Deuteronomy 2:13

Summary

The verse records a command given to cross the wadi (seasonal stream) of Zered, followed by the narrator's report that the crossing was carried out. It marks a transition point in the itinerary described in Deuteronomy 2.

Key words

• 'a.Tah ("now", H6258) — adverb marking the moment of transition, introducing the command that follows.
• Ku.mu ("arise", H6965B) — qal imperative, masculine plural, addressed to the group as a collective command to get moving.
• 'iv.Ru ("pass over", H5674A) — qal imperative, masculine plural, paired with Ku.mu to form a double command: "arise and cross."
• Na.chal ("[the] wadi of", H5158N) — masculine singular noun in construct state, meaning it is grammatically bound to the following proper name Za.red, forming "wadi of Zered."
• na.'a.Vor ("we passed over", H5674A) — qal verb with narrative vav, first person plural, shifting from the imperative command to the narrator's report of action completed.

What the text says

The verse divides into two grammatical halves. The first half (words 1–9) is direct speech: the adverb 'a.Tah ("now") opens a command built from two consecutive qal imperatives, Ku.mu ("arise") and 'iv.Ru ("pass over"), both second person masculine plural. The phrase la.Khem ("for yourselves", H9005+H9036) attached to the second imperative adds a reflexive nuance often rendered simply as "cross over" in translation, though the Hebrew construction includes this added pronominal element pointing back to the addressees. The object of the crossing is marked by the untranslated direct object marker 'et- (H0853) followed by Na.chal Za.red, "the wadi of Zered," with Na.chal in construct state binding it grammatically to the place name.

The second half (words 10–14) shifts from command to narration through the use of the narrative vav on na.'a.Vor ("and we passed over"), a first-person plural verb form that reports the fulfillment of the command just given. The same object phrase, 'et- Na.chal Za.red, is repeated verbatim, creating a structural echo between command and execution. This repetition of the identical object phrase in both halves is a feature visible in the Hebrew that some translations preserve (as in BSB and RV1909, which repeat "arroyo/Brook of Zered") while others compress or paraphrase.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete text) shows a doubled οὖν οὖν ("therefore therefore") at the opening, which does not correspond to a doubling in the Hebrew, where only one instance of 'a.Tah ("now") appears; this may reflect a textual duplication in the Greek transmission. The Vulgate condenses the two Hebrew imperatives (Ku.mu, "arise"; 'iv.Ru, "pass over") into a single participial construction, "Surgentes ergo ut transiremus" ("rising therefore, that we might cross"), and omits a separate rendering of "now" as a standalone adverb, integrating the sense of transition differently than the Hebrew's initial 'a.Tah.