Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 1:44
And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, [even] unto Hormah.
44. the Amorites ] So D characteristically (see above on Deu 1:7) names the peoples whom J, Num 14:45, calls Amalekites and Canaanites.
as bees do ] Swarming in their multitudes; cp. Isa 7:18; Psa 118:12; Iliad, ii. 87 ff., ‘As when the tribes of thronging bees issue from some hollow rock.’
in Seir ] Se‘r, the frequent name of the territory of Edom, extended to the W. as well as to the E. of the ‘Arabah; and if that be here intended Israel’s defeat took place on Edomite soil; Sam. ‘in Gebala’ (Gebal being a late post-exilic name for the N. part of Edom’s territory on the E. of the ‘Arabah, Psa 83:8: see ‘Land of Edom’ by the present writer in Expositor, seventh series, vol. vi. pp. 331, 515). LXX and other versions read from Se‘r, which on such a reading would be a definite district in the N. whence Israel were driven southward to ormah. And as Se‘r, rough or shaggy, appears as the name of other localities than the land of Edom (cp. Jos 15:10; Jdg 3:26; Tell-el-Amarna Letters, Winckler’s ed. No. 181, line 26) it is possible that this is but another application of it to some place on the S. border of Palestine. But in that case one must not think of it as the plain of Seer, S.E. of Be’er-sheba‘, which Trumbull ( K. B. 93) identifies with the Edomite Se‘r (cf. Driver); for the spelling of that, first correctly given by J. Wilson ( Lands of the Bible, i. 345) and. confirmed by Palmer ( Des. of the Exod. ii. 404) and Musil ( Edom, i. 9, etc.), as Sirr, is radically different from Se‘r.
unto Hormah ] Not now to be identified. Musil’s lists and maps discover no such place-name. The tradition of the origin of the name is double. According to JE, Num 21:3, it was so called because Israel devoted to the erem or ban the Canaanites whom they defeated there; but in Jdg 1:17 because Judah and Simeon did the same upon their victory. The place lay in Judah in the Negeb on the border of Edom, Jos 12:14; Jos 15:30; cp. 1Sa 30:30; but it was Simeon’s according to Jos 19:4, 1Ch 4:30. In Jdg 1:17 the ancient name is given as ephath; and es-Sbaita (Musil, Edom, ii. 37 ff.) has been suggested as its mod. equivalent, but the radicals of the name are not the same. The situation, however, is suitable; some 25 miles N.N.E. of ‘Ain-udeis.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The Amorites – In Num 14:45, it is the Amalekites and the Canaanites who are said to have discomfited them. The Amorites, as the most powerful nation of Canaan, lend their name here, as in other passages (eg. Deu 1:7) to the Canaanite tribes generally.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 44. The Amorites – chased you] See Clarke on Nu 14:40: as bees do – by irresistible numbers.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
As bees do; as bees which being provoked come out of their hives in great numbers, and with great fury pursue and sting their adversary and disturber, Psa 118:12.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the Amorites which dwelt in the mountain,…. Elsewhere called Canaanites, being one, and a principal one of the seven nations of Canaan, and who were joined and assisted in the attack by the Amalekites, Nu 14:45
came out against you, and chased you, as bees do; which being disturbed in their hives come out in great numbers, and with great fury and ardour (for, though a small creature, it has a great deal of spirit); and pursue the aggressor, and leave him not till they have stung him, though thereby they lose their stings, and quickly their lives, at least their usefulness; so these Amorites, being irritated at the approach of the Israelites on their borders, came out in great numbers and with great wrath, and fell upon them and smote them, and pursued them a long way, as is after expressed, though these in the issue were destroyed themselves. The Syriac version renders it, “as bees that are smoked”: or irritated by smoke; which is a method that has been used, and was anciently: to dispossess them of their hives, and get their honey, as Bochart p from various writers has shown, as from Virgil q, Ovid r, and others; and when they are too much smoked become exceeding angry as Aristotle s and Pliny t observe; and which same writers take notice of the strength and force of their stings, as that they will kill with them the largest animals, even horses have been killed by them; and, though such small feeble creatures, are not afraid to attack men and beasts; yea, sometimes people have been obliged to leave their habitations, and have been driven out of their country by them, of which Aelianus u gives an instance; all which shows the aptness and propriety of this simile; see Ps 118:12 and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah; pursued them as far as Mount Seir, even to another place on the borders of Edom, which was called Hormah, either from the destruction now or afterwards made here; [See comments on Nu 14:45], though some take it not to be the proper name of a place, but an appellative, and render it, “even unto destruction”; so the Jerusalem Targum; that is, destroyed them with an utter destruction.
p Hierozoic, par. 2. l. 4. c. 10. col. 507. q “—–Fumosque manu”, &c. Virgil. Georgic. l. 4. v. 230. r “Quid, cum suppositos”, &c. Ovid. de Remed. Amor. l. 1. v. 185. s Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 40. t Nat Hist. l. 11. c. 16, 18. u De Animal. l. 17. c. 35.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(44) As bees do.This should be observed as illustrating what is said of the hornet in Exo. 23:28-30, and further on in Deu. 7:20; Jos. 24:12. The incidental mention of the bees in this place shows that the writer of Deuteronomy was familiar with the spectacle of a company of men pursued by bees.
In Seir, even unto Hormah.Conder (Bible Handbook, p. 250) understands this Seir as the range of hills round Petra. There is another Seir in the territory of Judah (Jos. 15:10). As to Hormah, the Jewish commentator Aben Ezra says, the name of a place or the verb, i.e., either unto Hormah, or unto utter destruction. But in our version the word Hormah is always taken as a proper name. The situation of Hormah is unknown.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
44. The Amorites Called also the Canaanites, in Num 14:43.
Hormah Comp. Num 14:45. See note on Num 26:3.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 44. Chased you, as bees do The Syriac, Onkelos, and an Arabic MS. which Bochart saw in Sweden, have it, as bees do when irritated by smoke. It is well known, that smoke is applied to drive these insects from their hives; and as then the bees, being enraged, unite, and fall with impetuosity upon those who venture thus to dislodge them, Moses draws thence an elegant comparison to express the number and vivacity of the Amorites, who came suddenly upon the Israelites, boldly purposing to dispossess them. The Psalmist makes use of a similar expression, Psa 108:12 and profane authors have, as it were, emulously striven to imitate the metaphor. See Virg. AEn. 12: ver. 587. Q. Smyrnaeus, lib. 3: cap. 220. Lycophron. ver. 180, &c. It is also very expressive. The bee, though small, is an animal full of fire and courage: the Raucians, a people of Crete, were formerly obliged to give place to them, by yielding to them their city. AElian de Animal. lib. 17: cap. 35. When Lucullus besieged Themiscyrus, the besiegers opposed its underminers with swarms of bees; (Appian, de Bell. Mithrid.) and afterwards the same artifice was more than once renewed on similar occasions, with the like success. See Bochart Hieroz. pars 2: lib. 4 cap. 10 and Scheuchzer’s Physique Sacree, tom. 4:
And destroyed you in Seir The Amorites did not attack the Israelites in Seir, but in their own mountains, to which they had ascended. It should, therefore, be rendered, from Seir; to express, that, after the Amorites had driven the Israelites from their mountains, they pursued them flying into Seir, even to Hormah. The LXX, Vulgate, and Syr. render it from Seir.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Amorites. Compare Num 14:43. See App-25.
bees. Hebrew with art. “the bees”. Art. of species.
destroyed you = beat you down. Hebrew. kathath.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
chased you: When bees are provoked or disturbed, the whole swarm attack and pursue whatever annoys them, with great courage and fury, and sometimes are a most formidable enemy. They were so troublesome in some districts of Crete, that, according to Pliny, the inhabitants were actually compelled to forsake their homes. Alian reports, that some places in Scythia were formerly inaccessible on account of the numerous swarms of bees with which they were infested. Mr. Park relates, that some of his associates imprudently attempted to rob a numerous hive which they found in their way. The exasperated little animals rushed out to defend their property, and attacked them with so much fury, that they quickly compelled the whole company of men, horses, and asses, to scamper off in all directions. The horses were never recovered, and a number of the asses were so severely stung, that they died the next day. Deu 28:25, Deu 32:30, Psa 118:12, Isa 7:18
unto Hormah: Num 14:45, Num 21:3
Reciprocal: Lev 26:36 – and the Num 13:17 – the mountain Deu 1:2 – by the way Jos 7:5 – for they Jos 15:30 – Hormah
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 1:44. As bees As bees, which, being provoked, come out of their hives in great numbers, and with great fury pursue their adversary and disturber.