וַנֵּפֶן וַנִּסַּע הַמִּדְבָּרָה דֶּרֶךְ יַם סוּף כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה אֵלָי וַנָּסָב אֶת הַר שֵׂעִיר יָמִים רַבִּים
KJ (King James translation): Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.
BN (BibleNet translation): Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Sea of Reeds, as YHVH spoke to me; and we circled Mount Se'ir for many days.
VA NEPHEN: The first time in this book that he has said "we"; throughout chapter one he distanced himself, using "you" - and doing so, in order to blame "them" for everything that he did wrong.
YAM SUPH: Whether we regard this as the Red Sea, or as the bulrush-marshes of the Nile Delta in Goshen, it's a distance of about 500 miles to Mount Se'ir, and what is contained in that seemingly simple statement is in fact the entire 40 year journey.NESAV: Compassed? Hakafot? Formal circumambulations of pilgrimage? The acceptance part of the Covenant Renewal ceremonies? Or just random wandering? If it was any but the last of these, does Se'ir become a candidate for locating Mount Chorev (Horeb), or are there in fact more than one version of this legend, each with its own location?
samech break
2:2 VA YOMER YHVH ELAY LEMOR
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר
KJ: And the LORD spake unto me, saying,
BN: Then YHVH spoke to me, saying:
2:3 RAV LACHEM SOV ET HA HAR HA ZEH PENU LACHEM TSAPHONAH
רַב לָכֶם סֹב אֶת הָהָר הַזֶּה פְּנוּ לָכֶם צָפֹנָה
KJ: Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.
BN: You have circled this mountain long enough; turn northward.
RAV LACHEM: RAV is a wod with many meanings, variable by context: "many", "great", "plenty", "sufficient".
How many circuits of this holy mountain - not seven by any chance?
2:4 VE ET HA AM TSAV LEMOR ATEM OVRIM BI GEVUL ACHEYCHEM BENEY ESAV HA YOSHVIM BE SE'IR VE YIRU MIKEM VE NISHMARTEM ME'OD
וְאֶת הָעָם צַו לֵאמֹר אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים בִּגְבוּל אֲחֵיכֶם בְּנֵי עֵשָׂו הַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּשֵׂעִיר וְיִירְאוּ מִכֶּם וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד
KJ: 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:
BN: And command the people, saying: You are to pass through the border of your kinsmen the Beney Esav, who dwell in Se'ir; and they will be afraid of you; therefore take good heed to yourselves.
Which is the land of Edom - but the Edomites refused to let them pass through - see Numbers 20:14ff - and of course the Edomites did indeed let them pass through (see verse 29 below)... is Mosheh in his old age suffering from memory problems, or can we accuse him of downright lying? And if the latter, why? There is an interesting essay on the subject here, though it too is rather unbalanced, being determined if it can to take and accept the traditional orthodox explanation.
2:5 AL TITGARU VAM KI LO ETEN LACHEM MEY ARTSAM AD MIDRACH KAPH RAGEL KI YERUSHAH LE ESAV NATATI ET HA SE'IR
אַלתִּתְגָּרוּ בָם כִּי לֹא אֶתֵּן לָכֶם מֵאַרְצָם עַד מִדְרַךְ כַּף רָגֶל כִּי יְרֻשָּׁה לְעֵשָׂו נָתַתִּי אֶת הַר שֵׂעִיר
KJ: Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.
BN: Do not contend with them; for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on; because I have given Mount Se'ir to Esav for a possession.
SE'IR: See Genesis 32:4; 33:14.
ESAV: See the link.
2:6 OCHEL TISHBERU MEY ITAM BA KESEPH VA ACHALTEM VE GAM MAYIM TICHRU MEY ITAM BA KESEPH U SHETITEM
אֹכֶל תִּשְׁבְּרוּ מֵאִתָּם בַּכֶּסֶף וַאֲכַלְתֶּם וְגַם מַיִם תִּכְרוּ מֵאִתָּם בַּכֶּסֶף וּשְׁתִיתֶם
BN: You shall purchase food from them for money, so that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them for money, so that you may drink.
KESEPH: Money? Another anachronism? Where would they get money from? Slaves don't earn any; that's the wole point of them being slaves. Did the Mitsrim (Egyptians) give them cash as well as gold and silver jewellery, at the side of the road, while watching them leave from their slavery (Exodus 12:35 ff)? And if so, was Egyptian money the same as Edomite money? (Or perhaps the Beney Yisra-El were already running banks as part of the International Zionist Conspiracy, so they just printed their own.)
2:7 KI YHVH ELOHEYCHA BERACECHA BE CHOL MA'ASEH YADECHA YADA LECHTECHA ET HA MIDBAR HA GADOL HA ZEH ZEH ARBA'IM SHANAH YHVH ELOHEYCHA IMACH LO CHASARTA DAVAR
כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בֵּרַכְךָ בְּכֹל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶךָ יָדַע לֶכְתְּךָ אֶת הַמִּדְבָּר הַגָּדֹל הַזֶּה זֶה אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ עִמָּךְ לֹא חָסַרְתָּ דָּבָר
KJ: For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
BN: For YHVH your god has blessed you in all the work of your hand; he has known your walking through this great desert; these forty years YHVH your god has been with you; you have lacked nothing.
I'm sorry, did I read the last words of that last verse correctly? "You have lacked nothing"? As a Headmaster for many years I found myself regularly making speeches, to parents and alumni in particular; I wonder how successful I would have been if I had told them that, for the last forty years, the school had "lacked nothing", when they are the ones who use the inadequate sports facilities, they are the ones fund-raising for enhanced technology, they are the ones forced to do music and drama in a shed? Yet again, the inept, the incompetent Mosheh. Sitting in that audience somewhere are the grandchildren of Korach and Dotan and Avi-Ram and Or ben Pelet (see Numbers 16), to name but four who might dissent.
2:8 VA NA'AVOR MEY ET ACHEYNU VENEY ESAV HA YOSHVIM BE SE'IR MI DERECH HA ARAVAH MEY EILAT U MEY ETSYON GAVER VA NEPHEN VA NA'AVOR DERECH MIDBAR MO-AV
וַנַּעֲבֹר מֵאֵת אַחֵינוּ בְנֵי עֵשָׂו הַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּשֵׂעִיר מִדֶּרֶךְ הָעֲרָבָה מֵאֵילַת וּמֵעֶצְיֹן גָּבֶר {ס} וַנֵּפֶן וַנַּעֲבֹר דֶּרֶךְ מִדְבַּר מוֹאָב
KJ: And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
BN: So we passed by our kinsmen the Beney Esav, who dwell in Se'ir, from the way of the Aravah, from Eilat and from Etsyon Gaver. {S} And we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Mo-Av.
ARAVAH: See the link.
EILAT: See the link.
ETSYON GAVER: The place was mentioned in Numbers 33:35 and 36.
MO'AV: See the link.
The samech break mid-sentence is most odd, though not unprecedented. Quite likely it was an indication of a change of parchment in some early edition of the text where the scribe had tried but failed to squeeze the whole verse in to the foot of the sheet.
2:9 VA YOMER YHVH ELAI AL TATSAR ET MO-AV VE AL TITGAR BAM MILCHAMAH KI LO ETEN LECHA MEY ARTSO YERUSHAH KI LI VENEY LOT NATATI ET AR YERUSHAH
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלַי אַל תָּצַר אֶת מוֹאָב וְאַל תִּתְגָּר בָּם מִלְחָמָה כִּי לֹא אֶתֵּן לְךָ מֵאַרְצוֹ יְרֻשָּׁה כִּי לִבְנֵי לוֹט נָתַתִּי אֶת עָר יְרֻשָּׁה
KJ: And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.
BN: Then YHVH said to me: Do not create enmity with Mo-Av, or engage with them in battle. I will not give you any of his land for a possession; because I have already given Ar to the Beney Lot for a possession.
This needs explaining; the second half of the sentence doesn't seem to belong to the first half.
AR: How do the Masoretes know that this should be pronounced AR, when the word unpointed is IR, which simply means "town", or "city", and the text could perfectly well read "and I have already given the Beney Lot a city for an inheritance" - the most likely candidate for which being Ts'oar, where Lot and his daughters found refuge after the destruction of the Cities of the Plain (Genesis 19:20ff); it too is first referred to as HA IR, "the city", and then in a pun as TSE'AR, "the little one", but finally Tso'ar in verse 22.
LOT: As noted at the link to his name, Genesis 19:37/38 and Psalm 83:9 name him as the father of the Beney Amon (Ammonites) and the Beney Mo-Av (Mo'abites). For the Beney Amon, see verse 19.
2:10 HA EMIM LEPHANIM YASHVU VAH AM GADOL VE RAV VA RAM KA ANAKIM
הָאֵמִים לְפָנִים יָשְׁבוּ בָהּ עַם גָּדוֹל וְרַב וָרָם כָּעֲנָקִים
BN: The Emim dwelt there in earlier times, a great people, and many, and tall as the Anakim.
EMIM: Or probably Eymim. See the link.
ANAKIM: see the link.
2:11 REPHA'IM YECHASHVU APH HEM KA ANAKIM VE HA MO-AVIM YIKRE'U LAHEM EMIM
רְפָאִים יֵחָשְׁבוּ אַף הֵם כָּעֲנָקִים וְהַמֹּאָבִים יִקְרְאוּ לָהֶם אֵמִים
BN: The Repha'im are also known as the Anakim; but the Mo-Avim call them Emim.
REPHA'IM... MO-AVIM: note the grammatical form has changed. We are normally given these names with a Yud ending, not the full plural. Presumably something changed over time (worth picking up other examples, eg Mitsrim, Leviyim etc - but there are also many that don't, in Genesis frequently).
Why does KJ translate REPHA'IM as "giants" - and most translators since have followed this. The root is RAPH'A, which means "to heal" or "to mend", so we can easily imagine the ancient medicine-men being regarded, metaphorically, as "giants among men". However, Isaiah 14:9 and 26:14 use the word in its precisely opposite meaning, for people who are "weak" and "feeble", and therefore in need of "mending" and "healing" - several other occasions of this are noted at the link to their name, and more background to it can be found there as well.
2:12 U VE SE'IR YASHVU HA CHORIM LEPHANIM U VENEY ESAV YIYRASHUM VA YASHMIDUM MI PENEYHEM VA YESHVU TACHTAM KA ASHER ASAH YISRA-EL LE ERETS YERUSHATO ASHER NATAN YHVH LAHEM
KJ: The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them.
BN: And the Chorim dwelt in Se'ir in earlier times, but the Beney Esav succeeded them; and they wiped them out entirely, and lived there in their stead; as Yisra-El did to the land of his possession, which YHVH gave them...
2:12 U VE SE'IR YASHVU HA CHORIM LEPHANIM U VENEY ESAV YIYRASHUM VA YASHMIDUM MI PENEYHEM VA YESHVU TACHTAM KA ASHER ASAH YISRA-EL LE ERETS YERUSHATO ASHER NATAN YHVH LAHEM
וּבְשֵׂעִיר יָשְׁבוּ הַחֹרִים לְפָנִים וּבְנֵי עֵשָׂו יִירָשׁוּם וַיַּשְׁמִידוּם מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַּחְתָּם כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יִשְׂרָאֵל לְאֶרֶץ יְרֻשָּׁתוֹ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְהוָה לָהֶם.
KJ: The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them.
BN: And the Chorim dwelt in Se'ir in earlier times, but the Beney Esav succeeded them; and they wiped them out entirely, and lived there in their stead; as Yisra-El did to the land of his possession, which YHVH gave them...
Whoa! "As Yisra-El did..." is a phrase that can only be written a long time after an event. So, from this one slip, we can piece together what this text is really - a historical account, maybe even a play of some sort, put on for the edification of the people, whether liturgically or as a secular event, to give them the history of how they came into the land, but put into the mouth of an actor playing Mosheh...
CHORIM: See the link.
2:13 ATAH KUMU VE IVRU LACHEM ET NACHAL ZERED VA NA'AVOR ET NACHAL ZARED
KJ: Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.
BN: Now rise up, and cross over the brook Zared. And we crossed over the brook Zared.
ZARED: See Numbers 21:12. It is called ZERED in the next verse - though of course both ZARED and ZERED are speculations by the Masoretes much later on.
"Said I" is an addition by the KJ translator.
CHORIM: See the link.
2:13 ATAH KUMU VE IVRU LACHEM ET NACHAL ZERED VA NA'AVOR ET NACHAL ZARED
עַתָּה קֻמוּ וְעִבְרוּ לָכֶם אֶת נַחַל זָרֶד וַנַּעֲבֹר אֶת נַחַל זָרֶד
KJ: Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.
BN: Now rise up, and cross over the brook Zared. And we crossed over the brook Zared.
ZARED: See Numbers 21:12. It is called ZERED in the next verse - though of course both ZARED and ZERED are speculations by the Masoretes much later on.
"Said I" is an addition by the KJ translator.
2:14 VE HA YAMIM ASHER HALACHNU MI KADESH BARNE'A AD ASHER AVARNU ET NACHAL ZERED SHELOSHIM U SHEMONEH SHANAH AD TOM KOL HA DOR ANSHEY HA MILCHAMAH MI KEREV HA MACHANEH KA ASHER NISHBA YHVH LAHEM
וְהַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר הָלַכְנוּ מִקָּדֵשׁ בַּרְנֵעַ עַד אֲשֶׁר עָבַרְנוּ אֶת נַחַל זֶרֶד שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁמֹנֶה שָׁנָה עַד תֹּם כָּל הַדּוֹר אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה מִקֶּרֶב הַמַּחֲנֶה כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע יְהוָה לָהֶם
BN: And the days in which we came from Kadesh Barne'a, until we crossed over the brook Zered, were thirty-eight years; until all the generation, even the men of war, were consumed from the midst of the camp, as YHVH swore to them.
THIS IS THE CRUCIAL VERSE. My sense is that, somewhere along the byways of history rooted in tradition rather than affirmable fact, it became legendary that the Beney Yisra-El spent forty years in the wilderness, when in fact they probably only spent one or two, at most. Gathering these texts, and arranging them for Ezra for the Tanach, the Redactor could find absolutely nothing that suggested forty years, but only a station by station pilgrimage to the holy shrines, mixed up with fragments of an account of Ach-Mousa's war of liberation. So the 40 years had to be invented. So this verse, and then some bits and pieces of back-editing to try to make it work for the rest of the Torah; which sadly it fails to do.
And if it is true, then they must have spent thirty-six and a half of those thirty-eight years in Kadesh Barne'a. And what did they actually do all that time, for food, for water, for occupation? And why are we not told?
2:15 VE GAM YAD YHVH HAYETAH BAM LEHUMAM MI KEREV HA MACHANEH AD TUMAM
וְגַם יַד יְהוָה הָיְתָה בָּם לְהֻמָּם מִקֶּרֶב הַמַּחֲנֶה עַד תֻּמָּם
BN: Moreover YHVH's hand was against them, to discomfit them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed.
See my note at Exodus 14:24.
2:16 VA YEHI CHA ASHER TAMU KOL ANSHEY HA MILCHAMAH LAMUT MI KEREV HA AM
וַיְהִי כַאֲשֶׁר תַּמּוּ כָּל אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה לָמוּת מִקֶּרֶב הָעָם
KJ: So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,
BN: So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people...
samech break; and again it is an odd one, coming as it does in mid-sentence.
2:17 VA YEDABER YHVH ELAI LEMOR
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר
KJ: That the LORD spake unto me, saying,
BN: That YHVH spoke to me saying:
2:18 ATAH OVER HAYOM ET GEVUL MO-AV ET AR
אַתָּה עֹבֵר הַיּוֹם אֶת גְּבוּל מוֹאָב אֶת עָר
KJ: Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:
BN: You are this day to cross over the border of Mo-Av, even Ar.
For AR, see my note at verse 9.
2:19 VE KARAVTA MUL BENEY AMON AL TETSUREM VE AL TITGAR BAM KI LO ETEN MEY ERETS BENEY AMON LECHA YERUSHAH KI LI VENEY LOT NETATI'AH YERUSHAH
וְקָרַבְתָּ מוּל בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן אַל תְּצֻרֵם וְאַל תִּתְגָּר בָּם כִּי לֹא אֶתֵּן מֵאֶרֶץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן לְךָ יְרֻשָּׁה כִּי לִבְנֵי לוֹט נְתַתִּיהָ יְרֻשָּׁה
BN: But when you come face-to-face with the Beney Amon, do not harass them, nor fight with them; for I will not give you any of the land of the Beney Amon for a possession; because I have given it to the Beney Lot for a possession.
See verse 9. Essentially the land to the east and north of the Dead Sea will be given to the two and a half tribes, while the land east and south of the Dead Sea, and the entire north-south compass to the east of the two and a half tribes, is clearly excluded from the inheritance of Yisra-El. Thisalso insists that the Beney Mo-Av and Beney Edom are descendants of Lot, as per my links at verse 9; but those links also insist on the Beney Amon as well, so this is decidedly self-contradictory (though it does add weight to my contention that Lot was originally al-Lat, and his daughters the other two daughters of al-Lah).
2:20 ERETS REPHA'IM TECHASHEV APH HI REPHA'IM YASHVU VAH LEPHANIM VE HA AMONIM YIKRE'U LAHEM ZAMZUMIM
אֶרֶץ רְפָאִים תֵּחָשֵׁב אַף הִוא רְפָאִים יָשְׁבוּ בָהּ לְפָנִים וְהָעַמֹּנִים יִקְרְאוּ לָהֶם זַמְזֻמִּים
BN: This land too is reckoned to be a land of Repha'im: Repha'im dwelt there in earlier times; but the Amonim call them Zamzumim.
REPHA'IM: See my notes at verse 11.
ZAMZUMIM: See the link.
2:21 AM GADOL VE RAV VA RAM KA ANAKIM VA YASHMIDEM YHVH MI PENEYHEM VA YIYRASHUM VA YESHVU TACHTAM
עַם גָּדוֹל וְרַב וָרָם כָּעֲנָקִים וַיַּשְׁמִידֵם יְהוָה מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיִּירָשֻׁם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַחְתָּם
KJ: A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:
BN: A great people, much-respected, large in number, like the Anakim; but YHVH destroyed them before they arrived; and they came after, and dwelt in their stead.
VE RAV VE RAM: Rav we witnessed at verse 3; here it probably means "many". Th translators are determined to have these people as giants, and having failed with Repha'im are now trying again with RAM. But RAM means "great", as in Av-Ram, "Great Father", or Hu-Ram, (Eshmun-Azar the Great, known in English as Hiram of Tyre), and is an Alexandrian sobriquet (Charlemagne for example, means "Charles the Great"). But there is already "GADOL" for "great", though GADOL could mean "many", but there is already RAV for "many"... but despite all this, none of them infer that they were physically giants.
2:22 KA ASHER ASAH LI VENEY ESAV HA YOSHVIM BE SE'IR ASHER HISHMID ET HA CHORI MI PENEYHEM VA YIYRASHUM VA YESHVU TACHTAM AD HA YOM HA ZEH
BN: A great people, much-respected, large in number, like the Anakim; but YHVH destroyed them before they arrived; and they came after, and dwelt in their stead.
VE RAV VE RAM: Rav we witnessed at verse 3; here it probably means "many". Th translators are determined to have these people as giants, and having failed with Repha'im are now trying again with RAM. But RAM means "great", as in Av-Ram, "Great Father", or Hu-Ram, (Eshmun-Azar the Great, known in English as Hiram of Tyre), and is an Alexandrian sobriquet (Charlemagne for example, means "Charles the Great"). But there is already "GADOL" for "great", though GADOL could mean "many", but there is already RAV for "many"... but despite all this, none of them infer that they were physically giants.
2:22 KA ASHER ASAH LI VENEY ESAV HA YOSHVIM BE SE'IR ASHER HISHMID ET HA CHORI MI PENEYHEM VA YIYRASHUM VA YESHVU TACHTAM AD HA YOM HA ZEH
כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לִבְנֵי עֵשָׂו הַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּשֵׂעִיר אֲשֶׁר הִשְׁמִיד אֶת הַחֹרִי מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיִּירָשֻׁם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַחְתָּם עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה
BN: As he did for the Beney Esav, who dwell in Se'ir, when he destroyed the Chori before they arrived; and they came after them, and they have been living there instead of them right up until this day.
2:23 VE HA AVIM HA YOSHVIM BA CHATSERIM AD AZAH KAPHTORIM HA YOTSIM MI KAPHTOR HISHMIDUM VA YESHVU TACHTAM
וְהָעַוִּים הַיֹּשְׁבִים בַּחֲצֵרִים עַד עַזָּה כַּפְתֹּרִים הַיֹּצְאִים מִכַּפְתֹּר הִשְׁמִידֻם וַיֵּשְׁבוּ תַחְתָּם
BN: And the Avim, who dwell in villages as far as Azah, the Kaphtorim, who emigrated from Kaphtor, destroyed them, and are living there instead of them.
AVIM: See Joshua 18:23.
CHATSERIM: See my note on CHATSEROT at Numbers 35:5, though CHATSEROT was feminine and CHATSERIM is masculine, and I have no idea what is the difference.
AZAH: Gaza, but we English-speakers can't pronounce that deeply guttural Ayin, so we make a G of it.
KAPHTORIM: Is this a variation on the Pelishtim (Philistines)? Or the same point being made in their regard: a people who were wiped out so that another could live in their land instead of them? Kaphtor is usually regarded as Cyprus, but the people also inhabited Crete, and it was from Crete that the Pelishtim fled when Knossos was destroyed.
2:24 KUMU SE'U VE IVRY ET NACHAL ARNON RE'EH NATATI VE YADCHA ET SICHON MELECH CHESHBON HA EMORI, VE ET ARTSO HACHEL RASH VE HITGAR BO MILCHAMAH
KJ: Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
BN: Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sichon the Emori, king of Cheshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
See Numbers 21:21 ff for all the notes on these various names.
2:25 HA YOM HA ZEH ACHEL TET PACHDECHA VE YIRAT'CHA AL PENEY HA AMIM TACHAT KOL HA SHAMAYIM ASHER YISHME'UN SHIMACHAH VE RAGZU VE CHALU MI PANEYCHA
KJ: And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
BN: And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemot to Sichon king of Cheshbon with words of peace, saying:
KJ: Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.
BN: Let me pass through your land. I will go along by the highway, I will neither turn to the right hand nor to the left.
The impression in Numbers 21 is that this happened after the 38 year rest in Kadesh Barne'a, in which case the audience listening to Mosheh is being told what they already know, because they are the ones that did it - yet further evidence of this as a much later text.
2:28 OCHEL BA KESEPH TASHBIREYNI VE ACHALTI U MAYIM BA KESEPH TITEN LI VE SHATITI RAK E'BERAH VE RAGLAI
KJ: Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;
BN: You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink; only let me pass through on foot.
A million and a half of them remember, with 600,000 armed for war, and tales of several bloody military successes preceding them.
VE RAGLAI: Does that mean "on foot", because they are making a pilgrimage to the holy mountain to lay their god to rest? Or "on foot" because they are offering to go as pedestrians, to prove their sincerity; donkeys to be led rather than ridden? Or is VE RAGLAI in fact "and those who are on foot as well", because this is actually Ach-Mousa with his army, wanting to get through this land in peace so that he can make war further on - with the inference that this is all just diplomatic language, and what he really means is: surrender, so we don't have to slaughter you? Any of those interpretations is viable from the text, and from the context.
2:29 KA ASHER ASU LI BENEY ESAV HA YOSHVIM BE SE'IR VE HA MO-AVIM HA YOSHVIM BE AR AD ASHER E'EVOR ET HA YARDEN EL HA ARETS ASHER YHVH ELOHEYNU NOTEN LANU
KJ: (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us.
BN: As the Beney Esav who dwell in Se'ir, and the Mo-Avim who dwell in Ar, did to me; until I shall pass over the Yarden to the land which YHVH our god is giving us.
The commentary on the previous verse is also applicable here, though the threat is much more overt here. And the latter part of that commentary will bear fruit in the next verse.
2:30 VE LO AVAH SICHON MELECH CHESHBON HA'AVIREYNU BO KI HIKSHAH YHVH ELOHEYCHA ET RUCHO VE IMETS ET LEVAVO LEMA'AN TITO VE YADCHA KA YOM HAZEH
KJ: But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.
BN: But Sichon king of Cheshbon would not let us pass by him. For YHVH your god hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as is the case today.
In the last verse he was "our" god; why now is he "your" god?
That "hardening of spirit" reminds us of Pharaoh at the time of the Ten Plagues (Exodus 7 ff).
samech break
AZAH: Gaza, but we English-speakers can't pronounce that deeply guttural Ayin, so we make a G of it.
KAPHTORIM: Is this a variation on the Pelishtim (Philistines)? Or the same point being made in their regard: a people who were wiped out so that another could live in their land instead of them? Kaphtor is usually regarded as Cyprus, but the people also inhabited Crete, and it was from Crete that the Pelishtim fled when Knossos was destroyed.
2:24 KUMU SE'U VE IVRY ET NACHAL ARNON RE'EH NATATI VE YADCHA ET SICHON MELECH CHESHBON HA EMORI, VE ET ARTSO HACHEL RASH VE HITGAR BO MILCHAMAH
קוּמוּ סְּעוּ וְעִבְרוּ אֶת נַחַל אַרְנֹן רְאֵה נָתַתִּי בְיָדְךָ אֶת סִיחֹן מֶלֶךְ חֶשְׁבּוֹן הָאֱמֹרִי וְאֶת אַרְצוֹ הָחֵל רָשׁ וְהִתְגָּר בּוֹ מִלְחָמָה
BN: Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sichon the Emori, king of Cheshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
See Numbers 21:21 ff for all the notes on these various names.
2:25 HA YOM HA ZEH ACHEL TET PACHDECHA VE YIRAT'CHA AL PENEY HA AMIM TACHAT KOL HA SHAMAYIM ASHER YISHME'UN SHIMACHAH VE RAGZU VE CHALU MI PANEYCHA
הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה אָחֵל תֵּת פַּחְדְּךָ וְיִרְאָתְךָ עַל פְּנֵי הָעַמִּים תַּחַת כָּל הַשָּׁמָיִם אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁמְעוּן שִׁמְעֲךָ וְרָגְזוּ וְחָלוּ מִפָּנֶיךָ
KJ: This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.
BN: This day I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the people under all the heavens, who, when they hear report of you, shall tremble, and be in dread because of you.
2:26 VE ESHLACH MALACHIM MI MIDBAR KEDEMOT EL SICHON MELECH CHESHBON DIVREY SHALOM LEMOR
BN: This day I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the people under all the heavens, who, when they hear report of you, shall tremble, and be in dread because of you.
2:26 VE ESHLACH MALACHIM MI MIDBAR KEDEMOT EL SICHON MELECH CHESHBON DIVREY SHALOM LEMOR
וָאֶשְׁלַח מַלְאָכִים מִמִּדְבַּר קְדֵמוֹת אֶל סִיחוֹן מֶלֶךְ חֶשְׁבּוֹן דִּבְרֵי שָׁלוֹם לֵאמֹר
KJ: And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
BN: And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemot to Sichon king of Cheshbon with words of peace, saying:
KEDEMOT: Not mentioned previously. See the link.
2:27 E'BERAH VE ARTSECHA BA DERECH BA DERECH ELECH LO ASUR YAMIN U SMOL
2:27 E'BERAH VE ARTSECHA BA DERECH BA DERECH ELECH LO ASUR YAMIN U SMOL
אֶעְבְּרָה בְאַרְצֶךָ בַּדֶּרֶךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ אֵלֵךְ לֹא אָסוּר יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול
KJ: Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.
BN: Let me pass through your land. I will go along by the highway, I will neither turn to the right hand nor to the left.
The impression in Numbers 21 is that this happened after the 38 year rest in Kadesh Barne'a, in which case the audience listening to Mosheh is being told what they already know, because they are the ones that did it - yet further evidence of this as a much later text.
2:28 OCHEL BA KESEPH TASHBIREYNI VE ACHALTI U MAYIM BA KESEPH TITEN LI VE SHATITI RAK E'BERAH VE RAGLAI
אֹכֶל בַּכֶּסֶף תַּשְׁבִּרֵנִי וְאָכַלְתִּי וּמַיִם בַּכֶּסֶף תִּתֶּן לִי וְשָׁתִיתִי רַק אֶעְבְּרָה בְרַגְלָי
KJ: Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;
BN: You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink; only let me pass through on foot.
A million and a half of them remember, with 600,000 armed for war, and tales of several bloody military successes preceding them.
VE RAGLAI: Does that mean "on foot", because they are making a pilgrimage to the holy mountain to lay their god to rest? Or "on foot" because they are offering to go as pedestrians, to prove their sincerity; donkeys to be led rather than ridden? Or is VE RAGLAI in fact "and those who are on foot as well", because this is actually Ach-Mousa with his army, wanting to get through this land in peace so that he can make war further on - with the inference that this is all just diplomatic language, and what he really means is: surrender, so we don't have to slaughter you? Any of those interpretations is viable from the text, and from the context.
2:29 KA ASHER ASU LI BENEY ESAV HA YOSHVIM BE SE'IR VE HA MO-AVIM HA YOSHVIM BE AR AD ASHER E'EVOR ET HA YARDEN EL HA ARETS ASHER YHVH ELOHEYNU NOTEN LANU
כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ לִי בְּנֵי עֵשָׂו הַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּשֵׂעִיר וְהַמּוֹאָבִים הַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּעָר עַד אֲשֶׁר אֶעֱבֹר אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ נֹתֵן לָנוּ
BN: As the Beney Esav who dwell in Se'ir, and the Mo-Avim who dwell in Ar, did to me; until I shall pass over the Yarden to the land which YHVH our god is giving us.
The commentary on the previous verse is also applicable here, though the threat is much more overt here. And the latter part of that commentary will bear fruit in the next verse.
2:30 VE LO AVAH SICHON MELECH CHESHBON HA'AVIREYNU BO KI HIKSHAH YHVH ELOHEYCHA ET RUCHO VE IMETS ET LEVAVO LEMA'AN TITO VE YADCHA KA YOM HAZEH
וְלֹא אָבָה סִיחֹן מֶלֶךְ חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַעֲבִרֵנוּ בּוֹ כִּי הִקְשָׁה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת רוּחוֹ וְאִמֵּץ אֶת לְבָבוֹ לְמַעַן תִּתּוֹ בְיָדְךָ כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה
BN: But Sichon king of Cheshbon would not let us pass by him. For YHVH your god hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as is the case today.
In the last verse he was "our" god; why now is he "your" god?
That "hardening of spirit" reminds us of Pharaoh at the time of the Ten Plagues (Exodus 7 ff).
samech break
2:31 VA YOMER YHVH ELAY RE'EH HACHILOTI TET LEPHANEYCHA ET SICHON VE ET ARTSO HACHEL RASH LARESHET ET ARTSO
KJ: And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.
BN: Then YHVH said to me: See, I have started to hand Sichon and his land over to you; begin to take possession of his land.
2:32 VA YETSE SICHON LIKRATEYNU HU VE CHOL AMO LA MILCHAMAH YAHTSAH
BN: Then YHVH said to me: See, I have started to hand Sichon and his land over to you; begin to take possession of his land.
2:32 VA YETSE SICHON LIKRATEYNU HU VE CHOL AMO LA MILCHAMAH YAHTSAH
וַיֵּצֵא סִיחֹן לִקְרָאתֵנוּ הוּא וְכָל עַמּוֹ לַמִּלְחָמָה יָהְצָה
KJ: Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.
BN: Then Sichon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Yahats.
YAHTSAH: See my note at Numbers 21:23.
2:33 VA YITNEYHU YHVH ELOHEYNU LEPHANEYNU VA NACH OTO VE ET BANAV VE ET KOL AMO
וַיִּתְּנֵהוּ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְפָנֵינוּ וַנַּךְ אֹתוֹ וְאֶת בָּנָו וְאֶת כָּל עַמּוֹ
KJ: And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.
BN: And YHVH our god delivered him up before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.
ELOHEYNU: "our" god again.
2:34 VA NILKOD ET KOL ARAV BA ET HA HI VA NACHAREM ET KOL IR METIM VE HA NASHIM HA HA TAPH LO HISHARNU SARID
וַנִּלְכֹּד אֶת כָּל עָרָיו בָּעֵת הַהִוא וַנַּחֲרֵם אֶת כָּל עִיר מְתִם וְהַנָּשִׁים וְהַטָּף לֹא הִשְׁאַרְנוּ שָׂרִיד
BN: And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed every city, the men, and the women, and the little ones; we left none remaining.
Apparently, at this epoch, this was something to be proud of.
2:35 RAK HA BEHEMAH BAZAZNU LANU U SHELAL HE ARIM ASHER LACHADNU
רַק הַבְּהֵמָה בָּזַזְנוּ לָנוּ וּשְׁלַל הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר לָכָדְנוּ
KJ: Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.
BN: Only the cattle we took for booty for ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we had taken.
And remember the trouble that caused! Except that, conveniently, he doesn't. (Or maybe he will, when he gets to that part of the story - it was the war against Midyan, in Numbers 31; he hasn't got there yet)
2:36 MEY ARO'ER ASHER AL SEPHAT NACHAL ARNON VE HA IR ASHER BA NACHAL VE AD HA GIL'AD LO HAYETAH KIRYAH ASHER SAGVAH MIMEYNU ET HA KOL NATAN YHVH ELOHEYNU LEPHANEYNU
מֵעֲרֹעֵר אֲשֶׁר עַל שְׂפַת נַחַל אַרְנֹן וְהָעִיר אֲשֶׁר בַּנַּחַל וְעַד הַגִּלְעָד לֹא הָיְתָה קִרְיָה אֲשֶׁר שָׂגְבָה מִמֶּנּוּ אֶת הַכֹּל נָתַן יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְפָנֵינוּ
KJ: From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:
BN: From Aro'er, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, even as far as Gil'ad, there was not a city too high for us: YHVH our god delivered up all before us.
Why does height matter? Is it the steepness of being hilltop which makes assault difficult, or the city walls, which require siege?
ARO'ER: See the link; but oddly enough, given my comment in the last verse, Aro'er is only reached in Numbers 32, after the war with Midyan.
ARNON: See the link.
2:37 RAK EL ERETS BENEY AMON LO KARAVTA KOL YAD NACHAL YABOK VE AREY HA HAR VE CHOL ASHER TSIVAH YHVH ELOHEYNU
רַק אֶל אֶרֶץ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן לֹא קָרָבְתָּ כָּל יַד נַחַל יַבֹּק וְעָרֵי הָהָר וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ
BN: Only to the land of the Beney Amon did you not come near; all the side of the river Yabok, and the cities of the hill-country, and wherever YHVH our god forbade us.
Yabok or Yavok? See the link.
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