegen, sie jagten euch, wie die Bienen tun, sie zerspellten euch in Sseďr, bis Chorma. 45Ihr kehrtet zurück, ihr weintet vor IHM, aber ER hörte nicht auf eure Stimme, er lauschte nicht zu euch hin. 46Ihr saßet in Kadesch Tage genug, die Tage eben, die ihr da saßet.
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.
