Deuteronomy 1:13

1:13 Select wise and practical men, those known among your tribes, whom I may appoint as your leaders.”

Deuteronomy 1:23

1:23 I thought this was a good idea, so I sent twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.

Deuteronomy 7:14

7:14 You will be blessed beyond all peoples; there will be no barrenness among you or your livestock.

Deuteronomy 7:20

7:20 Furthermore, the Lord your God will release hornets among them until the very last ones who hide from you perish.

Deuteronomy 13:1

13:1 Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder,

Deuteronomy 13:11

13:11 Thus all Israel will hear and be afraid; no longer will they continue to do evil like this among you.

Deuteronomy 19:20

19:20 The rest of the people will hear and become afraid to keep doing such evil among you.

Deuteronomy 21:11

21:11 if you should see among them 10  an attractive woman whom you wish to take as a wife,

Deuteronomy 28:43

28:43 The foreigners 11  who reside among you will become higher and higher over you and you will become lower and lower.

tn The Hebrew verb נְבֹנִים (nÿvonim, from בִּין [bin]) is a Niphal referring to skill or intelligence (see T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:652-53).

tn Heb “the thing was good in my eyes.”

tn Or “selected” (so NIV, NRSV, TEV); Heb “took.”

sn One of the ironies about the promises to the patriarchs concerning offspring was the characteristic barrenness of the wives of the men to whom these pledges were made (cf. Gen 11:30; 25:21; 29:31). Their affliction is in each case described by the very Hebrew word used here (עֲקָרָה, ’aqarah), an affliction that will no longer prevail in Canaan.

tn The meaning of the term translated “hornets” (צִרְעָה, tsirah) is debated. Various suggestions are “discouragement” (HALOT 1056-57 s.v.; cf. NEB, TEV, CEV “panic”; NCV “terror”) and “leprosy” (J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy [JPSTC], 360, n. 33; cf. NRSV “the pestilence”), as well as “hornet” (BDB 864 s.v.; cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT). The latter seems most suitable to the verb שָׁלַח (shalakh, “send”; cf. Exod 23:28; Josh 24:12).

tn Heb “the remnant and those who hide themselves.”

tn Heb “or a dreamer of dreams” (so KJV, ASV, NASB). The difference between a prophet (נָבִיא, navi’) and one who foretells by dreams (חֹלֵם אוֹ, ’o kholem) was not so much one of office – for both received revelation by dreams (cf. Num 12:6) – as it was of function or emphasis. The prophet was more a proclaimer and interpreter of revelation whereas the one who foretold by dreams was a receiver of revelation. In later times the role of the one who foretold by dreams was abused and thus denigrated as compared to that of the prophet (cf. Jer 23:28).

tn The expression אוֹת אוֹ מוֹפֵת (’oto mofet) became a formulaic way of speaking of ways of authenticating prophetic messages or other works of God (cf. Deut 28:46; Isa 20:3). The NT equivalent is the Greek term σημεῖον (shmeion), a sign performed (used frequently in the Gospel of John, cf. 2:11, 18; 20:30-31). They could, however, be counterfeited or (as here) permitted to false prophets by the Lord as a means of testing his people.

sn Some see in this statement an argument for the deterrent effect of capital punishment (Deut 17:13; 19:20; 21:21).

10 tn Heb “the prisoners.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

11 tn Heb “the foreigner.” This is a collective singular and has therefore been translated as plural; this includes the pronouns in the following verse, which are also singular in the Hebrew text.