SEV Biblia, Chapter 1:44
Y salió el amorreo, que habitaba en aquel monte, a vuestro encuentro, y os persiguieron, como hacen las avispas, y os quebrantaron en Seir, persiguiéndoos hasta Horma.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 1:44
Verse 44. The Amorites-chased you] See the note on "Numbers xiv. 40": as bees do-by irresistible numbers.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 44. And the Amorites which dwelt in the mountain , etc.] Elsewhere called Canaanites, being one, and a principal one of the seven nations of Canaan, and who were joined and assisted in the attack by the Amalekites, ( Numbers 14:45) came out against you, and chased you, as bees do ; which being disturbed in their hives come out in great numbers, and with great fury and ardour (for, though a small creature, it has a great deal of spirit); and pursue the aggressor, and leave him not till they have stung him, though thereby they lose their stings, and quickly their lives, at least their usefulness; so these Amorites, being irritated at the approach of the Israelites on their borders, came out in great numbers and with great wrath, and fell upon them and smote them, and pursued them a long way, as is after expressed, though these in the issue were destroyed themselves. The Syriac version renders it, “as bees that are smoked”: or irritated by smoke; which is a method that has been used, and was anciently: to dispossess them of their hives, and get their honey, as Bochart from various writers has shown, as from Virgil f16 , Ovid f17 , and others; and when they are too much smoked become exceeding angry as Aristotle and Pliny observe; and which same writers take notice of the strength and force of their stings, as that they will kill with them the largest animals, even horses have been killed by them; and, though such small feeble creatures, are not afraid to attack men and beasts; yea, sometimes people have been obliged to leave their habitations, and have been driven out of their country by them, of which Aelianus f20 gives an instance; all which shows the aptness and propriety of this simile; (see <19B812> Psalm 118:12) and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah; pursued them as far as Mount Seir, even to another place on the borders of Edom, which was called Hormah, either from the destruction now or afterwards made here; (see Gill on “ Numbers 14:45”), though some take it not to be the proper name of a place, but an appellative, and render it, “even unto destruction”; so the Jerusalem Targum; that is, destroyed them with an utter destruction.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 19-46 - Moses reminds the Israelites of their march from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, through that great and terrible wilderness. He shows ho near they were to a happy settlement in Canaan. It will aggravate the eternal ruin of hypocrites, that they were not far from the kingdom of God. As if it were not enough that they were sure of their God befor them, they would send men before them. Never any looked into the Holy Land, but they must own it to be a good land. And was there any caus to distrust this God? An unbelieving heart was at the bottom of all this. All disobedience to God's laws, and distrust of his power an goodness, flow from disbelief of his word, as all true obedienc springs from faith. It is profitable for us to divide our past live into distinct periods; to give thanks to God for the mercies we have received in each, to confess and seek the forgiveness of all the sin we can remember; and thus to renew our acceptance of God's salvation and our surrender of ourselves to his service. Our own plans seldo avail to good purpose; while courage in the exercise of faith, and in the path of duty, enables the believer to follow the Lord fully, to disregard all that opposes, to triumph over all opposition, and to tak firm hold upon the promised blessings __________________________________________________________________
Original Hebrew
ויצא 3318 האמרי 567 הישׁב 3427 בהר 2022 ההוא 1931 לקראתכם 7125 וירדפו 7291 אתכם 853 כאשׁר 834 תעשׂינה 6213 הדברים 1682 ויכתו 3807 אתכם 853 בשׂעיר 8165 עד 5704 חרמה׃ 2767
