Deuteronomy 2:9
in Deuteronomy 2Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto me, Vex not Moab, neither contend with them in battle; for I will not give thee of his land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.
KJV
And the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 2
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Moabites and the Ammonites Deu 2:19 being descended from Lot, the nephew of Abraham Gen 19:30-38, were, like the Edomites, kinsmen of the Israelites.
This site's exposition
the way of the wilderness of Moab
on Deuteronomy 2:8-9
Moab is spared on the same ground as Edom, and the grant is traced to the children of Lot rather than to Moab, which runs it back to Genesis 19:36-37. Numbers 22 has Balak of Moab hiring Balaam against this same people, and Henry sets the two side by side: a nation that meant Israel harm is still not Israel's to take. Chapter 23:3 will shut the Moabite out of the congregation without touching a mile of his land.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Ar - The chief city of the Moabites, here put for the whole country which depended upon it. The children of Lot - So called to signify that this preservation, was not for their sakes, for they were a wicked people, but for Lot's sake whose memory God yet honours.
), righteous Lot, who kept his integrity in Sodom. Note, Children often fare the better in this world for the piety of their ancestors: the seed of the upright, though they degenerate, yet are blessed with temporal good things. Because the land they were possessed of was what God had given them, and he did not design it for Israel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the Lord said unto me,....
Though the Moabites aimed to ruin Israel ( Num. xxii. 6 ), yet Israel must not aim to ruin them. If others design us a mischief, this will not justify us in designing them a mischief.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
THE EMIM ABODE THEREIN FORMERLY etc. “You [Moses] might think that this is the land of the Rephaim which I gave to Abraham. Genesis:20.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The Eimim originally lived there—a people great and numerous and powerful like the Anokim [ giants ].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵלַ֗י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תָּ֙צַר֙ | tatzar | you may provoke | H6696 → | 38 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּתְגָּ֥ר | titgar | you engage in strife | H1624 → | 14 times |
| בָּ֖ם | bam | with them | ||
| מִלְחָמָ֑ה | milchamah | battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| כִּ֠י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶתֵּ֨ן | ʾeten | I will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֤ | lekha | to you | ||
| מֵֽאַרְצוֹ֙ | meartzo | any of land his | H776 → | 2504 times |
| יְרֻשָּׁ֔ה | yerushah | a possession | H3425 → | 14 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לִבְנֵי־ | livnei- | to [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| ל֔וֹט | lot | Lot | H3876 → | |
| נָתַ֥תִּי | natati | I have given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עָ֖ר | ʾar | Ar | H6144 → | 6 times |
| יְרֻשָּֽׁה׃ | yerushah | a possession | H3425 → | 14 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵלַ֗יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
תָּ֙צַר֙you may provoke
tatzarH6696 →38 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מוֹאָ֔בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
תִּתְגָּ֥רyou engage in strife
titgarH1624 →14 times
בָּ֖םwith them
bam
מִלְחָמָ֑הbattle
milchamahH4421 →320 times
כִּ֠יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֶתֵּ֨ןI will give
ʾetenH5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֤to you
lekha
מֵֽאַרְצוֹ֙any of land his
meartzoH776 →2504 times
יְרֻשָּׁ֔הa possession
yerushahH3425 →14 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לִבְנֵי־to [the] descendants of
livnei-H1121 →4930 times
ל֔וֹטLot
lotH3876 →
נָתַ֥תִּיI have given
natatiH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עָ֖רAr
ʾarH6144 →6 times
יְרֻשָּֽׁה׃a possession
yerushahH3425 →14 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Numbers 21:15even the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 2:29
just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 21:28
For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights.
- Deuteronomy 2:18
“Today you are going to cross the border of Moab at Ar.
- Isaiah 15:1
This is the burden against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night!
- Deuteronomy 2:29
Through
Numbers 21:28For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights.
it leads to
- Numbers 21:15
even the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.”
- Jeremiah 48:45–46
“Those who flee will stand helpless in Heshbon’s shadow, because fire has gone forth from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It devours the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons…
- Numbers 21:15
Through
Judges 11:17Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab,…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 2:4–9
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.
- Numbers 20:14–21
From 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,
- Deuteronomy 2:4–9
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.