Deuteronomy 1:41

Deu 1:41 Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

Ver. 41. We have sinned, we will go up.] Temporaries are set upon sin in the very confession thereof. Unless to the confession of sin we add confusion of sin, we do nothing. {Pro 28:13} Yet "honour me before the people," said Saul: Give me a bribe, said trembling Felix.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This declareth man’s nature, who will do that which God forbiddeth, and will not do that which he commendeth.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(41) We have sinned . . . we will go up and fight.—The emphatic we of this verse may be compared with the “we” of Deu_1:28. In both instances it was we, without Jehovah. It was a change from cowardice to presumption, not from unbelief to faith.

Ye were ready to go up into the hill.—Some render, Ye made light of going up.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

41. We have sinned against the Lord] Sam. and LXX add our God: cp. JE, Num_14:40 b, we have sinned.

we will go up and fight] we, we Will go up, etc. We ourselves, the doomed generation, and not leave the advance to our children. JE, Behold us, we will go up.

and were forward to go up] deemed it a light thing to go up (R.V. marg.). The verb (tahînu) does not occur elsewhere in the O.T. and ancient translators gave it various meanings. In Ar. the same root is ‘to be slight’ or ‘light’ (see on Deu_1:43); the causative Heb. form is best rendered made light of. This quick revulsion of popular feeling is true to life and admirably depicted. The change was too facile to be real. It is remarkable how alike Hosea and the authors of D are in their attitude to such ethical phenomena. As Hosea declares of his generation (Deu_1:15 ff.), so the generation of Moses does not appreciate how deep is its evil disposition; and, therefore, its repentance is futile. Mere enthusiasm is no atonement for guilt. Men cannot run away from their moral unworthiness on bursts of feeling. The next verse tells that God rejected the light-minded offer; and the truth underlies both verses that He did not do so arbitrarily. Lack of the sense of the seriousness of obedience, of the difficulty of doing God’s will, of the agony which Christ supremely felt, is as great a sin as the refusal to obey. Both are equally proof of unworthiness to work with God. He can do nothing with such shallow natures.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then ye answered, and said unto me,.... Not being willing to go into the wilderness again, though they wished they had died in it; nor to go the way of the Red sea, which was their way back again to Egypt, though they had been for appointing a captain, and returning thither; but now they repented of what they had said and done:

we have sinned against the Lord; by murmuring against his servants, and disobeying his commands:

we will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God hath commanded us; which is more than they were bid to do; they were only ordered to go up and possess the land, and it was promised them the Lord would fight for them:

and when ye had girded on every man his weapon; his sword upon his thigh; a large number of them, for all of them were not so disposed, though many were:

ye were ready to go unto the hill; though before backward enough, when they were bid to do it. De Dieu, from the use of the word (n) in the Arabic language, renders it, "ye reckoned it easy to go up unto the hill"; before it was accounted very difficult, by reason the passes were kept and guarded by the Amorites; but now there was no difficulty, when they were bid to go another way, but were ready at once to go up, which comes to the same sense; he further observes, that the word, in another conjugation in the same language, signifies to make light of, or despise (o); and so may be rendered, "and ye despised"; that is, rejected and despised the order given them to go into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea in the preceding verse, by their attempting to go up the hill; though the word so taken will bear another sense, agreeable to the first, that they now made a light matter of it, as if it was nothing, and there was no difficulty in it to go up the hill, which before was too hard and heavy for them.

(n) "levis et facilis fuit res", Golius, col. 2593. (o) "Contempsit", ib.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ye were ready to go up into the hill - Rather, perhaps, “ye made light of going up;” i. e. “ye were ready to attempt it as a trifling undertaking.” Deu 1:43 shows the issue of this spirit in action; compare marginal references.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Armed. Septuagint, "in crowds." Arabic, "quickly." Syriac, "encouraging one another." Chaldean, "impiously." (Calmet) --- The conduct of these people might seem to authorize all these interpretations. The Hebrew term occurs no where else. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Or, ye offered yourselves, or you began, or you earnestly resolved and attempted.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

41. Ye were ready to go up into the hill — The Hebrew reads, You acted frivolously to go up.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 41-46. The people, appalled at the prospect of another sojourn in the wilderness, yet still rebellious and disobedient to God"s command, though professing penitence, determined, in spite of direct prohibition on the part of God by Moses, to go up and force their way into Canaan; but were punished for their presumption by being utterly defeated and put to flight by the Amorites. (comp. Num_14:40-45)

We have sinned; in Numbers it is simply said that "the people mourned greatly" (bemoaned themselves, WlBatyi); but this is not incompatible with the statement here that they confessed their sins; the one would naturally accompany the ether. Their confession, however, was in word only; their conduct showed that it was not sincere. In Numbers (Num_14:44) it is said, "They presumed to go up;" here it is said (ver. 41), Ye were ready to go up, rather, Ire acted heedlessly with levity, or rive. lonely, to go up. The verb here (WnyhiTw) occurs only in this place, and is of doubtful signification. The Rabbins compare it with the wnnh, lo we! here we be! of the people in Num_14:40. It is the Hiph. of Wh, which is supposed to be the same as the Arabic, to be light, easy; and from, this the meaning, "ye went up heedlessly, is deduced. None of the ancient versions, however, give this meaning. The LXX has sunaqroisqe ajnebainete eijv to orov; the Vulgate, instructi armis pergeretis in montem; Onk., qsml wtrvw (and ye began to ascend); Syriac, (and ye incited yourselves to go up).

Vers. 41-46. Forced back!

In the preceding paragraph we had an illustration of unbelief in doubting the promise of God, and of the effect of that unbelief in excluding from the promised rest. Here we have an illustration of a like unbelief working in precisely the opposite direction; as Israel feared to go up notwithstanding the promise of God, so now we find them resolving to go up in spite of the prohibition of God, "acting," as an expositor remarks, "in contempt of the threatening, as they had before acted in contempt of the promise, as if governed by a spirit of contradiction." The points in the history which should be noted are these.

1. As the men of that generation (two only excepted) were debarred from entering Canaan, they have to wander in the desert for forty years.

2. They rebel against this Divine arrangement, though we, who at this distance of time "see the end of the Lord," can perceive how much mercy there was in it.

3. There was a short way to Canaan, through a hill country, which to human judgment would seem preferable to a "march far wandering round.

4. In this route enemies would surely assail Amorites, Amalekites, etc.

5. Israel made light of these difficulties.

6. God forbade their going up. Moses forbade them. The ark was not moved from its place in the comp.

7. The people were resolved to go up, defiantly, insolently (Gesenius, sub verb.).

8. They paid dearly for their presumption. They were forced back.

9. They grieved and wept over their disappointment.

10. Such weeping God does not regard. "Tears of discontent must be wept over again." As they had before found out the folly of distrusting God"s strength, so now they had to bewail the uselessness of presuming on their own! We cannot be wrong in continuing to follow the apostolic teaching in regarding the Canaan of Israel"s hope as a type of the higher "rest" which "remaineth for the people of God (cf. Heb_4:1)

I THE LAW OF OLD IS IN FORCE STILL, THAT THE UNBELIEVING SHALL NOT ENTER INTO REST. This is the teaching, under varied forms, of no small part of the Old Testament and of the New. We may inquire, if we will, into the philosophy of this; and in doing so, we shall find but little difficulty in seeing the essential impossibility of one who doubts God finding rest anywhere. Doubt is unrest. But whether or no one can discern the deep reason of it, there stands the word, with its awful bar, "He that believeth not is condemned already.

II IT IS A DREARY OUTLOOK FOR THE UNBELIEVER. To wander on, and to be moving towards some destiny or other, but yet to have no prospect of rest at the end of the journey, is it not dreary? We do not deny that men may, as they say, resign them, selves to the inevitable. And we even admit that men may so far control themselves, as, with stoical unfeelingness, to take "a leap in the dark." But not all this can blind us to the misery of those who move on under the ban, "The unbeliever shall not see rest.

III THE SAME UNBELIEF WHICH DOUBTS THE PROMISE ALSO DESPISES THE THREATENING. Both promise and threatening come from one and the same God; hence whoever doubts him will be as likely to question one as the other. And it is very, very easy for unbelief to urge plausible arguments or questionings concerning the threatenings; e.g. "Has God said that?" "God will not be so severe;" "God cannot mean me;" "Who can tell whether the judgment day will ever come?" etc.

IV THIS UNBELIEF MAY MAKE A DESPERATE EFFORT TO PROVE THE THREATENING NULL AND VOID. "We WILL go up!

How much does this remind us of what our Savior says in his Sermon on the Mount! (cf. Mat_7:22) As if unbelief would carry its daring up to the very judgment seat. (see also Mat_25:10-12; Luk_13:24-26)

V AN ATTEMPT TO ENTER THE REST IN A WAY CONTRARY TO GOD"S WORD, WILL BE FORCED HELPLESSLY BACK. Israel was disastrously repulsed, and found it "hard to kick against the pricks." "Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!" "Hath any hardened himself against God, and prospered?" (see continuation of New Testament passages referred to above). Man can do many wonderful things, but there are five things he never can do: He cannot evade the sentence of God; he cannot postpone it; he cannot nullify it; he cannot modify it; he cannot impeach it. "We are sure that the (dikaiwma) sentence of God is according to truth.

VI THE WEEPING OF DISAPPOINTMENT WILL BE UNAVAILING. "Ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you." It will be of no use whatever trying to enter Canaan if the sentence has finally gone forth against us, "Ye shall not see my rest;" nor will it avail to try to enter by any other than God"s own appointed way; nor will the murmuring, or wailing, or gnashing of teeth at all alter the matter. There may he as much unbelief in tears as in trifling. By no other means than implicit faith in and unswerving loyalty to God in Christ, can we find rest for our souls either here or hereafter. Oh that sinful men would "hear the voice of Jesus say," "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest!" Apart from Christ, our souls must wander in dry places, seeking rest and finding none.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Moses continues reminding the people of Israel what the previous generation of Israelites did.

sinned against Yahweh

"we have rebelled against Yahweh by disobeying him"

we will follow

"we will obey"

to attack the hill country

Here the metonym "hill country" represents the people that live there. AT: "to attack the people who live in the hill country" (See: Metonymy)

for I will not be with you, and you will be defeated by your enemies

This can be stated in active form. AT: "your enemies will defeat you because I will not be with you" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

sin

Yahweh

God

command

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ותהינו — This is an expression derived from the word הננו in (Numbers 14:40) "Here we are (הננו) and we will go up to the place”. This is the expression which you uttered — the expression הן, "yes”. The word, therefore, means as much as: you expressed your readiness to go up into the mountain.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ANACHNU’ (WE) ‘NA’ALEH’ (WE WILL GO UP) AND FIGHT. The purport of the word ‘anachnu’ (we) [when it is already included in the word na’aleh which means “we will go up”] is that “we ourselves” will go up and we will fight, and we will not leave the matter to our children after us, as you [Moses] have said.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.