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Deuteronomy 2

KJV · Chapter 2/34

1Then 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.

2And the Lord spake unto me, saying,

3Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

4And 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:

5Meddle 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.

6Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.

7For 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.

8And 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 Ezion–gaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

9And 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.

10The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;

11Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.

12The 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.

13Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.

14And the space in which we came from Kadesh–barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them.

15For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

16So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,

17That the Lord spake unto me, saying,

18Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:

19And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.

20(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

21A 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:

22As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:

23And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)

24Rise 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.

25This 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.

26And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

27Let 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.

28Thou 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;

29(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.

30But 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.

31And 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.

32Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

33And the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

34And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

35Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

36From 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:

37Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbad us.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Moses recalls how Israel passed peacefully through the territories of Edom, Moab, and Ammon (Israel's distant relatives) without war, but then defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, taking his land by God's command.

Explanation

This chapter reveals an interesting principle of biblical international policy: God instructs Israel to respect the lands of related peoples (descendants of Lot and Esau) even though Israel had the military power to seize them, showing that the conquest of the promised land was not unlimited territorial conquest, but the fulfillment of a specific, bounded purpose. Sihon's refusal to allow peaceful passage, despite Israel's respectful request, is presented as the rightful trigger for the war that followed — Israel did not seek the conflict but responded to a direct provocation. The application for today: having clarity about the limits of what God calls a person or community to pursue guards against both excessive passivity and unchecked ambition beyond one's genuine purpose.

Fun facts

  • The reference to the 'Emim' and 'Rephaim' as ancient giant inhabitants of Moab and Ammon (vv. 10-11, 20-21) links this passage to the same category of peoples mentioned in Genesis 14:5, suggesting a shared historical memory of pre-Israelite populations of great stature in the region.
  • The iron bedstead of King Og of Bashan, mentioned in chapter 3 but historically tied to this context, measuring about 4 meters (roughly 13 feet) in length, is often cited as textual evidence for the tradition that he belonged to a lineage of great physical stature.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronomy 2:1After the defeat in the previous chapter, the people finally obey and turn back toward the wilderness, toward the Red Sea, circling the hill country of Seir for a long time.
  2. Deuteronomy 2:2A simple introduction to a new word from God to Moses, marking the start of a new stage of the wilderness journey.
  3. Deuteronomy 2:3After so long circling the same mountain, the order comes to change direction: head north.
  4. Deuteronomy 2:4God has Moses warn the people that they are about to pass near the territory of the Edomites, descendants of Esau — distant relatives of Israel, since Esau was Jacob’s brother.
  5. Deuteronomy 2:5The order is clear: not even a foot of Edom’s land may be taken, because God had already given that region as an inheritance to Esau’s descendants.
  6. Deuteronomy 2:6Passing through Edom, Israel was to buy food and water instead of plundering — a sign of respect for the territory of a related people.
  7. Deuteronomy 2:7Moses recalls that, despite the hardship, God blessed the people’s work and took care of them through all forty years, so that nothing essential was ever lacking.
  8. Deuteronomy 2:8The people continue on, going around the territory of Edom, coming from the region of Elath and Ezion-geber, now heading toward the wilderness of Moab.
  9. Deuteronomy 2:9Just as He did with Edom, God also forbids attacking Moab, because that land had been given to the descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew.
  10. Deuteronomy 2:10The Emims, the Horites, and the Anakims appear here as peoples of giants who already lived in those lands before being driven out by other neighboring peoples, such as the Moabites and Edomites. The text is showing that the conquest of Canaan is not a one-of-a-kind case: other peoples also defeated giants and took land before Israel did.
  11. Deuteronomy 2:11This ancient people, the Emims, were seen as belonging to the same giant lineage as the Anakims — except the Moabites used another name to call them.
  12. Deuteronomy 2:12The text notes that the Edomites did to the Horites the very thing Israel was about to do in Canaan: drive out the people who already lived there and take their place.
  13. Deuteronomy 2:13The order to cross the brook Zered marks another concrete step of the journey, carried out without drama by the people.
  14. Deuteronomy 2:14The text does the math: thirty-eight years passed between Kadesh-barnea and this crossing — enough time for the entire generation of rebellious warriors to die, exactly as God had sworn.
  15. Deuteronomy 2:15The death of that generation in the wilderness is not treated as chance: the text attributes the removal of the rebels from the camp directly to the hand of God.
  16. Deuteronomy 2:16As soon as the last of the warriors of that generation dies, the narrative signals that a new phase, with new people, can begin.
  17. Deuteronomy 2:17Another introduction of a direct word from God to Moses, setting up the next instruction about the path to follow.
  18. Deuteronomy 2:18God points out the next stretch of the route: crossing the region of Ar, within the territory of Moab.
  19. Deuteronomy 2:19The same ban on attacking also applies to the Ammonites, another people descended from Lot, whose land likewise would not be given to Israel.
  20. Deuteronomy 2:20A parenthetical note explains that the land of the Ammonites had also once been the land of giants, the Zamzummims, before they were driven out.
  21. Deuteronomy 2:21It describes this giant people as great, many, and tall, destroyed by God to make room for the Ammonites — the same historical pattern repeated across several neighboring regions.
  22. Deuteronomy 2:22The text draws a direct comparison: just as the Edomites took the place of the Horites, the Ammonites took the place of the giants who had lived there before.
  23. Deuteronomy 2:23One more example of the same pattern: the Caphtorims, coming from Caphtor, drove out the Avims and occupied the region as far as Gaza — showing that peoples replacing peoples through conquest was common in that world.
  24. Deuteronomy 2:24The turning point arrives: unlike Edom, Moab, and Ammon, the order now is to attack Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, because this land, unlike the others, had indeed been handed over to Israel.
  25. Deuteronomy 2:25God promises that, from then on, the fear of Israel will spread among the neighboring peoples, who will tremble just at the news of them.
  26. Deuteronomy 2:26Before attacking, Moses tries the peaceful route first: he sends messengers to Sihon asking for safe passage through his territory.
  27. Deuteronomy 2:27Moses’ request is modest: only to pass along the main road, without turning aside or invading anything off the path.
  28. Deuteronomy 2:28Israel offers to pay for food and water during the passage, asking only for the right to cross on foot.
  29. Deuteronomy 2:29Moses recalls that the Edomites and the Moabites had already allowed this same simple passage, so the request to Sihon was nothing unusual.
  30. Deuteronomy 2:30God hardens Sihon’s heart the same way He did with Pharaoh in Exodus: the king refuses to let Israel pass through his land, and that stubbornness opens the way for the war that hands his kingdom over to Israel. It is a way of showing that even the enemy’s resistance ends up serving the plan already announced.
  31. Deuteronomy 2:31God reveals the true reason behind Sihon’s refusal, already stated in the previous verse: it was God Himself opening the way to hand that land over to Israel.
  32. Deuteronomy 2:32Sihon does not accept the offer of peace and goes to war, meeting Israel in battle at Jahaz with his whole army.
  33. Deuteronomy 2:33The battle ends in total victory for Israel: Sihon, his sons, and all his people are defeated with God’s help.
  34. Deuteronomy 2:34The total destruction of Sihon’s cities — “the women, and the little ones” included — is the so-called herem, a war of extermination dedicated to God, a practice common among ancient peoples who credited their victories to their own gods. The text describes the war custom of that world without any middle ground.
  35. Deuteronomy 2:35After the destruction of the cities, the only plunder Israel keeps for itself is the livestock and the goods taken, not people.
  36. Deuteronomy 2:36The victory is described as complete: from the region of Aroer all the way to Gilead, no city resists, and everything falls into Israel’s hands.
  37. Deuteronomy 2:37A final note closes the chapter: Israel respects the limit set by God and does not advance into Ammonite territory, carrying out the command to the letter.

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