1Ce sont ici les paroles que Moïse dit à tout Israël, au-delà du Jourdain, au désert, dans la campagne, vis-à-vis de Suph, entre Paran et Tophel, et Laban, et Hatséroth, et Di-Zahab. 2Il y a onze journées depuis l'Horeb, par le chemin de la montagne de Séir, jusqu'à Kadès-Barnéa. 3Or, en la quarantième année, au premier jour du onzième mois, Moïse dit aux enfants d'Israël tout ce que YEHOVAH lui avait commandé de leur dire; 4Après qu'il eut défait Sihon, roi des Amoréens, qui habitait à Hesbon, et Og, roi de Bassan, qui habitait à Ashtaroth et à Édréi. 5Moïse commença à expliquer cette loi, au delà du Jourdain, dans le pays de Moab, en disant: 6YEHOVAH notre Dieu nous parla en Horeb, et nous dit: Vous avez assez demeuré dans cette montagne; 7Tournez-vous et partez, et allez vers la montagne des Amoréens, et dans tous les lieux circonvoisins, dans la campagne, dans la montagne, et dans la plaine, et vers le Midi, et sur la côte de la mer, au pays des Cananéens, et au Liban, jusqu'au grand fleuve, le fleuve d'Euphrate. 8Voyez, j'ai mis devant vous le pays; entrez et possédez le pays que YEHOVAH a juré de donner à vos pères, Abraham, Isaac et Jacob, et à leur postérité après eux. 9Et je vous parlai en ce temps là, et je vous dis: Je ne puis vous porter, moi seul. 10YEHOVAH votre Dieu vous a multipliés, et vous voici, aujourd'hui, nombreux comme les étoiles du ciel. 11Que YEHOVAH, le Dieu de vos pères, vous fasse croître encore mille fois autant, et qu'il vous bénisse comme il vous l'a dit. 12Comment porterais-je moi seul vos peines, vos fardeaux et vos procès? 13Prenez dans vos tribus des hommes sages, intelligents et connus, et je les établirai chefs sur vous. 14Et vous me répondîtes, et dîtes: Il est bon de faire ce que tu as dit. 15Alors je pris les chefs de vos tribus, des hommes sages et connus, et je les établis chefs sur vous, gouverneurs de milliers, de centaines, de cinquantaines et de dizaines, et officiers dans vos tribus. 16Et je commandai à vos juges, en ce temps-là, en disant: Écoutez les différends qui sont entre vos frères, et jugez avec droiture entre l'homme et son frère, et l'étranger qui est avec lui; 17Vous n'aurez point égard à l'apparence de la personne, dans le jugement; vous écouterez le petit comme le grand; vous ne craindrez personne, car le jugement est à Dieu; et vous ferez venir devant moi la cause qui sera trop difficile pour vous, et je l'entendrai. 18Et je vous ordonnai, en ce temps-là, toutes les choses que vous deviez faire. 19Puis, nous avons parti d'Horeb, et nous avons marché par tout ce grand et affreux désert que vous avez vu, dans la direction de la montagne des Amoréens, ainsi que YEHOVAH notre Dieu nous l'avait commandé; et nous sommes venu jusqu'à Kadès-Barnéa. 20Alors je vous dis: Vous êtes arrivés jusqu'à la montagne des Amoréens, que YEHOVAH notre Dieu nous donne. 21Vois, YEHOVAH ton Dieu met devant toi le pays; monte, prends-en possession, comme YEHOVAH, le Dieu de tes pères, te l'a dit; ne crains point, et ne t'effraie point. 22Et vous vous êtes approché tous de moi, et vous avez dit: Envoyons devant nous des hommes qui explorent pour nous le pays et nous rendent compte du chemin par lequel nous monterons, et des villes où nous devons aller; 23Et ce discours me plut; et je pris douze hommes d'entre vous, un homme par tribu. 24Et ils se mirent en chemin, et montèrent vers la montagne, et vinrent jusqu'au torrent d'Eshcol, et explorèrent le pays. 25Et ils prirent dans leurs mains du fruit du pays, et nous l'apportèrent; et ils nous rendirent compte, et dirent: Le pays que YEHOVAH notre Dieu nous donne, est bon. 26Mais vous n'avez point voulu y monter, et vous avez été rebelles au commandement de YEHOVAH votre Dieu; 27Et vous avez murmuré dans vos tentes, et vous avez dit: C'est parce que YEHOVAH nous haïssait, qu'il nous a fait sortir du pays d'Égypte, pour nous livrer entre les mains des Amoréens, pour nous exterminer. 28Où monterions-nous? Nos frères nous ont fait fondre le cœur, en nous disant: C'est un peuple plus grand et de plus haute taille que nous, ce sont des villes grandes et fortifiées jusqu'au ciel, et même nous avons vu là des descendants des Anakim. 29Mais je vous dis: N'ayez point peur, et ne les craignez point. 30YEHOVAH votre Dieu, qui marche devant vous, combattra lui-même pour vous, selon tout ce qu'il a fait pour vous, sous vos yeux, en Égypte, 31Et dans le désert; où tu as vu que YEHOVAH ton Dieu t'a porté, comme un homme porte son fils, dans tout le chemin que vous avez fait, jusqu'à ce que vous soyez arrivés en ce lieu. 32Mais malgré cela vous n'avez point eu foi en YEHOVAH votre Dieu, 33Qui marchait devant vous par le chemin afin de chercher un lieu pour votre camp, la nuit dans la colonne de feu, pour vous montrer le chemin où vous deviez marcher, et le jour, dans la nuée. 34Alors YEHOVAH entendit la voix de vos paroles, et s'irrita, et jura, en disant: 35Aucun des hommes de cette méchante génération ne verra ce bon pays que j'ai juré de donner à vos pères, 36Excepté Caleb, fils de Jephunné. Lui, il le verra; et je lui donnerai, à lui et à ses enfants, le pays sur lequel il a marché, parce qu'il a pleinement suivi YEHOVAH. 37YEHOVAH se mit même en colère contre moi à cause de vous, en disant: Toi non plus, tu n'y entreras pas. 38Josué, fils de Nun, qui te sert, y entrera; encourage-le, car c'est lui qui mettra Israël en possession de ce pays; 39Et vos petits enfants, dont vous avez dit qu'ils y seraient une proie, et vos fils, qui aujourd'hui ne savent ce que c'est que le bien ou le mal, ce sont eux qui y entreront, et je leur donnerai ce pays, et ils le posséderont; 40Mais vous, retournez-vous-en, et partez pour le désert dans la direction de la mer Rouge. 41Alors vous avez répondit, et vous m'avez dit: Nous avons péché contre YEHOVAH; nous monterons et nous combattrons, selon tout ce que YEHOVAH notre Dieu nous a commandé. Et vous avez attaché chacun vos armes, et vous avez entreprit à la légère de monter vers la montagne. 42Et YEHOVAH me dit: Dis-leur: Ne montez point, et ne combattez point, car je ne suis point au milieu de vous; de peur que vous ne soyez battus devant vos ennemis. 43Je vous le rapportai, mais vous ne m'avez point écouté; et vous avez été rebelles au commandement de YEHOVAH, et, pleins d'orgueil, vous avez monté vers la montagne. 44Alors l'Amoréen, qui demeurait dans cette montagne, sortit à votre rencontre, et vous poursuivit comme font les abeilles, et vous battit en Séir, jusqu'à Horma. 45Et vous êtes revenu et avez pleuré devant YEHOVAH; mais YEHOVAH n'écouta point votre voix, et ne vous prêta point l'oreille. 46Et vous avez demeuré à Kadès bien des jours, autant de temps que vous y aviez demeuré.
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.
