Deuteronomy 2:4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 2:1-7

Here is, I. A short account of the long stay of Israel in the wilderness: We compassed Mount Seir many days, Deut. 2:1. Nearly thirty-eight years they wandered in the deserts of Seir; probably in some of their rests they staid several years, and never stirred; God by this not only chastised them for their murmuring and unbelief, but, 1. Prepared them for Canaan, by humbling them for sin, teaching them to mortify their lusts, to follow God, and to comfort themselves in him. It is a work of time... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 2:4

And command thou the people ,.... Give them a strict charge: saying, ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children or Esau : 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: and they shall be afraid of you ; 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: take ye good heed... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 2:4

Verse 4 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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 2:1-23

EXPOSITION THE NEW BEGINNING AND REVIEW OF THE JOURNEYINGS OF ISRAEL FROM KADESH TO THE RIVER ARNON , THE FRONTIER OF THE AMORITES . At this point the language of address is exchanged for that of narrative. The change of subject from "ye abode" to "we turned," became necessary when Moses passed from exhorting and warning the people to narrating what happened after they resumed their journeyings; and gives no support to the notion of some... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 2:1-23

(specially Deuteronomy 2:7 ). God's knowledge of our pilgrimage. (For the historical and geographical details connected with this section, see the Exposition.) Moses here reviews the career of Israel during the wanderings, with reference to their treatment of the nations through whose territory they required to pass on their way. They, though the favored people of Jehovah, were not allowed to transgress the common laws of righteousness, by levying any demands on the nations through... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 2:1-23

International relationships. The wilderness state is the most salutary for men. Prematurely to enter into the land of rest would prove an endless calamity. Theoretically, it is possible to gain heaven too soon. Even "the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering." That heaven may be to us a perfect paradise, there must be complete harmony between the soul and its environment. I. GOD BRINGS NATIONS INTO CONTACT FOR RECIPROCAL MINISTRATION . SO long as... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 2:1-23

God's faithfulness in dealing with nations outside the covenant. We have here strict injunctions given to the pilgrims not to disturb the children of Edom, nor the Moabites, nor the children of Ammon, because they were occupying the district assigned them. These tribes, though related to Israel, were not in the covenant. Still God had guaranteed to them certain temporal blessings, and he shows himself faithful in his dealings with them. I. GOD IS A RIGHTEOUS GOVERNOR AMONG ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 2:4

It would appear that the Edomites made preparations to resist the passage of the Israelites through their territory ( Numbers 20:18-20 ). As the Israelites, however, kept on the outskirts of their country, and did not attempt to penetrate into the interior, the Edomites did not attack them or seek to hinder their progress. The Israelites, on the other hand, were strictly forbidden to invade that country in a hostile manner; they were to watch over themselves, so as not to be tempted to make... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 2:4-20

Edom, Moab, Ammon. The Israelites are strictly enjoined not to molest these three peoples, or to attempt to rob them of any portion of their territory. The ground of this injunction is that God had given them the territory they possessed, and had not given it to the Israelites. Additional reasons why Israel was not to molest them lay in the facts that they were kinsmen ( Deuteronomy 2:4 ) and that Israel was amply provided for already ( Deuteronomy 2:7 ). God's people have little... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 2:4

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. read more

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