Deuteronomy 2:20

Summary

The verse is a parenthetical explanatory note stating that a certain territory is classified as belonging to the Refa'im ("Rephaites", H7497B), a people who had formerly lived there, whom the Ammonites called by a different name, Zamzummim ("Zamzummites", H2157).

Key words

• 'eretz ("land of", H0776G) — construct noun, linking directly to the following gentilic to form "land of the Rephaites."
• techaShev ("it was regarded", H2803J) — niphal (passive) imperfect, third person feminine, agreeing with 'eretz; the imperfect aspect presents the classification as an ongoing or habitual designation rather than a single past event.
• yashevu ("they dwelt", H3427) — qal perfect, third person plural; marks a completed prior action, describing the Rephaites' former occupation before the note's present time.
• yikre'u ("they called", H7121H) — qal imperfect, third person masculine plural; the imperfect here conveys habitual or customary naming by the Ammonites, distinct from the completed dwelling of the Rephaites.
• Zamzummim (H2157) — proper name, the term used specifically by the Ammonites for this same people.

What the text says

The sentence opens with the construct phrase 'eretz-Refa'im ("land of the Rephaites"), the subject of the niphal verb techaShev ("it was regarded"). Because the verb is niphal and imperfect, the land's classification as belonging to the Rephaites is presented as a standing designation — how it "is/was reckoned" — rather than a single completed act of naming. The particle 'af ("also", H0637) plus the pronoun hi' ("it", H1931) reinforces that this land, too, falls under that classification, connecting it to a prior statement in the surrounding context.

The second half shifts to a qal perfect, yashevu ("they dwelt"), describing the Rephaites' habitation there "before" (lefanim, from panim, H6440G, "before/face"), a completed state prior to the note's vantage point. The final clause introduces the Ammonites (ha'Ammonim, H5984H) as the ones who yikre'u ("they called", qal imperfect) this same people by a different name, Zamzummim. The imperfect verb form suggests this naming was the Ammonites' customary usage, contrasting with the completed dwelling described just before it.

Differences between versions

The LXX transliterates Refa'im as "Ραφαεὶν," preserving the Hebrew name, while the Vulgate translates it as "gigantum" ("of giants"), interpreting rather than transliterating the term. Similarly, for Zamzummim the LXX gives "Ζοχομείν" and the Vulgate "Zomzommim," both transliterations but with differing vocalization from the Masoretic zam.zu.Mim.