Deuteronomy 8:15

Deu 8:15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, [wherein were] fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where [there was] no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

Ver. 15. Who led thee through, &c.] Good turns aggravate unkindnesses, and our offences are increased by our obligations.

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.

8:15 water from the rock! See Exod 17:6; Num 20:2-13; see also Deut 1:37.

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

Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions--Large and venomous reptiles are found in great numbers there still, particularly in autumn. Travellers must use great caution in arranging their tents and beds at night; even during the day the legs not only of men, but of the animals they ride, are liable to be bitten.

who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint--(See on Deu 9:21).

Next: Deuteronomy Chapter 9

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. Who led thee through that - terrible wilderness] See the account of their journeying in the notes, See Clarke on Ex 16:1, c. Nu 21:10-35, &c.

Fiery serpents] Serpents whose bite occasioned a most violent inflammation, accompanied with an unquenchable thirst, and which terminated in death. See Clarke on Nu 21:6.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) The rock of flint.—The rock in Horeb is called tsûr; the rock smitten in Kadesh, selagh. The first word conveys the idea of “hardness”; the other is rather a “cliff,” or “height,” and suggests the idea of inaccessibility. In Num_20:10, the words of Moses to the rebels, “Must we fetch you water out of this rock?” seem to help the distinction, whatever its purpose may be. On the associations of the word tsûr with flint, see Note on Jos_5:2. The word challâmîsh, here used for flint, occurs in Deu_32:13, Job_28:9, Psa_114:8 (an allusion to this passage), and Isa_1:7.

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

15. great and terrible wilderness] Deu_1:19 : cp. Deu_7:21.

fiery serpents and scorpions] The former, in the collective singular naḥash sarapḥ, are described in the plural in Num_21:6 E: cp. Isa_30:6 : the flying saraph. If saraph really means burning and is not a foreign word (for dragon or the like), it refers to the inflammation produced by the serpent’s bite. Scorpions is added characteristically by D.

out of the rock of flint] Exo_17:6 (E): Num_20:8; Num_20:11 (JE): in both cases only the rock. D’s characteristic rhetoric adds of flint. The word does not occur before D, and elsewhere only in Deu_32:13; Psa_114:8; Job_28:9; Isa_50:7.

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.

Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna,.... Even all the forty years they were in it, Exo 16:35 which thy fathers knew not; when they first saw it, Exo 16:15.

that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee; they were kept humble, being dependent on God for their daily bread, having nothing in the wilderness to support themselves with; and this tried them, whether they would trust in God for their daily supply, and be thankful for it, or not:

to do thee good at thy latter end; that by living on such light bread, and this only and continually, his goodness might appear the greater, and be the sweeter to them, when they came into a land abounding with all good things; which is not to be understood of the latter end and last days of their commonwealth, as our version, with the Septuagint, Samaritan, Arabic versions, and others, and the Targum of Onkelos; but of time following nearer, and the phrase should be rendered "hereafter" (y); which better agrees with the promise of a divine blessing; though, come when it would, it was the more acceptable for the trial; as heaven will be the sweeter to the saints, through the afflictions, hardships, straits, and difficulties, which attend them here.

(y) "tandem", Tigurine version, Vatablus, Piscator; "posthac", Noldius, p. 180. No. 807.

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

Render: “Who brought thee through that great and terrible wilderness, the fiery serpent and the scorpion, and the dry land where are no waters.” On the fiery serpents see Num 21:6 note.

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

Breath. Hebrew saraphh, or the basilisk, as it is rendered, Isaias xxx. 6. It destroys both the grass and animals, by the burning infection of its breath. (Galen; Pliny, [Natural History?] viii. 19. See Numbers xxi. 6. (Tirinus) --- Scorpion stings with its tail. --- Dipsas. A serpent whose bite causeth a violent thirst: from whence it has its name; for in Greek, dipsa signifies thirst. (Challoner) --- It is impossible to quench this thirst, (Worthington) and those who are bitten by this serpent can discharge no water. (Calmet) --- They drink till they burst, unless they can procure some treacle, or remedy against the poison. (Dioscorides) (Tirinus) --- Some translate the Hebrew, "scorpions, and (at the place of) drought, where there was no water: he brought," &c., whether Tsommaon be the name of a particular place, (Isaias xxxv. 7.; Onkelos; Calmet) or it may be applied to the greatest part of that desert, where the want of water so often occasioned the murmurs of the people. (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).

15. Who led thee — This passage is better rendered, “Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, poisonous serpents, and scorpions, and parched land, where were no waters.” Even in such a land they were the objects of a providential care. Bread from heaven, water from the rock, had supplied their wants.

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

Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, etc. "The fiery serpent" and "the scorpion" (sing.) are in apposition to the "wilderness," and illustrate its terribleness. Fiery serpents ufeiv touv qanatounsav LXX or burning serpents, so called from the burning pain caused by their bite; probably the cerastes, or one of the naja species (cf. Num_21:6)

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 to speak to the Israelites as if they are one person. (See: Forms of You)

who led you ... in the end

Moses continues to remind the Israelites of what they know about Yahweh (Deuteronomy 8:14). (See: Distinguishing versus Informing or Reminding)

who led ... who brought ... He fed

"Yahweh, who led ... Yahweh, who brought ... Yahweh fed"

fiery serpents

"poisonous snakes"

thirsty ground

This phrase describes the ground as being thirsty just like a person is thirsty when he needs water. AT: "dry ground" (See: Personification)

to do you good

"to help you" or "because it would be good for you"

but you may say in your heart

This is the third thing the people might do when their hearts "become lifted up" and they "forget Yahweh" (Deuteronomy 8:14). Here "heart" is a metonym for a person's innermost thoughts. AT: "but you may think to yourself" (See: Metonymy)

My power and the might of my hand acquired all this wealth

Here "hand" refers to a man's power or ability. AT: "I got this wealth because I am so strong and powerful" or "I have acquired all these things by my own power and ability" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

desert

serpent

power

might

hand

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