1Toto jsou slova, kterými se Mojžíš k celému Izraeli obrátil za Jordánem, v poušti, v Arabě naproti Sufu, mezi Paranem a Tofelem, Labanem, Chaserotem a Di-Zahabem. - 2Je to jedenáct dní pochodu od Chorebu cestou v pohoří Seir až do Kadeš-Barne. - 3Bylo to čtyřicátého roku, prvního dne jedenáctého měsíce; Mojžíš tehdy promluvil k Izraelitům podle všeho, co mu pro ně Jahve nařídil. 4Porazil krále Amoritů Sichona, který sídlil v Chešbonu, a krále Bašanu Oga, který sídlil v Aštarotu a v Edrej. 5A za Jordánem, v moabské zemi, se Mojžíš rozhodl, že vyhlásí tento Zákon. Řekl: 6Jahve, náš Bůh, k nám promluvil na Chorebu: „Na této hoře jste již prodlévali dost dlouho. 7Jděte pryč, odejděte a jděte na horu Amoritů, ke všem, kteří obývají Arabu, Horu, Nížinu, Negeb a mořské pobřeží, jděte do kanaánské země a do Libanonu až k velké řece, k řece Eufratu. 8To je země, kterou jsem vám dal; jděte tedy a převezměte tu zemi, kterou Jahve přísahou slíbil vašim otcům Abrahámovi, Izákovi a Jakubovi a jejich potomkům po nich.“ 9Tehdy jsem vám řekl: „Nejsem s to starat se o vás sám. 10Jahve, váš Bůh, vás rozmnožil a teď jste četní jako hvězdy na nebi. 11Jahve, Bůh vašich otců, vás rozmnoží ještě tisícinásobně a požehná vám, jak vám řekl! 12Jak bych tedy sám nesl vaše trpkosti, vaše obviňování a vaše rozepře? 13Vezměte tedy z každého svého kmene moudré, prozíravé a zkušené muže, z nichž bych vám udělal náčelníky.“ 14Vy jste mi odpověděli: „Co navrhuješ, je dobré.“ 15Vzal jsem tedy vaše kmenové náčelníky, moudré a zkušené muže, a dal jsem vám je za náčelníky: náčelníky tisíců, stovek, padesátek a desítek a dozorce pro vaše kmeny. 16Tehdy jsem zároveň předepsal vašim soudcům: „Vyslechnete své bratry a budete zjednávat spravedlnost mezi kterýmkoli mužem a jeho bratrem nebo cizincem, který vedle něho sídlí. 17Při rozsuzování nebudete nikomu stranit, nýbrž vyslechnete malého stejně jako velkého. Nebudete se bát člověka, neboť rozsudek náleží Bohu. Bude-li některý případ pro vás příliš nesnadný, pošlete mi jej, abych si jej vyslechl.“ 18Předepsal jsem vám tehdy vše, co máte dělat. 19Odešli jsme z Chorebu a vstoupili, jak nám nařídil Jahve, náš Bůh, na onu velkou a strašlivou poušť, kterou jste viděli cestou k hoře Amoritů, a došli jsme do Kadeš-Barne. 20Tehdy jsem vám řekl: „Hle, přišli jste k této hoře Amoritů, kterou nám dal Jahve, náš Bůh. 21Pohleď, Jahve, tvůj Bůh, ti dal tuto zemi. Vystup a převezmi ji, jak ti to řekl Jahve, Bůh tvých otců; neboj se a nestrachuj.“ 22Všichni jste za mnou přišli a řekli jste mi: „Vyšleme před sebou nějaké muže, aby tu zemi prozkoumali; podají nám zprávu o cestě, kterou máme jít, a o městech, kam budeme moci vejít.“ 23Ta rada se mi zdála dobrá a vybral jsem z vás dvanáct mužů, po jednom z každého kmene. 24Oni se vydali směrem k hoře, vystoupili na ni a došli na výzvědy do údolí Eškol. 25Vzali s sebou plody té země, přinesli nám je a řekli nám: „Je to šťastná země, kterou nám dal Jahve, náš Bůh.“ 26Ale vy jste odmítli tam jít a vzbouřili jste se proti hlasu Jahva, svého Boha, 27a žehrali jste ve svých stanech a říkali: „Z nenávisti k nám nás Jahve vyvedl z egyptské země, aby nás vydal do moci Amoritů a aby nás zničil. 28Kam to máme jít? Naši bratři nás odradili, když řekli: Je to větší lid a je větší postavy než my, města jsou veliká a jejich hradby čnějí až do nebe. A dokonce jsme tam viděli Anakovce.“ 29Řekl jsem vám: „Netřeste se a nemějte z nich strach. 30Jahve, váš Bůh, který vám kráčí v čele, bude bojovat za vás, tak jak jste viděli, že to dělal v Egyptě. 31Viděl jsi to také na poušti: Jahve, tvůj Bůh, tě podporoval, jako muž podporuje svého syna, po celou cestu, po níž jste šli až sem.“ 32Tehdy však nikdo z vás neuvěřil v Jahva, svého Boha, 33který před vámi šel po cestě, aby vám hledal místo k táboření, za noci v ohni, aby vám svítil na cestu, za dne v oblaku. 34K Jahvovi dolehly vaše řeči, rozhněval se a učinil tuto přísahu: 35„Ani jeden z mužů tohoto zvrhlého pokolení neuvidí onu šťastnou zemi, o níž jsem přísahal, že ji dám vašim otcům, 36s výjimkou Jefuneho syna Kaleba: on ji uvidí a jemu a jeho synům dám tu zemi, po které on chodil, neboť dokonale poslouchal Jahva.“ 37Kvůli vám se Jahve rozhněval dokonce i na mne a řekl mi: „Ani ty tam nevejdeš. 38Vejde tam tvůj služebník, Nunův syn Jozue. Posilni ho, neboť on uvede Izraele do vlastnictví té země. 39Ale vejdou tam vaše malé děti, o kterých jste tvrdili, že budou vydány za kořist, vaši synové, kteří ještě neumějí rozlišovat dobré a zlé, jim ji dám, oni ji budou vlastnit. 40Vy pak se otočte a vraťte se nazpět na poušť, směrem k moři Suf.“ 41Tehdy jste mi odpověděli: „Zhřešili jsme proti Jahvovi, svému Bohu. Půjdeme a budeme bojovat, jak nám nařídil Jahve, náš Bůh.“ Každý jste se opásal zbraněmi a vystrojili jste se, abyste vystoupili na tu horu. 42Ale Jahve mi řekl: „Řekni jim: Nevystupujte vzhůru a nebojujte, neboť nejsem uprostřed vás; ať vás vaši nepřátelé neporazí.“ 43Ať jsem k vám mluvil, jak mluvil, neposlouchali jste mě a vzbouřili jste se proti Jahvovu hlasu, domýšlivě jste vystoupili na tu horu. 44Amorité, kteří tu horu obývají, vám vyšli vstříc, pronásledovali vás jako včely a pobíjeli vás v Seiru až k Chormě. 45Při návratu jste před Jahvem plakali; on neposlouchal váš hlas a nevšímal si vás. 46Proto jste museli po mnoho dní zůstat v Kadeši, tak dlouho, jak 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.
