Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 4:20 
Context4:20 You, however, the Lord has selected and brought from Egypt, that iron-smelting furnace, 1 to be his special people 2 as you are today.
Deuteronomy 33:21
Context33:21 He has selected the best part for himself,
for the portion of the ruler 3 is set aside 4 there;
he came with the leaders 5 of the people,
he obeyed the righteous laws of the Lord
and his ordinances with Israel.
1 tn A כּוּר (kur) was not a source of heat but a crucible (“iron-smelting furnace”) in which precious metals were melted down and their impurities burned away (see I. Cornelius, NIDOTTE 2:618-19); cf. NAB “that iron foundry, Egypt.” The term is a metaphor for intense heat. Here it refers to the oppression and suffering Israel endured in Egypt. Since a crucible was used to burn away impurities, it is possible that the metaphor views Egypt as a place of refinement to bring Israel to a place of submission to divine sovereignty.
2 tn Heb “to be his people of inheritance.” The Lord compares his people to valued property inherited from one’s ancestors and passed on to one’s descendants.
3 tn The Hebrew term מְחֹקֵק (mÿkhoqeq; Poel participle of חָקַק, khaqaq, “to inscribe”) reflects the idea that the recorder of allotments (the “ruler”) is able to set aside for himself the largest and best. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 444-45.
4 tn Heb “covered in” (if from the root סָפַן, safan; cf. HALOT 764-65 s.v. ספן qal).
5 tn Heb “heads” (in the sense of chieftains).
