Deuteronomy 32:13

He enabled him ¹  to travel over the high terrain of the land, and he ate of the produce of the fields. He provided honey for him from the cliffs, ²  and olive oil ³  from the hardest of ⁴  rocks, ⁵ 

De 33:26,29; Job 29:6; Ps 81:16; Isa 48:21; Isa 58:14; Eze 21:17; Eze 36:2

¹ tn The form of the suffix on this verbal form indicates that the verb is a preterite, not an imperfect. As such it simply states the action factually. Note as well the preterites with vav (ו) consecutive that follow in the verse.

² tn Heb “he made him suck honey from the rock.”

³ tn Heb “oil,” but this probably refers to olive oil; see note on the word “rock” at the end of this verse.

⁴ tn Heb “flinty.”

⁵ sn Olive oil from rock probably suggests olive trees growing on rocky ledges and yet doing so productively. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 415; cf. TEV “their olive trees flourished in stony ground.”