Bible Strands
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 giving us.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites camped east of the Jordan, recounting their diplomatic negotiations with neighboring kingdoms during the wilderness journey. He explains their reliance on established regional customs to secure safe passage through hostile territories.
The words — The Hebrew text highlights בְּנֵי עֵשָׂו (benei 'Esav, descendants of Esau) and עָשׂוּ (asu, they did) to document the precedent of Edomites and Moabites. These terms frame the Israelites' expectation that prior hospitality would be reciprocated.
The thread — This expectation of regional hospitality connects to Numbers 20:18 and Judges 11:17, where Edom denied passage, and contrasts with Deuteronomy 23:3, which later restricts Ammonite and Moabite descendants from the assembly. The narrative arc moves from diplomatic request to divine judgment against Sihon in Deuteronomy 2:30.
Why it lands — The text records Israel's diplomatic assumption that neighboring nations would permit trade and transit, an assumption Sihon rejected. It requires the reader to note how diplomatic failure precedes divine intervention in the conquest narrative.
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
(As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God giveth us.
Cross-references
- Numbers 20:18 But Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.”
- Deuteronomy 23:3 No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation.
- Judges 11:17 Then 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, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.
- Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- Deuteronomy 2:9 Then 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.”
- 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.
- Deuteronomy 4:21 The LORD, however, was angry with me on account of you, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan to enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
- Deuteronomy 4:40 Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.
- Deuteronomy 5:16 Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- Deuteronomy 9:6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.