Deuteronomy 1:2

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 1:2 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “It is eleven days` [journey] from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

It is eleven days` [journey] from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.
Deuteronomy 1:2 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 1

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
2It is eleven days` [journey] from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb, by the way of Mount Seir, to Kadeshbarnea.] Not that the Israelites came thither in eleven days from Horeb, for they stayed by the way at Kibrothhattaavah, a whole month at least, and seven days at Hazeroth; but the sense is, that this was the computed distance between the two places; it was what was reckoned a man might walk in eleven days; and if we reckon a day’s journey twenty miles, of which (See Gill on “Jon 3:3”), the distance must be two hundred and twenty miles. But Dr. Shaw f5 allows but ten miles for a day’s journey, and then it was no more than one hundred and ten, and indeed a camp cannot be thought to move faster; but not the day’s…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“There are eleven days' journey from Horeb--Distances are computed in the East still by the hours or days occupiesd by the journey. A day's journey on foot is about twenty miles--on camels, at the rate of three miles an hour, thirty miles--and by caravans, about twenty-five miles. But the Israelites, with children and flocks, would move at a slow rate. The length of the Ghor from Ezion-geber to Kadesh is a hundred miles. The days here mentioned were not necessarily successive days [ROBINSON], for the journey can be made in a much shorter period. But this mention of the time was made to show that the great number of years spent in travelling from Horeb to the plain of Moab was not owing to the…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“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 is known among the Jews as “the book of reproofs.” On this side of Jordan -…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“There are eleven days journey - This is added to shew that the reason why the Israelites, in so many years were advanced no farther from Horeb, than to these plains, was not the distance of the places but because of their rebellions. Kadesh - barnea - Which was not far from the borders of Canaan. Deuteronomy 1:3”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“1:2 The distance from Mount Sinai in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula to Kadesh-barnea (see study note on 1:19) in the north is only 150 miles. Even the massive Hebrew population could easily have covered this distance in eleven days had they proceeded without detour or interruption. Their rebellion against the Lord resulted in a 38-year delay and a circuitous route (2:14; Num 14:34). • Mount Sinai: Hebrew Horeb, the name consistently used in Deuteronomy for the sacred mountain where the covenant was given. Its likely connection to a word meaning “drought” or “devastation” suggests the conditions the people of Israel had to face. • The way of Mount Seir was the route from Mount Sinai…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“by the way: Deu 1:44, Deu 2:4, Deu 2:8; Num 20:17-21 unto: Lev 2:14, Lev 9:23; Num 13:26, Num 32:8; Jos 14:6 Deuteronomy 1:3”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification