Deuteronomy 2:9

9. Vex not Moab] Treat not Moab as a foe.

neither contend with them] See on Deu_2:5.

Ar] ‘Ar (Num_21:15) or ‘Ar of Mo’ab (id. 28) is in these passages a township, probably the same as ‘Ir, or City of, Mo’ab, on the border of Arnon at the end of the border (JE, Num_22:36). Musil identifies it with the strong site and ruins of Medeyyneh on an upper tributary of the W. Môjeb or Arnon (see below on Deu_2:24; Deu_2:36) on the edge of the desert (Moab 247, 338 ff. with photo. and plan; cp. the present writer in Enc. Bibl., art. ‘Ar’ and Expositor, seventh series, vol. vii. 138 ff.). But in Syria names have been at all times apt to extend from towns, especially capitals, to their districts and vice versâ. Here ‘Ar obviously is a district: the territory of Mo’ab. So in Isa_15:1, LXX render ‘Ar Mo’ab by ἡ Μωαβεῖτις. At the time of Israel’s march the name would cover all the land between the W. el-Ḥsa and the W. Môjeb or Arnon, to the S, of which Mo’ab were confined by the Amorites.

children of Lot] Gen_19:37; Psa_83:8 (9).

Deu_2:9 is in the Sg. address and elided by Steuern. as the addition of a later hand. But some such warning as it gives in regard to the relations of Israel to Mo’ab was to be expected in this discourse, similar to that on Israel’s relations to Edom and ‘Ammon. The change to the Sg. may be due either to the fact that Moses himself is addressed or because for the moment Israel, in relation to Mo’ab, is regarded as a single whole. Sam. confirms the Heb. Sg.; but LXX has the Pl.

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.

Deu 2:9 And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land [for] a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot [for] a possession.

Ver. 9. Because I have given Ar.] The royal city, set upon a hill. {Num 21:15; Num 21:28} God, as a liberal Lord, gives not some small cottage or annuity, for life, to his elder servants, as great men use to do, but bountifully provides for them and theirs to many generations. Who would not serve thee then, O king of nations!

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.

2:9 Following the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other cities of the plain, Lot (Abraham’s nephew and Isaac’s cousin) and his two unmarried daughters sheltered in a cave east of the Dead Sea (see Gen 19:30-38), where Lot’s daughters plied their father with drink until he had sexual relations with them. Their descendants became the nations of Moab and Ammon. Because of their kinship with Israel, the Moabites were to be left undisturbed. David’s great-grandmother Ruth descended from Moab (Ruth 1:4), and David sent his own family to the land of Moab for protection when he was pursued by Saul (1 Sam 22:3-5). • Ar was probably the capital of Moab.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, besiege.

Which were the Moabites and Ammonites.

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

(9) Distress not the Moabites . . . I have given Ar unto the children of Lot.—The children of Lot, like those of Ishmael and Esau, had their earthly inheritance before the children of Abraham.

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

And the Lord said unto me,.... When upon the borders of Moab:

distress not the Moabites, neither contend with than in battle; besiege not any of their cities, nor draw them into a battle, or provoke them to fight:

for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; at least not as yet, the measure of their sins not being fully up, and the time of their punishment not come; otherwise in David's time they were subdued, and became tributaries to him, and the Edomites also, Sa2 8:2,

because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession; so the Moabites were, they sprung from Moab, a son of Lot by his firstborn daughter, Gen 19:37. Ar was the metropolis of Moab, called Ar of Moab, Isa 15:1 and is here put for the whole country of Moab; so Aben Ezra interprets it of Moab. Jarchi says it is the name of the province; in the Septuagint version it called Aroer.

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

The Moabites and the Ammonites Deu 2:19 being descended from Lot, the nephew of Abraham Gen 19:30-38, were, like the Edomites, kinsmen of the Israelites.

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

Moabites. They allowed the Hebrews to pass, as the Idumeans had done; (ver. 29,) but they treated them with no particular marks of affection, (chap. xxiii. 3,) nor would they suffer them to go across their country, Judges xi. 17. --- Ar is sometimes called Rabbah Moab, "the great city of the Moabites," (Josue xiii. 25,) and Areopolis. (Eusebius)

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).

Ar, the chief city of the Moabites, Num 21:15,28, here put for the whole country, which depended upon it.

The children of Lot; so called to signify that this preservation was not for their sakes, for they were a wicked people; but for Lot’s sake, whose memory God yet honours.

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

9. Distress not the Moabites — The Moabites and Ammonites, descendants of Lot, were the kinsmen of the Israelites.

Ar — Here the capital is put for the whole land of Moab.

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

The Moabites, being the descendants of Lot, and so allied by race to the Israelites, the latter were commanded to pass through their country without offering them any injury or assault. Ar, a border-town of, (Num_21:15) here put for the country itself. It is the Areopolis of the Greeks, and was, as Jerome tells us, destroyed in a single night by an earthquake. A hill with ruins a short distance southwest from Ara"ir, is supposed to be its site.

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

Ar - The chief city of the Moabites, here put for the whole country which depended upon it. The children of Lot - So called to signify that this preservation, was not for their sakes, for they were a wicked people, but for Lot's sake whose memory God yet honours.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

given Ar

A region east of the Dead Sea.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

This is the end of a part of Moses' speech reminding the Israelites of how Yahweh guided them in the wilderness. (See: Background Information)

Do not trouble Moab

The word "Moab" represents the people of Moab. AT: "Do not trouble the people of Moab" (See: Metonymy)

Ar

This is the name of a city in Moab. (See: How to Translate Names)

the descendants of Lot

The people of Israel were related to the descendants of Moab. Moab was the son of Lot. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

Yahweh

Moab

possess

descend

Lot

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

ואל תתגר בם וגו׳ AND DO NOT CONTEND WITH THEM [IN WAR] — As regards Moab He forbade them (the Israelites) only war against them, but they may frighten them, appearing before them when equipped for war; therefore it is written, (Numbers 22:3) "And Moab was afraid because of the people", because they took plunder and loot from them. But about the children of Ammon it is said, (v. 19) “Do not contend with them" — no provocation of any kind, — as a reward for the modesty shown by their ancestress, Lot's younger daughter, who did not publicly divulge regarding her father's conduct, as his elder daughter did, who called her son's name “Moab" (i.e. born of the father) (Bava Kamma 38b; see Rashi on Genesis 19:37).

ער is the name of the district.

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.