Deuteronomy 1

Introduction to Moses' Final Address

¹These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suf, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

²It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.

³In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them,

⁴after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.

⁵Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, saying,

⁶“The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, ‘You have lived long enough at this mountain.

⁷Turn, and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the places near there: in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the South, by the seashore, in the land of the Canaanites, and in Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

⁸Behold, I have set the land before you. Go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give to them and to their offspring after them.’”

Appointment of Judges

⁹I spoke to you at that time, saying, “I am not able to bear you myself alone.

¹⁰The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as the stars of the sky for multitude.

¹¹May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you!

¹²How can I myself alone bear your problems, your burdens, and your strife?

¹³Take wise men of understanding who are respected among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”

¹⁴You answered me, and said, “The thing which you have spoken is good to do.”

¹⁵So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and respected men, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes.

¹⁶I commanded your judges at that time, saying, “Hear cases between your brothers and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is living with him.

¹⁷You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.”

¹⁸I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.

The Spy Mission and Rebellion at Kadesh

¹⁹We traveled from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea.

²⁰I said to you, “You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God gives to us.

²¹Behold, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD the God of your fathers has spoken to you. Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed.”

²²You came near to me, everyone of you, and said, “Let’s send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we must go up, and the cities to which we shall come.”

²³The thing pleased me well. I took twelve of your men, one man for every tribe.

²⁴They turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.

²⁵They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, “It is a good land which the LORD our God gives to us.”

²⁶Yet you wouldn’t go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God.

²⁷You murmured in your tents, and said, “Because the LORD hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.

²⁸Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to the sky. Moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there!’”

²⁹Then I said to you, “Don’t be terrified. Don’t be afraid of them.

³⁰The LORD your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

³¹and in the wilderness where you have seen how that the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.”

³²Yet in this thing you didn’t believe the LORD your God,

³³who went before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.

³⁴The LORD heard the voice of your words and was angry, and swore, saying,

³⁵“Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers,

³⁶except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it. I will give the land that he has trodden on to him and to his children, because he has wholly followed the LORD.”

³⁷Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, “You also shall not go in there.

³⁸Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

³⁹Moreover your little ones, whom you said would be captured or killed, your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, shall go in there. I will give it to them, and they shall possess it.

⁴⁰But as for you, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

⁴¹Then you answered and said to me, “We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us.” Every man of you put on his weapons of war, and presumed to go up into the hill country.

⁴²The LORD said to me, “Tell them, ‘Don’t go up and don’t fight; for I am not among you, lest you be struck before your enemies.’”

⁴³So I spoke to you, and you didn’t listen; but you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill country.

⁴⁴The Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you and chased you as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even to Hormah.

⁴⁵You returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD didn’t listen to your voice, nor turn his ear to you.

⁴⁶So you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you remained.

Previous Numbers 36

Next Deuteronomy 2

Deuteronomy opens with Moses beginning his final address to Israel on the plains of Moab, forty years after the exodus from Egypt. He recounts God's command to leave Mount Horeb and possess the Promised Land, his establishment of a judicial system to help govern the growing nation, and the tragic rebellion at Kadesh-barnea when the people refused to enter Canaan due to fear. This retrospective sets the stage for Moses' comprehensive review of the law before his death and Israel's entry into the land.

Context

This chapter begins Moses' three farewell speeches that comprise Deuteronomy, delivered just before Israel's conquest of Canaan under Joshua's leadership.

Key Themes

Outline

1-5
Setting and Introduction Moses begins his final address to Israel in the fortieth year, after recent military victories.
6-8
God's Command to Leave Horeb The LORD commanded Israel to depart Mount Horeb and take possession of the Promised Land.
9-18
Establishment of Judges Moses recounts appointing wise leaders and judges to help govern the multiplied nation with justice.
19-46
The Rebellion at Kadesh-barnea Israel's refusal to enter the land despite the spies' report led to forty years of wilderness wandering.

Introduction to Moses' Final Address

1:1–1:8

law speech solemn

Moses begins his final address to Israel in the fortieth year, recounting God's command to leave Mount Horeb and possess the Promised Land. He reminds them of God's covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding their inheritance.

person_contrast

Moses shifts from his typical role as law-giver to promise-keeper, invoking Abraham's covenant three times while positioning himself as guide rather than commander in this farewell address.

Appointment of Judges

1:9–1:18

law speech solemn

Moses recounts how he appointed judges and leaders to help govern the growing population of Israel. He emphasizes the importance of righteous judgment, impartiality, and proper fear of God in administering justice.

person_contrast

Moses uniquely delegates divine authority here, contrasting his typical role as sole mediator between God and Israel in the other 94 Deuteronomy passages.

The Spy Mission and Rebellion at Kadesh

1:19–1:46

narrative narration solemn

Moses recounts Israel's rebellion at Kadesh Barnea when the people refused to enter the Promised Land despite God's command and the spies' positive report. This disobedience led to God's judgment and their prolonged wilderness wandering.

person_contrast

Moses, typically associated with law-giving and obedience, here uniquely narrates Israel's disobedience while simultaneously affirming God's promise—creating an ironic tension between his usual role as lawgiver and his function as chronicler of rebellion.

Insight Character Study

Moses shifts from his typical role as law-giver to promise-keeper, invoking Abraham's covenant three times while positioning himself as guide rather than commander in this farewell address.

Insight Character Study

Moses uniquely delegates divine authority here, contrasting his typical role as sole mediator between God and Israel in the other 94 Deuteronomy passages.

Insight Character Study

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Deuteronomy 1:1 5 references

Lexicals 5

Deuteronomy 11:30 Lexical

Aren’t they beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in t…

4 shared words

Numbers 12:16 Lexical

Afterward the people traveled from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.

Deuteronomy 1

Introduction to Moses' Final Address

Appointment of Judges

The Spy Mission and Rebellion at Kadesh

Introduction to Moses' Final Address

Appointment of Judges

The Spy Mission and Rebellion at Kadesh

Insights

Cross-References

Deuteronomy 1:1 5 references

Deuteronomy 1:3 5 references

Deuteronomy 1:4 5 references

Deuteronomy 1:5 3 references

Deuteronomy 1:7 5 references

Deuteronomy 1:8 5 references

Deuteronomy 1:10 5 references

Deuteronomy 1:11 2 references

Deuteronomy 1:15 5 references

Deuteronomy 1:19 1 reference

Deuteronomy 1:28 1 reference

Deuteronomy 1:33 5 references

Deuteronomy 1:36 2 references

Deuteronomy 1:38 5 references

Deuteronomy 1:40 5 references

Deuteronomy 1:41 4 references

Deuteronomy 1:42 2 references

Deuteronomy 1:44 1 reference

Interlinear

Historical Context

Timeline

Exodus