23:3 An Ammonite or Moabite 1 may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever 2 do so, 3 23:4 for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired 4 Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you.
1 sn An Ammonite or Moabite. These descendants of Lot by his two daughters (cf. Gen 19:30-38) were thereby the products of incest and therefore excluded from the worshiping community. However, these two nations also failed to show proper hospitality to Israel on their way to Canaan (v. 4).
2 tn The Hebrew term translated “ever” (עַד־עוֹלָם, ’ad-’olam) suggests that “tenth generation” (vv. 2, 3) also means “forever.” However, in the OT sense “forever” means not “for eternity” but for an indeterminate future time. See A. Tomasino, NIDOTTE 3:346.
3 tn Heb “enter the assembly of the
4 tn Heb “hired against you.”