1Toto jsou slova, která mluvil Mojžíš k celému Izraeli za Jordánem, v pustině, v Arabě naproti Súfu, mezi Páranem a Tófelem, Lábanem, Chaserótem a Dí-zahabem. 2Od Chorébu směrem k pohoří Seíru až do Kádeš-barneje to je jedenáct dní. 3I stalo se ve čtyřicátém roce, v jedenáctém měsíci, prvního dne toho měsíce, že Mojžíš pověděl synům Izraele všechno, co mu pro ně Hospodin přikázal, 4poté, co pobil emorejského krále Síchona sídlícího v Chešbónu a bášanského krále Óga sídlícího v Aštarótu a v Edreí. 5Za Jordánem, v moábské zemi, začal Mojžíš vysvětlovat tento zákon: 6Hospodin, náš Bůh, k nám promluvil na Chorébu: Dost dlouho jste pobývali na této hoře. 7Vydejte se na cestu, vyrazte a jděte do pohoří Emorejců, ke všem jejich sousedům, do Araby, do pohoří, do Šefely, do Negebu a na pobřeží moře, do kenaanské země a Libanonu, až k Veliké řece, řece Eufratu. 8Pohleď, dal jsem před vás tu zemi. Jděte a obsaďte zemi, o které Hospodin přísahal vašim otcům, Abrahamovi, Izákovi a Jákobovi, že ji dá jim a jejich potomstvu po nich. 9V té době jsem vám řekl: Nemohu vás sám unést. 10Hospodin, váš Bůh, vás rozmnožil, ano je vás dnes tolik jako hvězd na nebi. 11Ať vám Hospodin, Bůh vašich otců, ještě tisíckrát přidá a požehná vám, tak jak vám řekl. 12Jak ale mohu sám unést vaši zátěž, vaše břemena a vaše spory? 13Vyberte si ve svých kmenech moudré, rozumné a znalé muže a ustanovím je za vaše předáky. 14Nato jste mi odpověděli: To, co jsi řekl, abychom učinili, je dobré. 15Vzal jsem tedy předáky vašich kmenů, moudré a znalé muže, a ustanovil jsem je předáky nad vámi, veliteli nad tisíci, veliteli nad sty, veliteli nad padesáti, veliteli nad deseti a správci nad vašimi kmeny. 16V té době jsem přikázal vašim soudcům: Vyslechněte své bratry a suďte spravedlivě mezi člověkem a jeho bratrem i příchozím. 17Při soudu nestraňte lidem, vyslechněte malého i velkého. Nemějte strach z člověka, neboť soud patří Bohu. Záležitost, která bude pro vás příliš těžká, předneste mně a já ji vyslechnu. 18V té době jsem vám přikázal všechno, co máte dělat. 19Vyrazili jsme z Chorébu a šli jsme celou tou velkou a obávanou pustinou, kterou jste viděli cestou k emorejskému pohoří, jak nám přikázal Hospodin, náš Bůh, až jsme došli do Kádeš-barneje. 20Řekl jsem vám: Přišli jste až k emorejskému pohoří, které vám dává Hospodin, náš Bůh. 21Pohleď, Hospodin, tvůj Bůh, před tebe dal zemi. Vytáhni a obsaď ji, jak ti řekl Hospodin, Bůh tvých otců. Neboj se a neděs. 22Přistoupili jste všichni ke mně a řekli jste: Pošleme před sebou muže, aby pro nás proslídili zemi a přinesli nám zpět zprávu o cestě, kterou máme táhnout, a o městech, do kterých máme vejít. 23Líbilo se mi to a vybral jsem z vás dvanáct mužů, jednoho muže za každý kmen. 24Vydali se na cestu, stoupali do pohoří a přišli až do údolí Eškólu. Prozkoumali ho, 25vzali s sebou z ovoce té země a zanesli to k nám. Přinesli nám zprávu se slovy: Země, kterou nám dává Hospodin, náš Bůh, je dobrá. 26Nechtěli jste však vytáhnout a vzpírali jste se příkazu Hospodina, svého Boha, 27reptali jste ve svých stanech a říkali jste: Hospodin nás měl v nenávisti, vyvedl nás z egyptské země, aby nás vydal do ruky Emorejců a vyhladil nás. 28Kam to táhneme? Naši bratři oslabovali naše srdce slovy: Je tam lid větší a vyšší nežli my, jsou tam města velká a opevněná až k nebesům; viděli jsme tam dokonce i potomky Anákovců. 29Nato jsem vám řekl: Nemějte strach a nebojte se jich. 30Hospodin, váš Bůh, který jde před vámi, on bude bojovat za vás, stejně jako jednal s vámi před vašima očima v Egyptě 31a v pustině, kde jsi viděl, jak tě Hospodin, tvůj Bůh, nesl, jako nosí člověk svého syna, po celou cestu, kterou jste šli, až jste přišli na toto místo. 32Navzdory tomu všemu jste nevěřili Hospodinu, svému Bohu, 33který šel cestou před vámi, aby vám vyhledal místo k táboření a aby vám ukázal cestu, po které byste měli jít — ohněm v noci a oblakem ve dne. 34Když Hospodin uslyšel křik vašich slov, rozhněval se a přísahal: 35Nikdo z lidí této zlé generace neuvidí tu dobrou zemi, o které jsem přísahal, že ji dám vašim otcům, 36kromě Káleba, syna Jefunova. Ten ji uvidí, jemu a jeho synům dám zemi, na kterou vstoupil, protože šel naplno za Hospodinem. 37Také na mě se Hospodin kvůli vám rozhněval a řekl: Ani ty tam nevejdeš. 38Jozue, syn Núnův, který ti slouží, ten tam vejde. Jej posilni, neboť on dá zemi Izraeli do dědictví. 39Vaše malé děti, o kterých jste říkali, že se stanou kořistí, a vaši synové, kteří dnes nerozeznají dobré a zlé, ti tam vejdou, jim ji dám a oni ji obsadí. 40Vy se však vydejte na cestu zpět a vyrazte do pustiny směrem k Rákosovému moři. 41Nato jste mi odpověděli: Zhřešili jsme proti Hospodinu. Vytáhneme a budeme bojovat, jak přikázal Hospodin, náš Bůh. Připásali jste si každý své válečné zbraně a lehkomyslně jste vytáhli do pohoří. 42Hospodin mi řekl: Řekni jim: Netáhněte a nebojujte, protože já nejsem uprostřed vás; ať nejste poraženi od svých nepřátel. 43Mluvil jsem k vám, ale neposlouchali jste. Vzepřeli jste se Hospodinovu příkazu, jednali jste povýšeně a vytáhli jste do pohoří. 44Emorejci sídlící v onom pohoří vytáhli proti vám, pronásledovali vás, jako to dělávají včely, a rozehnali vás od Seíru až po Chormu. 45Když jste se vrátili, plakali jste před Hospodinem, ale Hospodin neslyšel váš hlas, nenaslouchal vám. 46Zůstali jste v Kádeši po mnoho dní, asi tak rok jste tam zůstali.
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.
