Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 31:14-16 
Context31:14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The day of your death is near. Summon Joshua and present yourselves in the tent 1 of meeting 2 so that I can commission him.” 3 So Moses and Joshua presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 31:15 The Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud that 4 stood above the door of the tent. 31:16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die, 5 and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they 6 are going. They 7 will reject 8 me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 9
1 tc The LXX reads “by the door of the tent” in line with v. 10 but also, perhaps, as a reflection of its tendency to avoid over-familiarity with Yahweh and his transcendence.
2 tn Heb “tent of assembly” (מוֹעֵד אֹהֶל, ’ohel mo’ed); this is not always the same as the tabernacle, which is usually called מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, “dwelling-place”), a reference to its being invested with God’s presence. The “tent of meeting” was erected earlier than the tabernacle and was the place where Yahweh occasionally appeared, especially to Moses (cf. Exod 18:7-16; 33:7-11; Num 11:16, 24, 26; 12:4).
3 tn Heb “I will command him.”
4 tn Heb “and the pillar of cloud.” This phrase was not repeated in the translation; a relative clause was used instead.
5 tn Heb “lie down with your fathers” (so NASB); NRSV “ancestors.”
6 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style. The third person singular also occurs in the Hebrew text twice more in this verse, three times in v. 17, once in v. 18, five times in v. 20, and four times in v. 21. Each time it is translated as third person plural for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
8 tn Or “abandon” (TEV, NLT).
9 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
