Footnotes

1. Deuteronomy 4:20 tn A כּוּר (kur) was not a source of heat but a crucible (“iron-smelting furnace”) in which precious metals were melted down and their impurities burned away (see I. Cornelius, NIDOTTE 2:618-19); cf. NAB “that iron foundry, Egypt.” The term is a metaphor for intense heat. Here it refers to the oppression and suffering Israel endured in Egypt. Since a crucible was used to burn away impurities, it is possible that the metaphor views Egypt as a place of refinement to bring Israel to a place of submission to divine sovereignty.
2. Deuteronomy 4:20 tn Heb “to be his people of inheritance.” The Lord compares his people to valued property inherited from one’s ancestors and passed on to one’s descendants.
3. Deuteronomy 4:21 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 4:3.
4. Deuteronomy 4:21 tn The Hebrew text includes “(as) an inheritance,” or “(as) a possession.”
5. Deuteronomy 4:22 tn Heb “this.” The translation uses “that” to avoid confusion; earlier in the verse Moses refers to Transjordan as “this land.”