Deu 2:2-25 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Deut 2:2-25: 2:2-25 Num 21:10-20 covers the same time period.

Summary for Deut 2:2-25: 2:2-25 ^a Num 21:10-20 ^b covers the same time period.
2:5 ^c I have given them: God’s gift of a promised land was not limited to Israel. He also distributed lands to Edom, Moab (2:9 ^d), Ammon (2:19 ^e), and the Caphtorites (2:22-23 ^f). Although God had chosen Israel as a special nation (1:31 ^g; see also 7:6 ^h; 14:2 ⁱ; Exod 19:5 ^j), he is also the God of all nations and has a place and purpose for each (Deut 32:8 ^k; Acts 17:26 ^l)—even for those that do not recognize his sovereignty (Rom 1:16-23 ^m).
2:8 ⁿ our relatives: Isaac had two sons, Esau, the firstborn, and Jacob, who obtained Esau’s birthright and blessing as the firstborn (Gen 25:27-34 ^o; 27:1-36 ^p). The result was intense hostility between Esau and Jacob and between their descendants. Israel still recognized and honored the kinship, however; out of fraternal good faith, if not affection, Israel bypassed Edom and did not engage the Edomites in battle (see Num 20:14-21 ^q).

• Arabah Valley: See study note on Deut 1:1.

• Elath and Ezion-geber were twin port cities on the Red Sea. They later harbored the merchant ships of Solomon (1 Kgs 9:26 ^r), Jehoshaphat (1 Kgs 22:48 ^s), and Uzziah (2 Kgs 14:22 ^t).
2:9 ^u Following the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other cities of the plain, Lot (Abraham’s nephew and Isaac’s cousin) and his two unmarried daughters sheltered in a cave east of the Dead Sea (see Gen 19:30-38 ^v), where Lot’s daughters plied their father with drink until he had sexual relations with them. Their descendants became the nations of Moab and Ammon. Because of their kinship with Israel, the Moabites were to be left undisturbed. David’s great-grandmother Ruth descended from Moab (Ruth 1:4 ^w), and David sent his own family to the land of Moab for protection when he was pursued by Saul (1 Sam 22:3-5 ^x).

• Ar was probably the capital of Moab.
2:10 ^y The Emites were also located at Shaveh-kiriathaim (Gen 14:5 ^z), perhaps ten miles east of the Dead Sea’s north end.
2:11 ^aa The Rephaites lived near Ashteroth-karnaim (Gen 14:5 ^ab; perhaps modern Tell Ashtarah), due east of the Sea of Galilee (see Deut 1:4 ^ac).
2:12 ^ad just as Israel drove out: The Hebrew does not include the phrase the people of Canaan. This passage is often cited as a later addition to Deuteronomy because it seems to presuppose the conquest under Joshua. However, it refers in part to the defeat of peoples east of the Jordan, such as the Amorites under King Sihon and King Og (3:12-17 ^ae).
2:13 ^af The ravine of Zered Brook marked the boundary between Moab and Edom. Rising in the highlands of Mount Seir, this waterway empties into the southeast bend of the Dead Sea.
2:19 ^ag Like the Moabites, the Ammonites were descendants of the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters (see study note on 2:9). Throughout most of their history, the Ammonites lived south and east of the Jabbok River. The nation’s capital was Rabbath Ammon (modern Amman, Jordan). David arranged for Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, to be slain in the siege of this city (2 Sam 11:1 ^ah, 14-21 ^ai).
Summary for Deut 2:20-21: 2:20-21 ^aj The Zamzummites are probably the same as the Zuzites (Gen 14:5 ^ak). The Lord had removed them from the land in the past so that the Ammonites could occupy their lands. The God of Israel is also the God of all the earth; he is mindful of all nations and has a place and purpose for each.
2:23 ^al The Caphtorites were descendants of Ham and were originally from Crete, a large island south of the Greek peninsula. The Caphtorites are usually identified with the Philistines (see Gen 10:6-14 ^am; 1 Chr 1:8-12 ^an). The Philistine presence in Canaan resulted from two separate movements, one in the time of the Hebrew patriarchs (see study note on Gen 21:32) and another that began about 1200 BC (see study notes on Josh 13:2; Judg 3:3). This passage apparently refers to the earlier settlement.

• The Avvites were indigenous inhabitants of the lower Mediterranean coastal plain; they were supplanted in Gaza by the early wave of Philistines (cp. Josh 13:2-4 ^ao).
2:24 ^ap The Arnon Gorge is the deep canyon formed by the Arnon River; it sometimes marked the border between Moab and Edom (see Num 21:13 ^aq). It rises deep in the Arabian Desert and empties into the Dead Sea midway along its eastern shore.

• Sihon the Amorite controlled the area east of the Jordan, north of the Arnon, and south of the Ammonite territories (see Num 21:21-35 ^ar). He is not known outside of the Bible. His capital, Heshbon, was probably about fifteen miles southwest of Rabbath Ammon and is usually identified with the impressive ruins at Tell Hesban.