Chronological

Footnotes

1. Deuteronomy 17:1 tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.
2. Deuteronomy 17:1 tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (toʿevah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.
3. Deuteronomy 17:2 tn Heb “gates.”
4. Deuteronomy 17:2 tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the Lord your God.”
5. Deuteronomy 17:3 tc The MT reads “and to the sun,” thus including the sun, the moon, and other heavenly spheres among the gods. However, Theodotion and Lucian read “or to the sun,” suggesting perhaps that the sun and the other heavenly bodies are not in the category of actual deities.
6. Deuteronomy 17:3 tn Heb “which I have not commanded you.” The words “to worship” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
7. Deuteronomy 17:4 tn Heb “an abomination” (תּוֹעֵבָה); see note on the word “offensive” in v. 1.
8. Deuteronomy 17:5 tn Heb “gates.”
9. Deuteronomy 17:5 tn Heb “stone them with stones so that they die” (KJV similar); NCV “throw stones at that person until he dies.”
10. Deuteronomy 17:7 tn Heb “the hand of the witnesses.” This means the two or three witnesses are to throw the first stones (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
11. Deuteronomy 17:7 tn Heb “the hand of all the people.”
12. Deuteronomy 17:8 tn Heb “between blood and blood.”
13. Deuteronomy 17:8 tn Heb “between claim and claim.”
14. Deuteronomy 17:8 tn Heb “between blow and blow.”
15. Deuteronomy 17:8 tn Heb “gates.”
16. Deuteronomy 17:8 tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.
17. Deuteronomy 17:12 tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).
18. Deuteronomy 17:15 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “without fail.”
19. Deuteronomy 17:15 tn Heb “your brothers,” but not referring to siblings (cf. NIV “your brother Israelites”; NLT “a fellow Israelite”). The same phrase also occurs in v. 20.
20. Deuteronomy 17:15 tn Heb “your brothers.” See the preceding note on “fellow citizens.”
21. Deuteronomy 17:16 tn Heb “in order to multiply horses.” The translation uses “do so” in place of “multiply horses” to avoid redundancy (cf. NAB, NIV).
22. Deuteronomy 17:17 tn Heb “must not multiply” (cf. KJV, NASB); NLT “must not take many.”
23. Deuteronomy 17:18 tn Or “instruction.” The LXX reads here τὸ δευτερονόμιον τοῦτο (to deuteronomion touto, “this second law”). From this Greek phrase the present name of the book, “Deuteronomy” or “second law” (i.e., the second giving of the law), is derived. However, the MT’s expression מִשְׁנֶה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (mishneh hattorah hazzoʾt) is better rendered “copy of this law.” Here the term תּוֹרָה (torah) probably refers only to the book of Deuteronomy and not to the whole Pentateuch.
24. Deuteronomy 17:18 tn The Hebrew term סֵפֶר (sefer) means a “writing” or “document” and could be translated “book” (so KJV, ASV, TEV). However, since “book” carries the connotation of a modern bound book with pages (an obvious anachronism) it is preferable to render the Hebrew term “scroll” here and elsewhere.
25. Deuteronomy 17:20 tc Heb “upon his kingship.” Smr supplies כִּסֵא (kiseʾ, “throne”) so as to read “upon the throne of his kingship.” This overliteralizes what is a clearly understood figure of speech.
26. Deuteronomy 18:1 tn The MT places the terms “priests” and “Levites” in apposition, thus creating an epexegetical construction in which the second term qualifies the first, i.e., “Levitical priests.” This is a way of asserting their legitimacy as true priests. The Syriac renders “to the priest and to the Levite,” making a distinction between the two, but one that is out of place here.
27. Deuteronomy 18:1 sn Of his inheritance. This is a figurative way of speaking of the produce of the land the Lord will give to his people. It is the Lord’s inheritance, but the Levites are allowed to eat it since they themselves have no inheritance among the other tribes of Israel.
28. Deuteronomy 18:2 tn Heb “he” (and throughout the verse).
29. Deuteronomy 18:2 tn Heb “brothers,” but not referring to actual siblings. Cf. NASB “their countrymen”; NRSV “the other members of the community.”
30. Deuteronomy 18:3 tn Heb “judgment”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “the priest’s due.”
31. Deuteronomy 18:4 tn Heb “the firstfruits of your…” (so NIV).
32. Deuteronomy 18:5 tc Smr and some Greek texts add “before the Lord your God” to bring the language into line with a formula found elsewhere (Deut 10:8; 2 Chr 29:11). This reading is not likely to be original, however.
33. Deuteronomy 18:5 tn Heb “the name of the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
34. Deuteronomy 18:6 tn Heb “according to all the desire of his soul.”
35. Deuteronomy 18:6 tn Or “sojourning.” The verb used here refers to living temporarily in a place, not settling down.
36. Deuteronomy 18:8 tn Presumably this would not refer to a land inheritance, since that was forbidden to the descendants of Levi (v. 1). More likely it referred to some family possessions (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV) or other private property (cf. NLT “a private source of income”), or even support sent by relatives (cf. TEV “whatever his family sends him”).
37. Deuteronomy 18:10 tn Heb “who passes his son or his daughter through the fire.” The expression “pass…through the fire” is probably a euphemism for human sacrifice (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT). See also Deut 12:31.
38. Deuteronomy 18:10 tn Heb “a diviner of divination” (קֹסֵם קְסָמִים, qosem q^esamim). This was a means employed to determine the future or the outcome of events by observation of various omens and signs (cf. Num 22:7; 23:23; Josh 13:22; 1 Sam 6:2; 15:23; 28:8; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 3:945-51.
39. Deuteronomy 18:10 tn Heb “one who causes to appear” (מְעוֹנֵן, m^eʿonen). Such a practitioner was thought to be able to conjure up spirits or apparitions (cf. Lev 19:26; Judg 9:37; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 2:6; 57:3; Jer 27:9; Mic 5:11).
40. Deuteronomy 18:10 tn Heb “a seeker of omens” (מְנַחֵשׁ, m^enakhesh). This is a subset of divination, one illustrated by the use of a “divining cup” in the story of Joseph (Gen 44:5).
41. Deuteronomy 18:10 tn Heb “a doer of sorcery” (מְכַשֵּׁף, m^ekhashef). This has to do with magic or the casting of spells in order to manipulate the gods or the powers of nature (cf. Lev 19:26-31; 2 Kgs 17:15b-17; 21:1-7; Isa 57:3, 5; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 2:735-38.
42. Deuteronomy 18:11 tn Heb “a binder of binding” (חֹבֵר חָבֶר, khover khaver). The connotation is that of immobilizing (“binding”) someone or something by the use of magical words (cf. Ps 58:6; Isa 47:9, 12).
43. Deuteronomy 18:11 tn Heb “asker of a [dead] spirit” (שֹׁאֵל אוֹב, shoʾel ʾov). This is a form of necromancy (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6; 1 Sam 28:8, 9; Isa 8:19; 19:3; 29:4).
44. Deuteronomy 18:11 tn Heb “a knowing [or “familiar”] [spirit]” (יִדְּעֹנִי, yidd^eʿoniy), i.e., one who is expert in mantic arts (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; 1 Sam 28:3, 9; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 8:19; 19:3).
45. Deuteronomy 18:11 tn Heb “a seeker of the dead.” This is much the same as “one who conjures up spirits” (cf. 1 Sam 28:6-7).
46. Deuteronomy 18:12 tn Heb “these abhorrent things.” The repetition is emphatic. For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, the same term used earlier in the verse has been translated “detestable” here.
47. Deuteronomy 18:12 tn The translation understands the Hebrew participial form as having an imminent future sense here.
48. Deuteronomy 18:15 tc The MT expands here on the usual formula by adding “from among you” (cf. Deut 17:15; 18:18; Smr; a number of Greek texts). The expansion seems to be for the purpose of emphasis, i.e., the prophet to come must be not just from Israel but an Israelite by blood.tn “from your brothers,” but not referring to actual siblings. Cf. NAB “from among your own kinsmen”; NASB “from your countrymen”; NRSV “from among your own people.” A similar phrase occurs in v. 17.
49. Deuteronomy 18:16 tn The Hebrew text uses the collective singular in this verse: “my God…lest I die.”
50. Deuteronomy 18:19 tn Heb “will seek from him”; NAB “I myself will make him answer for it”; NRSV “will hold accountable.”
51. Deuteronomy 18:19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet mentioned in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
52. Deuteronomy 18:20 tn Or “commanded” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
53. Deuteronomy 18:21 tn Heb “in your heart.”
54. Deuteronomy 18:21 tn Heb “know the word which the Lord has not spoken.” The issue here is not understanding the meaning of the message, but distinguishing a genuine prophetic word from a false one.
55. Deuteronomy 18:22 tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on the word “his” in v. 5.
56. Deuteronomy 18:22 tn Heb “the word,” but a predictive word is in view here. Cf. NAB “his oracle.”
57. Deuteronomy 18:22 tn Heb “does not happen or come to pass.”
58. Deuteronomy 18:22 tn Heb “the Lord has.” See note on the word “his” in v. 5.
59. Deuteronomy 18:22 tn Heb “that is the word which the Lord has not spoken.”
60. Deuteronomy 19:1 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
61. Deuteronomy 19:2 sn These three cities, later designated by Joshua, were Kedesh of Galilee, Shechem, and Hebron (Josh 20:7-9).
62. Deuteronomy 19:3 tn Heb “border.”
63. Deuteronomy 19:4 tn Heb “and this is the word pertaining to the one who kills who flees there and lives.”
64. Deuteronomy 19:4 tn Heb “who strikes his neighbor without knowledge.”
65. Deuteronomy 19:4 tn Heb “yesterday and a third (day)” (likewise in v. 6). The point is that there was no animosity between the two parties at the time of the accident and therefore no motive for the killing. Cf. NAB “had previously borne no malice”; NRSV “had not been at enmity before.”
66. Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “his neighbor” (so NAB, NIV); NASB “his friend.”
67. Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “and he raises his hand with the iron.”
68. Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “the iron slips off.”
69. Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “finds.”
70. Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “his neighbor.”
71. Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the person responsible for his friend’s death) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
72. Deuteronomy 19:5 tn Heb “and live.”
73. Deuteronomy 19:6 tn Heb “and overtake him, for the road is long.”
74. Deuteronomy 19:6 tn Heb “smite with respect to life,” that is, fatally.
75. Deuteronomy 19:6 tn Heb “no judgment of death.”
76. Deuteronomy 19:8 tn Heb “fathers.”
77. Deuteronomy 19:8 tn Heb “he said to give to your ancestors.” The pronoun has been used in the translation instead for stylistic reasons.
78. Deuteronomy 19:9 tn Heb “all this commandment.” This refers here to the entire covenant agreement of the Book of Deuteronomy as encapsulated in the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).
79. Deuteronomy 19:9 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”
80. Deuteronomy 19:9 sn You will add three more cities. Since these are alluded to nowhere else and thus were probably never added, this must be a provision for other cities of refuge should they be needed (cf. v. 8). See P. C. Craigie, Deuteronomy (NICOT), 267.
81. Deuteronomy 19:10 tn Heb “innocent blood must not be shed.” The Hebrew phrase דָּם נָקִי (dam naqi) means the blood of a person to whom no culpability or responsibility adheres because what he did was without malice aforethought (HALOT 224 s.v דָּם 4.b).
82. Deuteronomy 19:10 tn Heb “and blood will be upon you” (cf. KJV, ASV); NRSV “thereby bringing bloodguilt upon you.”
83. Deuteronomy 19:11 tn Heb “his neighbor.”
84. Deuteronomy 19:11 tn Heb “rises against him and strikes him fatally.”
85. Deuteronomy 19:12 tn The גֹאֵל הַדָּם (goʾel haddam, “avenger of blood”) would ordinarily be a member of the victim’s family who, after due process of law, was invited to initiate the process of execution (cf. Num 35:16-28). See R. Hubbard, NIDOTTE 1:789-94.
86. Deuteronomy 19:13 sn Purge out the blood of the innocent. Because of the corporate nature of Israel’s community life, the whole community shared in the guilt of unavenged murder unless and until vengeance occurred. Only this would restore spiritual and moral equilibrium (Num 35:33).
87. Deuteronomy 19:14 tn Heb “border.” Cf. NRSV “You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker.”
88. Deuteronomy 19:14 tn Heb “which they set off from the beginning.”
89. Deuteronomy 19:14 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.” This phrase has been left untranslated to avoid redundancy.
90. Deuteronomy 19:15 tn Heb “rise up” (likewise in v. 16).
91. Deuteronomy 19:15 tn Heb “may stand.”
92. Deuteronomy 19:16 tn Heb “violent” (חָמָס, khamas). This is a witness whose motivation from the beginning is to do harm to the accused and who, therefore, resorts to calumny and deceit. See I. Swart and C. VanDam, NIDOTTE 2:177-80.
93. Deuteronomy 19:16 tn Or “rebellion.” Rebellion against God’s law is in view (cf. NAB “of a defection from the law”).
94. Deuteronomy 19:17 tn The appositional construction (“before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges”) indicates that these human agents represented the Lord himself, that is, they stood in his place (cf. Deut 16:18-20; 17:8-9).
95. Deuteronomy 19:18 tn Heb “his brother” (also in the following verse).
96. Deuteronomy 19:19 tn Heb “you will burn out” (בִּעַרְתָּ, biʿarta). Like a cancer, unavenged sin would infect the whole community. It must, therefore, be excised by the purging out of its perpetrators who, presumably, remained unrepentant (cf. Deut 13:6; 17:7, 12; 21:21; 22:21-22, 24; 24:7).
97. Deuteronomy 19:21 sn This kind of justice is commonly called lex talionis or “measure for measure” (cf. Exod 21:23-25; Lev 24:19-20). It is likely that it is the principle that is important and not always a strict application. That is, the punishment should fit the crime and it may do so by the payment of fines or other suitable and equitable compensation (cf. Exod 22:21; Num 35:31). See T. S. Frymer-Kensky, “Tit for Tat: The Principle of Equal Retribution in Near Eastern and Biblical Law,” BA 43 (1980): 230-34.
98. Deuteronomy 20:1 tn Heb “horse and chariot.”
99. Deuteronomy 20:1 tn Heb “people.”
100. Deuteronomy 20:2 sn The reference to the priest suggests also the presence of the ark of the covenant, the visible sign of God’s presence. The whole setting is clearly that of “holy war” or “Yahweh war,” in which God himself takes initiative as the true commander of the forces of Israel (cf. Exod 14:14-18; 15:3-10; Deut 3:22; 7:18-24; 31:6, 8).
101. Deuteronomy 20:2 tn Heb “and he will say to the people.” Cf. NIV, NCV, CEV “the army”; NRSV, NLT “the troops.”
102. Deuteronomy 20:4 tn Or “to save you” (so KJV, NASB, NCV); or “to deliver you.”
103. Deuteronomy 20:5 tn Heb “people” (also in vv. 8, 9).
104. Deuteronomy 20:5 tn Heb “Who [is] the man” (also in vv. 6, 7, 8).
105. Deuteronomy 20:5 tn The Hebrew term חָנַךְ (khanakh) occurs elsewhere only with respect to the dedication of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs 8:63 = 2 Chr 7:5). There it has a religious connotation which, indeed, may be the case here as well. The noun form (חֲנֻכָּה, khanukkah) is associated with the consecration of the great temple altar (2 Chr 7:9) and of the postexilic wall of Jerusalem (Neh 12:27). In Maccabean times the festival of Hanukkah was introduced to celebrate the rededication of the temple following its desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (1 Macc 4:36-61).
106. Deuteronomy 20:5 tn Heb “another man.”
107. Deuteronomy 20:7 tn Heb “Who [is] the man.”
108. Deuteronomy 20:8 tn Heb “his brother’s.”
109. Deuteronomy 20:8 tn Heb “melted.”
110. Deuteronomy 20:9 tn The Hebrew text includes “to the people,” but this phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
111. Deuteronomy 20:9 tn Heb “princes of hosts.”
112. Deuteronomy 20:11 tn Heb “if it answers you peace.”
113. Deuteronomy 20:11 tn Heb “become as a vassal and will serve you.” The Hebrew term translated slaves (מַס, mas) refers either to Israelites who were pressed into civil service, especially under Solomon (1 Kgs 5:13; 9:15, 21; 12:18), or (as here) to foreigners forced as prisoners of war to become slaves to Israel. The Gibeonites exemplify this type of servitude (Josh 9:3-27; cf. Josh 16:10; 17:13; Judg 1:28, 30-35; Isa 31:8; Lam 1:1).
114. Deuteronomy 20:13 tn Heb “to your hands.”
115. Deuteronomy 20:16 tn The antecedent of the relative pronoun is “cities.”
116. Deuteronomy 20:16 tn Heb “any breath.”
117. Deuteronomy 20:17 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “utterly.” Cf. CEV “completely wipe out.”sn The Hebrew verb refers to placing persons or things so evil and/or impure as to be irredeemable under God’s judgment, usually to the extent of their complete destruction. See also the note on the phrase “the divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.
118. Deuteronomy 20:17 sn Hittite. The center of Hittite power was in Anatolia (central modern Turkey). In the Late Bronze Age (1550-1200 b.c.) they were at their zenith, establishing outposts and colonies near and far. Some elements were obviously in Canaan at the time of the Conquest (1400-1350 b.c.).
119. Deuteronomy 20:17 sn Amorite. Originally from the upper Euphrates region (Amurru), the Amorites appear to have migrated into Canaan beginning in 2200 b.c. or thereabouts.
120. Deuteronomy 20:17 sn Canaanite. These were the indigenous peoples of the land of Palestine, going back to the beginning of recorded history (ca. 3000 b.c.). The OT identifies them as descendants of Ham (Gen 10:6), the only Hamites to have settled north and east of Egypt.
121. Deuteronomy 20:17 sn Perizzite. This probably refers to a subgroup of Canaanites (Gen 13:7; 34:30).
122. Deuteronomy 20:17 sn Hivite. These are usually thought to be the same as the Hurrians, a people well-known in ancient Near Eastern texts. They are likely identical to the Horites (see note on “Horites” in Deut 2:12).
123. Deuteronomy 20:17 tc The LXX adds “Girgashites” here at the end of the list in order to list the full (and usual) complement of seven (see note on “seven” in Deut 7:1).sn Jebusite. These people inhabited the hill country, particularly in and about Jerusalem (cf. Num 13:29; Josh 15:8; 2 Sam 5:6; 24:16).
124. Deuteronomy 20:18 tn Heb “to do according to all their abominations which they do for their gods.”
125. Deuteronomy 20:19 tn Heb “to fight against it to capture it.”
126. Deuteronomy 20:19 tn Heb “you must not destroy its trees by chopping them with an iron” (i.e., an ax).
127. Deuteronomy 20:19 tn Heb “you may eat from them.” The direct object is not expressed; the word “fruit” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
128. Deuteronomy 20:19 tn Heb “to go before you in siege.”
129. Deuteronomy 20:20 tn Heb “however, a tree which you know is not a tree for food you may destroy and cut down.”
130. Deuteronomy 20:20 tn Heb “[an] enclosure.” The term מָצוֹר (matsor) may refer to encircling ditches or to surrounding stagings. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 238.