Deuteronomy Chapter 1

“These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel, etc.] Not what are related in the latter part of the preceding book, but what follow in this; and which were spoken by him, not to the whole body of the people gathered together to hear him, which they could not do without a miracle; but to the heads of the people, the representatives of them, who were convened to hear what he had to say, in order to communicate it to the people; unless we can suppose that Moses at different times to several parties of them delivered the same things, until they had all heard them: on this side Jordan; before the passage of the…”

“Deuteronomy 1:1 MOSES' SPEECH AT THE END OF THE FORTIETH YEAR. (Deu. 1:1-46) These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel--The mental condition of the people generally in that infantine age of the Church, and the greater number of them being of young or tender years, rendered it expedient to repeat the laws and counsels which God had given. Accordingly, to furnish a recapitulation of the leading branches of their faith and duty was among the last public services which Moses rendered to Israel. The scene of their delivery was on the plains of Moab where the encampment was pitched on this side Jordan--or,…”

“These verses are prefixed as a connecting link between the contents of the preceding books and that of Deuteronomy now to follow. The sense of the passage might be given thus: “The discourses of Moses to the people up to the eleventh month of the fortieth year” (compare Deuteronomy 1:3) “have now been recorded.” The proper names which follow seem to belong to places where “words” of remarkable importance were spoken. They are by the Jewish commentators referred to the spots which witnessed the more special sins of the people, and the mention of them here is construed as a pregnant rebuke. The Book of Deuteronomy…”

“All Israel - Namely, by the heads or elders of the several tribes, who were to communicate these discourses to all the people. In the wilderness - In the plain of Moab, as may appear by comparing this with Deu 1:5, and Num 22:1, and Deu 34:8. The word Suph here used does not signify the Red - Sea, which is commonly called jam - suph, and which was at too great a distance, but some oiher place now unknown to us, (as also most of the following places are) so called from the reeds or flags, or rushes (which that word signifies) that grew in or near it. Paran - Not that Num 10:12, which there and elsewhere is called…”

“1:1-5 Ancient Near Eastern treaty texts usually began with a brief section introducing the partners in the covenant, their relationship to each other, and their immediate ancestry. This introduction provides information primarily about the social and geographic setting. 1:1 These are the words that Moses spoke: Although Deuteronomy is modeled after a covenant or treaty document, it is essentially a series of addresses delivered by Moses to the assembly of Israel. • the Jordan Valley: Hebrew the Arabah, a common word usually translated “wilderness” or “desert.” It generally refers to the Great Rift Valley that…”

“on this: Num 32:5, Num 32:19, Num 32:32, Num 34:15, Num 35:14; Jos 9:1, Jos 9:10, Jos 22:4, Jos 22:7 Red Sea: or, Zuph, Or rather, Suph, This could not have been the Red Sea, not only because the word yam, "sea," is not joined with it as usual, but because they were now east of Jordan, and farther from the Red Sea than ever. It seems to be the same which is called Suphah in Num 21:14; which must necessarily signify some place in or adjoining to the plains of Moab, and not far from the Jordan and Arnon. Ptolemy mentions a people called Sophonites that dwelt in Arabia Petrea, who may have taken their name from this…”

“Deu 1:1-4 contain the heading to the whole book; and to this the introduction to the first address is appended in Deu 1:5. By the expression, "These be the words," etc., Deuteronomy is attached to the previous books; the word "these," which refers to the addresses that follow, connects what follows with what goes before, just as in Gen 2:4; Gen 6:9, etc. The geographical data in Deu 1:1 present no little difficulty; for whilst the general statement as to the place where Moses delivered the addresses in this book, viz., beyond Jordan, is particularized in the introduction to the second address ( Deu 4:46), as "in…”