Deuteronomy 2:10

Summary

The verse is a parenthetical note stating that the Emites ('Emim, H0368) formerly lived in a territory, describing them as a great, numerous, and lofty people, comparable in stature to the Anakites ('anaqim, H6062).

Key words

• ha'Emim ("the Emites", H0368) — proper name with definite article, identifying the former inhabitants of the land.
• yashvu ("they dwelt", H3427) — qal perfect, third person plural, indicating a completed past action of dwelling.
• gadol ("great", H1419A) — masculine singular adjective describing the people ('am) in terms of size or importance.
• ram ("lofty/high", H7311A) — qal participle, masculine singular, describing height or elevation, applied here to the people's stature.
• ka'anaqim ("like the Anakites", H6062) — gentilic plural with prefixed comparative preposition ka- ("like the"), forming an explicit comparison.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the definite subject ha'Emim ("the Emites"), followed by the temporal adverb lefanim ("before" or "formerly", H6440G used adverbially here), and the verb yashvu ("they dwelt", H3427), a qal perfect verb indicating a completed state of dwelling in the past. The prepositional phrase bah ("in it", H9003+H9034) refers back to the territory mentioned in the preceding context, with the third-person feminine singular suffix agreeing with a feminine noun for "land" or "territory" understood from context.

The second half of the verse describes the Emites through a string of three adjectival/participial terms: 'am gadol ("a great people", H5971A + H1419A), rav ("numerous", H7227A), and ram ("lofty", H7311A), the last being a qal participle rather than a simple adjective, suggesting an ongoing characteristic of elevation or height. These three terms are joined by the conjunction ve- ("and", H9002) repeated between each element. The final phrase ka'anaqim ("like the Anakites", H6062) uses the comparative preposition ka- ("like the", H9004) attached to the gentilic plural noun, drawing a comparison in stature between the Emites and the Anakites without further elaboration in the Hebrew text itself.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ram ("lofty", H7311A) with the participial phrase "ἰσχύοντες" ("being strong/powerful"), shifting the semantic emphasis from height to strength, whereas the Hebrew term specifically denotes elevation or loftiness. The Vulgate's "tam excelsus" ("so lofty/tall") aligns more closely with the Hebrew's spatial sense of height. The Vulgate also renders ka'anaqim with "de Enacim stirpe" ("of the stock/lineage of the Anakim"), introducing a genealogical nuance not explicit in the Hebrew comparative construction "like the Anakites."