Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 2:5
Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the eastern border, commanding them to traverse Edom without hostility as they approach the Jordan.
The words — The Hebrew תִּתְגָּרוּ (tit.gāru) commands "do not provoke or engage in strife," while מִדְרַךְ (midrāḵ) literally denotes "a treading place," underscoring the absolute prohibition on seizing even a fraction of their territory.
The thread — The verse grounds this restriction in Genesis 36:8 and Joshua 24:4, which record God’s prior grant of Mount Seir to Esau, and parallels Deuteronomy 32:8’s principle that the Most High sets the boundaries of every nation.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate restraint in the face of potential conflict and requires the reader to accept that land inheritance is a divine allocation, not a military right.
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
Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.
Cross-references
- Genesis 36:8 So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the area of Mount Seir.
- Joshua 24:4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau Mount Seir to possess, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 32:8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
- 2 Chronicles 20:10 And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt. So Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.
- Jeremiah 27:5 By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
- Daniel 4:25 You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.
- Daniel 4:32 You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like an ox. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.”
- Acts 7:5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child.
- Acts 17:26 From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.