Deuteronomy 9:7

The History of Israel’s Stubbornness

9:7 Remember – don’t ever forget 1  – how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him. 2 

Deuteronomy 9:21-24

9:21 As for your sinful thing 3  that you had made, the calf, I took it, melted it down, 4  ground it up until it was as fine as dust, and tossed the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain. 9:22 Moreover, you continued to provoke the Lord at Taberah, 5  Massah, 6  and Kibroth-Hattaavah. 7  9:23 And when he 8  sent you from Kadesh-Barnea and told you, “Go up and possess the land I have given you,” you rebelled against the Lord your God 9  and would neither believe nor obey him. 9:24 You have been rebelling against him 10  from the very first day I knew you!

1 tn By juxtaposing the positive זְכֹר (zekhor, “remember”) with the negative אַל־תִּשְׁכַּח (’al-tishÿkakh, “do not forget”), Moses makes a most emphatic plea.

2 tn Heb “the Lord” (likewise in the following verse with both “him” and “he”). See note on “he” in 9:3.

3 tn Heb “your sin.” This is a metonymy in which the effect (sin) stands for the cause (the metal calf).

4 tn Heb “burned it with fire.”

5 sn Taberah. By popular etymology this derives from the Hebrew verb בָעַר (ba’ar, “to burn”), thus, here, “burning.” The reference is to the Lord’s fiery wrath against Israel because of their constant complaints against him (Num 11:1-3).

6 sn Massah. See note on this term in Deut 6:16.

7 sn Kibroth-Hattaavah. This place name means in Hebrew “burial places of appetite,” that is, graves that resulted from overindulgence. The reference is to the Israelites stuffing themselves with the quail God had provided and doing so with thanklessness (Num 11:31-35).

8 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

9 tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord your God,” that is, against the commandment that he had spoken.

10 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.