4<\/strong>. Ye are to pass<\/em> ] The Heb. participle expressing, as often, the immediate future.<\/p>\n through the border<\/em> ] Rather through the territory<\/strong>. The preposition is the same as that used in Israel’s request in JE, Num 21:17<\/span>, let us pass through thy land<\/em> and in Edom’s reply, thou shall not pass through me<\/em>. Had the meaning been on<\/em> or along the border<\/em>, another preposition would have been used. The territory of Edom appears to have reached the sea (1Ki 9:26<\/span>), and Israel must needs cross it on the way to Moab.<\/p>\n your brethren, the<\/em> sons<\/strong> of Esau<\/em> ] Deu 23:7<\/span>; Amo 1:11<\/span>; Oba 1:10<\/span>; Oba 1:12<\/span>; Mal 1:2<\/span>.<\/p>\n which dwell in Seir<\/em> ] Se‘r<\/em> is here equivalent to Mt Se‘r as the next verse shows; yet the range, running S., droops and gives way before the W. el ’Ithm is reached, up which we have supposed that Israel marched.<\/p>\n and they shall be afraid of you<\/em> ] Heb. so that they shall be afraid of you<\/em>. This is the temper imputed to Edom by JE when Israel asked leave to cross their land from adesh, Num 10:18-20<\/span>.<\/p>\n take ye good hed unto yourselves<\/em> ] Another favourite expression of the deuteronomic writers.<\/p>\n Compare the marginal reference. Though the Edomites resisted the passage through the midst of their land, they did not, and probably could not, oppose the passing through the coast or along their eastern frontier.<\/P><\/p>\n Through the coast, <\/B>or, by or near the coast or border<\/I>; for they did not pass through their borders, as it is said, Num 20:21<\/span>. And the particle beth doth oft signify by or near, as Gen 37:13<\/span>; Jos 5:13<\/span>; Jdg 8:5<\/span>; Jer 32:7<\/span>. Thus that difference may be reconciled, which others reconcile thus, that they at first denied it, but afterwards granted it. <\/P> Which dwell in Seir:<\/B> these words restrain the prohibition to these particular children of Esau, for there were another sort or branch of Esaus children, which were to be meddled with and destroyed, even the Amalekites, Exo 17:14<\/span>; Deu 25:17<\/span>, who were Esaus posterity, Gen 36:12<\/span>. <\/P> They shall be afraid of you; <\/B>but I charge you take no advantage of their fears, which you will be very apt to do. <\/P> <\/p>\n 4. the children of Esau, which dwellin Seir . . . shall be afraid of you<\/B>The same people who hadhaughtily repelled the approach of the Israelites from the westernfrontier were alarmed now that they had come round upon the weak sideof their country.<\/P><\/p>\n And command thou the people<\/strong>,…. Give them a strict charge:<\/p>\n saying, ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children or Esau<\/strong>: not through the midst of their country, for that the king of Edom would not admit of, but by or on the border of it:<\/p>\n and they shall be afraid of you<\/strong>; lest such a numerous body of people as Israel were should seize upon their country, and dispossess them of it, they having been so long, wanderers in a wilderness near them:<\/p>\n take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore<\/strong>; that they did not take any advantage of their fears, and fall upon them, and do them mischief, or that they did not provoke them to battle and overcome them.<\/p>\n 4. And they shall be afraid of you. This temptation was the more provoking, when they heard not only that the embassy would be vain, but that although Edom should receive them with injustice and hostility, they were still to abstain from violence and arms. For there might be some reason in this, that when they presented their request in a friendly manner, they would have a legitimate cause of war, if Edom should reject their demands. But this further condition might appear altogether intolerable that they were to do nothing against those who refused to let them pass quietly through their land. Hence, however, it more fully appears how the Israelites were gradually, and by various kinds of chastisement, subdued to obedience, whereas they would otherwise have fiercely and petulantly exclaimed that they had been dealt with unkindly by God; since thus their condition would be worse than the universal law of nations allowed. In this matter, then, their wanderings, for eight and thirty years, had much efficacy in bringing them back to the right way. <\/p>\n (4) Ye are to pass through the coast.<\/strong>Literally, Ye are passing through the border. <\/em>This was apparently said before the permission was asked, and in view of the request made for it (Num. 20:17<\/span>). But Edom refused to let Israel pass through his coast or border <\/em>(Num. 20:21<\/span>).<\/p>\n They shall be afraid of you.<\/strong>According to the prophecy in the song of Moses (Exo. 15:15<\/span>), Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed.<\/p>\n 4<\/strong>. <\/strong> The coast of the children of Esau <\/strong> In Num 20:14<\/span>, we read that Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom asking permission to pass through his country. The request was refused, and the Edomites made hostile preparations to resist the march of the Israelites. At this time the march is along the eastern frontier of Edom, where the land is comparatively open and defenceless. <\/p>\n They shall be afraid of you <\/strong> The same people who had repelled the Israelites when on their western frontier are alarmed at their march along their eastern border.<\/p>\n The Children of Esau in Seir (Edom) Their Brother Tribe Was To Be Left Alone ( Deu 2:4-8<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/strong> <\/p>\n The first to be approached were the children of Esau who dwelt in Seir. It is interesting that Edom is not mentioned by name, although they would later be known as Edomites. The emphasis is on their relationship to Abraham and Isaac. Their land was given to them by Yahweh and was their possession. It must not be trespassed on. <\/p>\n Deu 2:4-5<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And command you the people, saying, “You are to pass through the border of your brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, and they will be afraid of you. Take good heed to yourselves therefore, do not contend with them, for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given mount Seir to Esau for a possession.” <\/p>\n In order to reach the land they must pass through or along the borders of Edom. But Edom would be afraid of them. However, they were not to seek a quarrel with them for Edom lived in the land given to their forefather Esau by Yahweh as a possession. Indeed Israel did not have permission to set even one foot on Edom’s soil. Not an inch of it is given to them. <\/p>\n “I have given mount Seir to Esau for a possession.”<\/strong> The fact that Esau’s descendants were in possession of the land which Yahweh had given them because they were descendants of Abraham augured well for the future. What Yahweh had done for Edom He would do for Israel, who were also descendants of Abraham. This should have instilled them with confidence. <\/p>\n That the gods were seen as giving land to their favourites, especially land blessed with abundant water, comes out in the pre-Moses Canaanite legend of King Keret. It is about a place called ‘Udum the Great, ‘Udum abundant in water’ which seeks to buy off the forces of the invading King Keret, and in his plea Udum’s king cries, “Do not harm Udum the Great, even Udum abundant in water, Udum is the gift of El, the present of the Father of men” (lines 60-64). King Keret, however, rather claims not ransom but the king’s beautiful firstborn daughter. But note the many contrasts, especially in that the claim is made by the king of Udum himself, not by the king who sought to conquer it. Every nation thought that their land was given to them by their god (compare Jdg 11:24<\/span>), but that did not impress other nations. In this particular case it was seen as El’s special gift because of its abundance of water (some have tried to relate Udum to Edom but this was hardly a picture of Edom where water was short and needed to be bought and sold – Deu 2:6<\/span>). Men ever saw water as a divine gift. But Moses sees the lands of Edom, Moab and Ammon as gifts not of their gods, but of Yahweh, because of their relationship with Abraham, and therefore inviolable. That being so other nations had received their lands as gifts from Yahweh, even though they did not acknowledge Him. For Yahweh worked His sovereign will. How much more then could Israel be confident that Yahweh would give them their land if they did acknowledge Him. It was different with the Canaanites. They had forfeited their land by their behaviour. Their tenancy from Yahweh was at an end. <\/p>\n From Num 20:14-21<\/span> we gain a little more insight into what happened. Moses had wanted to take his people through Edom along the King’s Highway, the main trade route. But Edom were so afraid of them (‘they will be afraid of you’, verse 4 compare Exo 15:15<\/span>) that the king of Edom gathered his army to resist them. Thus Moses led them round the borders of Edom, but still showed friendship towards them. Moses was totally non-belligerent except where necessary. <\/p>\n We must recognise in seeking to trace the actual route taken that we are hampered by lack of knowledge. In spite of huge efforts made to identify sites most are still very tentative. We need to be humble enough to recognise that our knowledge is so scanty that we will probably never know whether, for example, Israel used the eastern border of Edom or the western border. The problems include the identification of sites which produces innumerable insoluble difficulties and the meaning of Hebrew directions which are vague and open to various interpretation. <\/p>\n Deu 2:6<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> You shall purchase food of them for silver, so that you may eat, and you shall also buy water of them for silver, that you may drink.” <\/p>\n Rather than fight with Edom they were to demonstrate their friendly intentions by offering silver in exchange for food and water. While they still had the manna (compare Deu 8:15-16<\/span>; Num 11:9<\/span>; Jos 5:12<\/span>) they would be delighted to have what they no doubt saw as ‘proper food’ as well (compare Num 11:6<\/span>). Water would be short in Edom, and wells and springs carefully guarded. There must be no raiding, all was to be done circumspectly. Both food and water were to be bought. This behaviour prevented a build up of hostility and no doubt contributed to the fact that Edom did not later seek to take advantage of the time when the warriors of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh were mainly away from home. <\/p>\n It is to be noted from this that in their activities, Israel sought to avoid bloodshed, apart from when they were dealing with the condemned people of Canaan whom they were commanded to destroy (compare Deu 20:10-18<\/span>) or with those who positively sought to lead Israel astray after false gods. <\/p>\n Deu 2:7<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> For Yahweh your (thy) God has blessed you (thee) in all the work of your (thy) hand. He has known your (they) walking through this great wilderness. These forty years Yahweh your (thy) God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.” <\/p>\n That this purchase of food and water was possible was because Yahweh had prospered them. ‘The work of their hand’ may well have included pottery, jewellery and ornaments, weaving, metalwork and so on, which had been sold on to passing traders, and even to friendly desert tribes. This, along with treasures brought from Egypt and not used, had ensured that they were wealthy enough to purchase food for all. Although He had refused them entry into the land God had not utterly forsaken them. He had watched over their walking in the wilderness, and had been with them. We gather elsewhere that it was for Abraham’s sake. This is one of the rare places where we are given an insight into their thirty eight year wandering. <\/p>\n So as they consider Edom, safely settled in the land given to them by Yahweh, the second generation of Israel are to recognise themselves as a people whom Yahweh has blessed even in the wilderness, so that they can be sure that He also has blessings in store for them. <\/p>\n The use of the singular ‘thee’ and ‘thy’ here is because the purpose is to bring out the covenant position between Yahweh and Israel as a whole. It is somewhat similar to the distinction between ‘Israel’ (thee) seen as one and ‘the children of Israel’ (you) seen as many. They are distinctly and genuinely one people whatever their origin. There is also a connection with Deu 1:31<\/span> as Yahweh has clearly ‘walked’ with them as ‘they went’, supporting them and caring for them like a father bears his son. <\/p>\n Deu 2:8<\/strong><\/span> a <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n ‘So we passed by from our brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, from the way of the Arabah from Elath and from Ezion-geber.’ <\/p>\n This friendly description of Edom fits well with first impressions on approaching the land, and having avoided conflict with them. It fits ill with later centuries. ‘Our brothers.’ They were related because Esau was Jacob\/Israel’s brother (compare Deu 23:7<\/span>). The land of Seir was where he had lived with his tribe (Gen 32:3<\/span>; Gen 33:16<\/span>; Gen 36:8-9<\/span>). <\/p>\n Because of the opposition, instead of taking the King’s Highway (Num 20:17<\/span>), they took ‘the way of the Arabah’ (the rift valley through which higher up the Jordan ran), passing Edom either on its eastern or western border, having previously been near Elath and Ezion-geber on the Reed Sea, although the mention of these may only indicate general direction when looking from the plains of Moab. These latter were possibly districts of the same place, town and island, (compare Num 33:35-36 ; 1Ki 9:22<\/span>; 1Ki 22:48<\/span>; 2Ki 14:22<\/span>). The small island Jazirat Faraun, with an inner harbour and a strait providing sheltered mooring, is located opposite the mainland from which ancient quays are running out from the shore. These may well have been Ezion-geber and Elath. <\/p>\n But the vague descriptions (to us) make all uncertain. We do not know their exact route, only that it skirted Edom. They then followed ‘the way of the wilderness of Moab’ which possibly went along the eastern border of Moab skirting the desert. <\/p>\n Numbers tells us of an attack at this stage by the Canaanite king of Arad, from the Negeb, and his partial victory, and ultimate defeat after Israel prayed to Yahweh (Num 21:2<\/span>). He and his ‘cities’ were devoted to destruction. They were Canaanites. But Moses concentration in Deuteronomy is on the advance into, and possession, of the land, and on others whose land has been given to them by Yahweh, not on minor victories. <\/p>\n Deu 2:4 And command thou the people, saying, Ye [are] to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:<\/p>\n Ver. 4. Which dwell in Seir.<\/strong> ] To distinguish them from the Amalekites, Esau’s seed too, but devoted to destruction. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And they shall be afraid of you.<\/strong> ] Though worse afraid than hurt. <\/p>\n “ Hic rogo, non furor est, ne moriare, mori?<\/em> ”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n We read of some Jews, that at the sack of Jerusalem killed themselves lest they should be taken by the enemy.<\/p>\n pass through = cross the border. Num 20:4, Num 20:14-17. Jdg 11:17. <\/p>\n children = sons. <\/p>\n Ye are to pass: Deu 23:7, Num 20:14-21, Oba 1:10-13 <\/p>\n they shall: Exo 15:15, Num 22:3, Num 22:4, Num 24:14-18 <\/p>\n take ye: Mat 5:16, Luk 12:15, Eph 5:15, Phi 2:15, Col 4:5 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Exo 15:14 – hear Exo 19:12 – Take Num 9:22 – abode Num 20:21 – wherefore Deu 1:2 – by the way Deu 29:16 – through the nations Jos 12:7 – Seir Jdg 11:17 – sent messengers 2Ch 20:10 – whom thou Amo 1:11 – because<\/p>\n 2:4 And command thou the people, saying, Ye [are] to pass through the {c} coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:<\/p>\n (c) This was the second time, before they had caused the Israelites to return, Num 20:21.<\/p>\n And command thou the people, saying, Ye [are] to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: 4. Ye are to pass ] The Heb. participle expressing, as often, the immediate future. through the … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 2:4”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"