Deuteronomy 2:5 - Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

Deuteronomy 2:5

3 ‘You have skirted this mountain ^along enough; turn northward.

4 And command the people, saying, ^a“You are about to pass through the territory of ^byour brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully.

5 Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, ^abecause I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

6 You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.

7 “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your¹ trudging through this great wilderness. ^aThese forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’

8 “And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from ^aElath and Ezion Geber, we ^bturned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab.

9 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given ^aAr to ^bthe descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

10 ^a(The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as ^bthe Anakim.

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

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Deuteronomy 2:5-7

Meddle not with them—that is, "which dwell in Seir" (Deuteronomy 2:4) —for there was another branch of Esau's posterity, namely, the Amalekites, who were to be fought against and destroyed (Genesis 36:12; Exodus 17:14; Deuteronomy 25:17). But the people of Edom were not to be injured, either in their persons or property. And although the approach of so vast a nomadic horde as the Israelites naturally created apprehension, they were to take no advantage of the prevailing terror to compel the Edomites to accept whatever terms they imposed. They were merely to pass "through" or along their border, and to buy meat and water of them for money (Deuteronomy 2:6). The people, kinder than their king, did sell them bread, meat, fruits, and water in their passage along their border (Deuteronomy 2:29), in the same manner as the Syrian caravan of Mecca is now supplied by the people of the same mountains, who meet the pilgrims as at a fair or market on the hadji route [ROBINSON]. Although the Israelites still enjoyed a daily supply of the manna, there was no prohibition against their eating other food when opportunity afforded. Only they were not to cherish an inordinate desire for it. Water is a scarce commodity and is often paid for by travellers in those parts. It was the more incumbent on the Israelites to do so, as, by the blessing of God, they possessed plenty of means to purchase, and the long-continued experience of the extraordinary goodness of God to them, should inspire such confidence in Him as would suppress the smallest thought of resorting to fraud or violence in supplying their wants.

Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Deuteronomy 2:5:

Deuteronomy 32:8-9

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Deuteronomy 2:6 >>

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