4:32 Indeed, ask about the distant past, starting from the day God created humankind 14 on the earth, and ask 15 from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been such a great thing as this, or even a rumor of it.
1 tn Heb “turn”; NAB “Leave here”; NIV, TEV “Break camp.”
2 tn Heb “go (to).”
3 tn Heb “its dwelling places.”
4 tn Heb “the Arabah” (so ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
5 tn Heb “lowlands” (so TEV) or “steppes”; NIV, CEV, NLT “the western foothills.”
sn The Shephelah is the geographical region between the Mediterranean coastal plain and the Judean hill country.
6 sn The Hebrew term Negev means literally “desert” or “south” (so KJV, ASV). It refers to the area south of Beer Sheba and generally west of the Arabah Valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.
7 tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).
8 tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.
9 tn Heb “have caused our hearts to melt.”
10 tn Heb “greater.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “stronger,” NAB, NIV, NRSV; “bigger,” NASB).
11 tn Or “as the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
12 tn Heb “we have seen.”
13 tn Heb “the sons of the Anakim.”
sn Anakites were giant people (Num 13:33; Deut 2:10, 21; 9:2) descended from a certain Anak whose own forefather Arba founded the city of Kiriath Arba, i.e., Hebron (Josh 21:11).
14 tn The Hebrew term אָדָם (’adam) may refer either to Adam or, more likely, to “man” in the sense of the human race (“mankind,” “humankind”). The idea here seems more universal in scope than reference to Adam alone would suggest.
15 tn The verb is not present in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarification. The challenge has both temporal and geographical dimensions. The people are challenged to (1) inquire about the entire scope of past history and (2) conduct their investigation on a worldwide scale.
16 tn Heb “his glory and his greatness.”
17 tn Heb “this day we have seen.”
18 tn Heb “the
19 tn For the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “to love”) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.
20 tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).
21 tn Heb “swore on oath.”
22 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).
23 tn Heb “by a strong hand” (NAB similar); NLT “with such amazing power.”
24 sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root פָּדָה, padah) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the
25 tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NRSV), a metaphor for power or domination.
26 tn The Hebrew text uses the collective singular in this verse: “my God…lest I die.”
27 tn Though the Hebrew term אָבַד (’avad) generally means “to perish” or the like (HALOT 2-3 s.v.; BDB 1-2 s.v.; cf. KJV “a Syrian ready to perish”), a meaning “to go astray” or “to be lost” is also attested. The ambivalence in the Hebrew text is reflected in the versions where LXX Vaticanus reads ἀπέβαλεν (apebalen, “lose”) for a possibly metathesized reading found in Alexandrinus, Ambrosianus, ἀπέλαβεν (apelaben, “receive”); others attest κατέλειπεν (kateleipen, “leave, abandon”). “Wandering” seems to suit best the contrast with the sedentary life Israel would enjoy in Canaan (v. 9) and is the meaning followed by many English versions.
28 sn A wandering Aramean. This is a reference to Jacob whose mother Rebekah was an Aramean (Gen 24:10; 25:20, 26) and who himself lived in Aram for at least twenty years (Gen 31:41-42).
29 tn Heb “father.”
30 tn Heb “sojourned there few in number.” The words “with a household” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.