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Deuteronomy 2:4

in Deuteronomy 2

and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the border of your brethren the children of Esau, that dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore;

KJV

And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

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This verse in Deuteronomy 2

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
Compare the marginal reference. Though the Edomites resisted the passage through the midst of their land, they did not, and probably could not, oppose the “passing through the coast” or along their eastern frontier.

This site's exposition

Ye are to pass through the coast

on Deuteronomy 2:4-6

The verb given governs both sides of this chapter. Mount Seir belongs to Esau by the same kind of grant that gives Canaan to Israel, so the conquest has a border drawn by the one who authorises it, and not so much as a foot breadth lies outside that border. Numbers 20:14-21 has Edom refusing passage and coming out with a strong hand, while this chapter has Israel going along the coast and buying food and water for money; Barnes reads the difference as the eastern frontier rather than the road through the middle.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And command thou the people,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

(3.) They must not expect to have any part of their land given them for a possession: Mount Seir was already settled upon the Edomites, and they must not, under pretence of God's covenant and conduct, think to seize for themselves all they could lay hands on. Dominion is not founded in grace.

The words behind it

16 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • הָעָם֮the people

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • צַ֣וcommand

    tzavH6680 →494 times

  • לֵאמֹר֒<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • אַתֶּ֣םyou

    ʾatemH859 →1094 times

  • עֹֽבְרִ֗ים[are] about to pass

    ʾoerimH5674 →556 times

  • בִּגְבוּל֙in [the] territory of

    bigvulH1366 →240 times

  • אֲחֵיכֶ֣םrelatives your

    ʾacheikhemH251 →630 times

  • בְּנֵי־[the] descendants of

    benei-H1121 →4930 times

  • עֵשָׂ֔וEsau

    ʾesavH6215 →97 times

  • הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖יםwho dwell

    haiyoshevimH3427 →1079 times

  • בְּשֵׂעִ֑ירin Seir

    beseirH8165 →39 times

  • וְיִֽירְא֣וּso they may be afraid

    veyireuH3372 →315 times

  • מִכֶּ֔םfrom you

    mikem

  • וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖םand you will take heed

    venishmartemH8104 →468 times

  • מְאֹֽד׃exceedingly

    meodH3966 →300 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

15 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 20:14–21From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,4 worksExodus 15:15Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,3 worksDeuteronomy 23:7Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.3 worksNumbers 22:3–4and Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous. Indeed, Moab dreaded the Israelites.2 worksMatthew 5:16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.2 worksColossians 4:5Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.2 works
The other 9 cross-references, with their words ▾
Philippians 2:15so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world2 worksLuke 12:15And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”2 worksObadiah 1:10–13Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever.2 worksEphesians 5:15Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,2 worksDeuteronomy 1:2It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir.2 worksDeuteronomy 29:16For you yourselves know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we passed through the nations on the way here.2 worksExodus 19:12And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.2 worksJoshua 12:7And these are the kings of the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquered beyond the Jordan to the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir (according to the allotments to the tribes of Israel, Joshua gave them as an inheritance2 worksNumbers 24:14–18Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.”1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Matthew 5:16

    In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

    it leads to

    • 1 Peter 2:12

      Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

    • Titus 2:7

      In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,

    • John 15:8

      This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples.

    • 1 John 1:5–7

      And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

    • Philippians 2:15–16

      so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 23:7

    Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 10:19

      So you also must love the foreigner, since you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

    • Exodus 22:21

      You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

    • Exodus 23:9

      Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

About Deuteronomy

Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Deuteronomy: the study guide →Read Deuteronomy 2 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Deuteronomy 2 →