Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 2:20
(That too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim, who used to live there, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, instructing them not to harass the Ammonites as they approach the border. He explains that God has already allotted their territory to Lot’s descendants.
The words — תֵּחָשֵׁב (te.cha.Shev) means “it was regarded,” and רְפָאִים (re.fa.'Im) denotes the Rephaites, the former inhabitants of the region. The text states the land was considered Rephait territory before the Ammonites renamed them Zamzummites.
The thread — The Rephaites appear earlier in Genesis 14:5, where Chedorlaomer defeats them in Ashteroth-karn. Deuteronomy 2:21 immediately follows by describing them as tall and numerous before noting their destruction by the LORD.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to acknowledge God’s authority to distribute land among nations and to obey His explicit commands regarding those territories. It demands restraint and trust in divine timing rather than human conquest.
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
(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;
Cross-references
- Genesis 14:5 In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim,