Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 1:3
In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites in the fortieth year of their wilderness journey, specifically on the first day of the eleventh month, immediately following his defeats of Sihon and Og. He announces all the commands the Lord gave him regarding their conduct.
The words — The phrase בְּאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה (be-'arba'im shanah) literally renders "in forty year," marking the chronological endpoint of the wilderness generation. The construction בְּעַשְׁתֵּי־עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ (be-'ashtey-'asar chodesh) specifies "in [the] one-ten month," identifying the eleventh month of that final year.
The thread — This chronological marker aligns with the wilderness timeline noted in Numbers 33:38 and Numbers 20:1, while its legal content anticipates the statutes Moses teaches in Deuteronomy 4:1. The verse anchors the transition from the eleven-day journey from Horeb to the covenant renewal on the plains of Moab.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine instruction follows a fixed historical moment, requiring the reader to examine how recorded commands apply to their own covenant obligations. It calls for immediate attention to the words proclaimed at a specific time rather than abstract speculation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them;
Cross-references
- Numbers 33:38 At the LORD’s command, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month, in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt.
- Numbers 20:1 In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
- Deuteronomy 4:1 Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.