Deuteronomy 23:4
in Deuteronomy 23For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
KJV
Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 23
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter
on Deuteronomy 23:3-6
The charge against Moab and Ammon is two things done on the road out of Egypt, no bread and water offered and Balaam hired to curse, which Numbers 22 to 24 tells at length. Verse 5 says the Lord turned the curse into a blessing because he loved thee, and Nehemiah 13:1-2 quotes that whole charge back, the turned curse included, on the day the book of Moses is read aloud in Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 2:29 says the Moabites who dwelt in Ar sold Israel food on that same road, both verses stand in the book, and Keil reads the charge here as the conduct of the nation rather than of every man in it. Ruth the Moabitess is the case a reader sets against verse 3, since Ruth 4:17 makes her the great-grandmother of David and Matthew 1:5 names her in the line of Christ, and the readings offered are that the law bars naturalization rather than marriage, which is where Barnes lands, or that the Hebrew is masculine and reaches the men of Moab only, or that Ruth came in as a proselyte.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Because they met you not with bread and with water,....
However this omission of the Ammonites should be remembered against their nation in future ages. Note, God will certainly reckon, not only with those that oppose his people, but with those that do not help and further them, when it is in the power of their hand to do it. The charge at the great day is for an omission: I was hungry, and you gave me no meat.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דְּבַ֞ר | devar | [the] thing | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | <of> that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| קִדְּמ֤וּ | kidemu | they met | H6923 → | |
| אֶתְכֶם֙ | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בַּלֶּ֣חֶם | balechem | with <the> food | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וּבַמַּ֔יִם | uvamayim | and with <the> water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ | baderekh | on the way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| בְּצֵאתְכֶ֣ם | betzetekhem | when came out you | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וַאֲשֶׁר֩ | vaasher | and that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׂכַ֨ר | sakhar | he hired | H7936 → | |
| עָלֶ֜יךָ | ʾaleikha | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בִּלְעָ֣ם | bilam | Balaam | H1109 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בְּע֗וֹר | beor | Beor | H1160 → | |
| מִפְּת֛וֹר | mipetor | from Pethor | H6604 → | |
| אֲרַ֥ם | ʾaram | Aram | H763 → | |
| נַהֲרַ֖יִם | naharayim | Naharaim | H763 → | |
| לְקַֽלְלֶֽךָּ׃ | lekaleka | to curse you | H7043 → |
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
דְּבַ֞ר[the] thing
devarH1697 →1440 times
אֲשֶׁ֨ר<of> that
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
קִדְּמ֤וּthey met
kidemuH6923 →
אֶתְכֶם֙<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
בַּלֶּ֣חֶםwith <the> food
balechemH3899 →298 times
וּבַמַּ֔יִםand with <the> water
uvamayimH4325 →581 times
בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְon the way
baderekhH1870 →707 times
בְּצֵאתְכֶ֣םwhen came out you
betzetekhemH3318 →1067 times
מִמִּצְרָ֑יִםfrom Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וַאֲשֶׁר֩and that
vaasherH834 →5497 times
שָׂכַ֨רhe hired
sakharH7936 →
עָלֶ֜יךָon you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בִּלְעָ֣םBalaam
bilamH1109 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
בְּע֗וֹרBeor
beorH1160 →
מִפְּת֛וֹרfrom Pethor
mipetorH6604 →
אֲרַ֥םAram
ʾaramH763 →
נַהֲרַ֖יִםNaharaim
naharayimH763 →
לְקַֽלְלֶֽךָּ׃to curse you
lekalekaH7043 →
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
Nehemiah 13:2because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing).
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 23:5
Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
- Joshua 24:9–10
Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,
- Psalms 109:28
Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.
- Deuteronomy 23:5
Through
2 Peter 2:15They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
it leads to
- Revelation 2:14
But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food…
- Jude 1:11
Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
- Deuteronomy 23:4–5
For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
- Numbers 22:5–7
he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the…
- Numbers 31:16
“Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.
- Revelation 2:14
Where this verse is studied
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Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.