Deuteronomy 9:20

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Yahweh was very angry with Aaron to destroy him: and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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Word by word

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הִתְאַנַּ֧ף

ʼânaph

H599

“to be angry”

Verb, Hithpael, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular

Appears 14× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Deuteronomy 1:37

Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root

TWOT: 133

to be angry, to be displeased, to breathe hard - (Qal) to be angry (of God) - (Hithpael) to be angry (always of God)

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

11: words
10: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is הִתְאַנַּ֧ף to be angry H599 — appearing just 14 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

הִתְאַנַּ֧ף to be angry H599 occurs in 14 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

3 verbs
4 nouns
1 pronoun
1 preposition
1 adverb
1 particle

Verb forms

הִתְאַנַּ֧ף Hithpael · Perfect
לְהַשְׁמִיד֑וֹ Hiphil · Infinitive Construct
וָֽאֶתְפַּלֵּ֛ל Hithpael · Sequential Imperfect

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

וּֽבְאַהֲרֹ֗ן Aaron H175 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 19 words from the Hebrew and 19 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — the same length.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 11 Hebrew tokens and 17 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Deuteronomy 9:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Exodus 32:21 Moses said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?"
Exodus 32:35 Yahweh struck the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
Hebrews 7:26–28 For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
Exodus 32:2–5 Aaron said to them, "Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me."

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Deuteronomy 9:20 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וּֽבְאַהֲרֹ֗ן הִתְאַנַּ֧ף יְהוָ֛ה מְאֹ֖ד לְהַשְׁמִיד֑וֹ וָֽאֶתְפַּלֵּ֛ל גַּם בְּעַ֥ד אַהֲרֹ֖ן בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִֽוא

Yahweh was very angry with Aaron to destroy him: and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Deuteronomy 9:20 Septuagint · lemma form

καί ἐπί ἀαρών θυμόω κύριος σφόδρα ἐκὀλεθρεύω αὐτός καί εὔχομαι καί περί ἀαρών ἐν ὁ καιρός ἐκεῖνος

And he was angry with Aaron to destroy him utterly, and I prayed for Aaron also at that time.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וְעַל אַהֲרֹן הֲוָה רְגַז מִן קֳדָם יְיָ לַחֲדָא לְשֵׁצָיוּתֵהּ וְצַלֵיתִי אַף עַל אַהֲרֹן בְּעִדָנָא הַהִיא

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וְעַל אַהֲרן הֲוָה רְגַז מִן קֳדָם יְיָ לַחֲדָא לְשֵׁיצָיוּתֵיהּ וְצַלֵּיתִי אוּף עַל אַהֲרן בְּעִידָנָא הַהוּא

But against Aharon was there great displeasure before the Lord, (so that) He would destroy him; but I prayed for Aharon also at that time.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Deuteronomy 9:20 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

Whereby he showeth what danger they are in, that have authority and resist not wickedness.

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

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown

The Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him--By allowing himself to be overborne by the tide of popular clamor, Aaron became a partaker in the guilt of idolatry and would have suffered the penalty of his sinful compliance, had not the earnest intercession of Moses on his behalf prevailed.

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

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(20) I prayed for Aaron also.—Jewish commentators ascribe the loss of Aaron’s two sons (Lev_10:1-2) partly to God’s anger at this time.

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

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

20. To this there is no reference in Exodus.

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.

John Gill's Exposition

And the Lord was very angry with Aaron, to have destroyed him,.... For complying with the request of the people in making a calf for them, and for that miserable shift he made to excuse himself; which so provoked the Lord, that he threatened to destroy him, and he was in danger of being cut off, had it not been for the intercession of Moses:

and I prayed for Aaron also the same time: who either was included in the general prayer for the people, Exo 32:31 or a particular prayer was made for him, though not recorded, and which also succeeded.

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

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Israel could not even boast that its heads and representatives continued, faithful. Aaron had been already designated for the high priestly functions; but he fell away with the rest of the people. It was due therefore solely to the grace of God and the intercession of Moses that Aaron himself and his promised priesthood with him were not cut off; just as at a later time, when Aaron had actually to die for a new sin Israel owed it still to the same causes that Eleazar was substituted and the High Priesthood perpetuated (compare Deu 10:6; Num 20:24-26).

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

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

CHAPTER IX.

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).

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

The Lord was very angry with Aaron, though he was only accessory, as being persuaded, and in a manner compelled, to comply with your desire.

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

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

20. I prayed for Aaron also — Not only upon the people, but also upon Aaron, rested the indignation of Jehovah. Moses acts as a mediator for his brother. In the accounts in Exodus 32 there is no special mention of this intercession. Here Moses makes it prominent, not only that he might make the people thoroughly aware that at that time Israel could not even boast of the righteousness of its eminent men, but also to bring out the fact that Aaron’s investiture with the high priesthood and the maintenance of that institution was purely a work of divine grace. — Keil.

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

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

ובאהרן התאנף ה׳ AND WITH AARON THE LORD WAS ANGRY, because he listened to you.

להשמידו TO DESTROY HIM — this denotes the extermination of one’s children, and so, too, it states, (Amos 2:9) “And I destroyed (ואשמיד) his fruit (offspring) from above” (Leviticus Rabbah 7:1).

.(אחרי מות AND I PRAYED FOR AARON ALSO, and my prayer availed to atone half, so that only two of his sons died, and two remained alive.

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.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Deuteronomy, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 11 words (10 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is ʼânaph (“to be angry”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “to be angry” (ʼânaph) shape what this verse is saying?
Deuteronomy 1:37 shares the word «to be angry» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
“Aaron” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
The verb «הִתְאַנַּ֧ף» is Hithpael Perfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Geneva Bible (1599) and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 11 Hebrew ↔ 17 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 10 words in this verse.
“Aaron” occurs 2× in this single verse.
10 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 11 words in this verse.