Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 2:12 
Context2:12 Previously the Horites 1 lived in Seir but the descendants of Esau dispossessed and destroyed them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land it came to possess, the land the Lord gave them.) 2
Deuteronomy 2:36
Context2:36 From Aroer, 3 which is at the edge of Wadi Arnon (it is the city in the wadi), 4 all the way to Gilead there was not a town able to resist us – the Lord our God gave them all to us.
Deuteronomy 3:12-13
Context3:12 This is the land we brought under our control at that time: The territory extending from Aroer 5 by the Wadi Arnon and half the Gilead hill country with its cities I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites. 6 3:13 The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. 7 (All the region of Argob, 8 that is, all Bashan, is called the land of Rephaim.
Deuteronomy 9:10
Context9:10 The Lord gave me the two stone tablets, written by the very finger 9 of God, and on them was everything 10 he 11 said to you at the mountain from the midst of the fire at the time of that assembly.
Deuteronomy 10:4
Context10:4 The Lord 12 then wrote on the tablets the same words, 13 the ten commandments, 14 which he 15 had spoken to you at the mountain from the middle of the fire at the time of that assembly, and he 16 gave them to me.
Deuteronomy 31:9
Context31:9 Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all Israel’s elders.
Deuteronomy 32:8
Context32:8 When the Most High 17 gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided up humankind, 18
he set the boundaries of the peoples,
according to the number of the heavenly assembly. 19
1 sn Horites. Most likely these are the same as the well-known people of ancient Near Eastern texts described as Hurrians. They were geographically widespread and probably non-Semitic. Genesis speaks of them as the indigenous peoples of Edom that Esau expelled (Gen 36:8-19, 31-43) and also as among those who confronted the kings of the east (Gen 14:6).
2 tn Most modern English versions, beginning with the ASV (1901), regard vv. 10-12 as parenthetical to the narrative.
3 sn Aroer. Now known as àAraáir on the northern edge of the Arnon river, Aroer marked the southern limit of Moab and, later, of the allotment of the tribe of Reuben (Josh 13:9, 16).
4 tn Heb “the city in the wadi.” This enigmatic reference may refer to Ar or, more likely, to Aroer itself. Epexegetically the text might read, “From Aroer…, that is, the city in the wadi.” See D. L. Christensen, Deuteronomy 1–11 (WBC), 49.
5 tn The words “the territory extending” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
sn Aroer. See note on this term in Deut 2:36.
6 sn Reubenites and Gadites. By the time of Moses’ address the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had already been granted permission to settle in the Transjordan, provided they helped the other tribes subdue the occupants of Canaan (cf. Num 32:28-42).
7 sn Half the tribe of Manasseh. The tribe of Manasseh split into clans, with half opting to settle in Bashan and the other half in Canaan (cf. Num 32:39-42; Josh 17:1-13).
8 sn Argob. See note on this term in v. 4.
9 sn The very finger of God. This is a double figure of speech (1) in which God is ascribed human features (anthropomorphism) and (2) in which a part stands for the whole (synecdoche). That is, God, as Spirit, has no literal finger nor, if he had, would he write with his finger. Rather, the sense is that God himself – not Moses in any way – was responsible for the composition of the Ten Commandments (cf. Exod 31:18; 32:16; 34:1).
10 tn Heb “according to all the words.”
11 tn Heb “the
12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
13 tn Heb “according to the former writing.” See note on the phrase “the same words” in v. 2.
14 tn Heb “ten words.” The “Ten Commandments” are known in Hebrew as the “Ten Words,” which in Greek became the “Decalogue.”
15 tn Heb “the
16 tn Heb “the
17 tn The Hebrew term עֶליוֹן (’elyon) is an abbreviated form of the divine name El Elyon, frequently translated “God Most High” (so here NCV, CEV) or something similar. This full name (or epithet) occurs only in Gen 14, though the two elements are parallel in Ps 73:11; 107:11; etc. Here it is clear that Elyon has to do with the nations in general whereas in v. 9, by contrast, Yahweh relates specifically to Israel. See T. Fretheim, NIDOTTE 1:400-401. The title depicts God as the sovereign ruler of the world, who is enthroned high above his dominion.
18 tn Heb “the sons of man” (so NASB); or “the sons of Adam” (so KJV).
19 tc Heb “the sons of Israel.” The idea, perhaps, is that Israel was central to Yahweh’s purposes and all other nations were arranged and distributed according to how they related to Israel. See S. R. Driver, Deuteronomy (ICC), 355-56. For the MT יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי (bÿney yisra’el, “sons of Israel”) a Qumran fragment has “sons of God,” while the LXX reads ἀγγέλων θεοῦ (angelwn qeou, “angels of God”), presupposing בְּנֵי אֵל (bÿney ’el) or בְּנֵי אֵלִים (beney ’elim). “Sons of God” is undoubtedly the original reading; the MT and LXX have each interpreted it differently. MT assumes that the expression “sons of God” refers to Israel (cf. Hos. 1:10), while LXX has assumed that the phrase refers to the angelic heavenly assembly (Pss 29:1; 89:6; cf. as well Ps 82). The phrase is also attested in Ugaritic, where it refers to the high god El’s divine assembly. According to the latter view, which is reflected in the translation, the Lord delegated jurisdiction over the nations to his angelic host (cf. Dan. 10:13-21), while reserving for himself Israel, over whom he rules directly. For a defense of the view taken here, see M. S. Heiser, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God,” BSac 158 (2001): 52-74.
