Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 29:23

[And that] the whole land thereof [is] brimstone, and salt, [and] burning, [that] it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

23. brimstone, etc.] The prediction is in terms of the surroundings of the Dead Sea. Beareth, lit. causeth to sprout; grass better herbage.

Sodom Zeboiim ] Amo 4:11, Hos 11:8; Gen 14:2; Gen 19:24 f.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The description is borrowed from the local features of the Dead Sea and its vicinity. The towns of the vale of Siddim were fertile and well watered (compare Gen 13:10) until devastated by the wrath of God Gen 19:24-25. The ruin of Israel and its land should be of the like sort (compare Lev 26:31-32; Psa 107:34; Zep 2:9). The desolate state of Palestine at present, and the traces of former fertility and prosperity, are attested by every traveler.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Is brimstone, and salt, and burning, i.e. is burnt up and made barren, as with brimstone and salt. See Jdg 9:45; Psa 107:34; Jer 17:6; Eze 47:11.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

[And that] the whole land thereof [is] brimstone and salt,

[and] burning,…. That is, is become exceeding barren, as all such land is where there are sulphureous mines, or salt pits, or burning mountains; not that this would be, or has been the case of the land of Judea in a strict literal sense; only these are expressions made use of to show the barrenness of it, which is its case at this day, not through the nature of its soil being changed, but through the slothfulness of the inhabitants of it; to which time it better agrees than to the time of its falling into the hands of the Chaldeans, who left men in it for husbandmen and vinedressers. Aben Ezra understands this as a prayer to God, that the land might be burnt up; that is, for the sins of the people:

[that] it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein; not being sown, it would bear and produce no corn for men; and not being manured, no grass would spring up for the cattle: and so would be

like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboim; which indeed are, strictly speaking, become a sulphurous and bituminous lake, called the salt sea, and the lake Asphaltites, and where no green grass or corn, or any kind of fruit grow: which the Lord overthrew in his anger and in his wrath the Targum of Jonathan is,

“which the Word of the Lord overthrew;”

and it was Jehovah, the Word, or Son of God, who rained, from Jehovah the Father, out of heaven, fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, and the rest of the cities; [See comments on Ge 19:24], in which chapter is the history of this fatal overthrow.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(23) And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein.Can this be a description of the same country of which it was written in Deu. 8:7-9, A good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness; and (Deu. 11:12) a land which the Lord thy God careth for? Yet every one knows which of these two descriptions has been nearer to the actual fact for many centuries.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

23. The whole land thereof is brimstone, etc. The description is taken from the Dead Sea and the destruction of the Cities of the Plain.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Ver. 23. The whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning Utterly desolate and laid waste: the allusion is to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone, and to the bitumen and salt wherewith the barren plains of those once fertile cities afterwards abounded. See Hos 11:8.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Deu 29:23 [And that] the whole land thereof [is] brimstone, and salt, [and] burning, [that] it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

Ver. 23. And beareth not any grass. ] As they say no ground doth where the great Turk hath once set his foot; such waste he makes, and such desolation he leaves behind him.

Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. ] See Trapp on “ Gen 19:24 “ See Trapp on “ Gen 19:25 “

Admah and Zeboim. ] Which two cities, bordering on Sodom and Gomorrah, were the worse, and fared the worse, for their neighbourhood, as Hamath did for Damascus. Zec 9:2 God overthrew them, and repented not. Jer 20:16

And that the whole land thereof is brimstone and salt. ] In the fire that consumed Sodom there was, it seemeth, admixed salt, to make the land barren, and to pickle up the people; brimstone also to keep down with its weight the fire, which of itself was light, and tended upwards.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

brimstone: Job 18:15, Isa 34:9, Luk 17:29, Rev 19:20

salt: Jdg 9:45, Psa 107:34, Jer 17:6, Eze 47:11, Zep 2:9, Luk 14:34, Luk 14:35

like the: Gen 14:2, Gen 19:24, Gen 19:25, Jer 20:16, Hos 11:8, Hos 11:9, Amo 4:11

Reciprocal: Lev 26:32 – And I 2Ki 22:13 – great 2Ki 22:19 – a desolation Job 18:20 – astonied Job 39:6 – barren land Psa 18:8 – went Isa 1:9 – we should Isa 5:6 – I will lay Isa 13:19 – when God overthrew Isa 24:3 – shall Jer 4:26 – the fruitful Jer 14:4 – the ground Jer 15:14 – a fire Jer 18:16 – make Jer 22:8 – General Jer 49:18 – in the Jer 50:40 – General Eze 5:8 – in the Eze 16:46 – thy younger sister Eze 16:50 – therefore Eze 36:30 – reproach Eze 36:34 – General Zec 8:13 – a curse 2Pe 2:6 – turning Rev 14:10 – be Rev 18:9 – the smoke

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge