Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 1:40
But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses the Israelites at the border of the Promised Land, commanding them to abandon their attempt to seize the hill country and return to the desert.
The words — The Hebrew imperatives פְּנ֣וּ (pe.Nu, "turn") and וּ/סְע֥וּ (u./se.'U, "set out") direct the people toward הַ/מִּדְבָּ֖רָ/ה (ha./mid.Ba.ra/h, "the wilderness") along דֶּ֥רֶךְ יַם־סֽוּף (De.rekh yam-Suf, "the way of the Red Sea").
The thread — This directive parallels God’s command in Numbers 14:25 to retreat into the wilderness rather than attack the Amalekites and Canaanites dwelling in the valleys.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate compliance with a divine withdrawal when human strategy opposes God's timing, requiring the reader to recognize that obedience sometimes means stepping back rather than pushing forward.
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
But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
Cross-references
- Numbers 14:25 Now since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”