Deuteronomy 3:29

Summary

The verse closes the narrative section of Deuteronomy 3 by stating that the Israelites remained encamped in the valley facing Beth-peor. It is a short logistical notice marking their geographic position before Moses' following instructions.

Key words

• va-Neshev ("and we remained", H3427) — qal verb with narrative vav, first-person plural, continuing the sequence of past narrated actions ("and then we stayed").
• ba-Gay' ("in the valley", H1516R) — noun with prepositional prefix ba ("in the") and the definite article, marking a specific, known valley.
• mul ("opposite to", H4136) — construct-form noun functioning as a directional preposition, indicating spatial position relative to what follows.
• Beit ("Beth", H1047) — proper noun, first element of the place name, meaning "house of" in construct with Peor.
• Pe'or ("Peor", H1047) — proper noun, the deity/place name completing "Beth-peor," referring to a known location.

What the text says

The verse is a single short clause built around the verb va-Neshev ("and we remained," H3427), a qal form in the narrative (vav-consecutive) pattern typical of Hebrew storytelling, which links this action to the preceding events in the chapter. The subject is first-person plural ("we"), consistent with the collective voice used throughout Moses' retelling of the wilderness journey.

The spatial information follows immediately: ba-Gay' ("in the valley," H1516R) specifies where the group stayed, using the definite article to indicate a valley already identified in context. The phrase mul Beit Pe'or ("opposite Beth-peor," H4136 + H1047) then gives a directional reference point. Mul functions grammatically as a construct-form noun repurposed as a preposition meaning "facing" or "opposite," a common feature in Biblical Hebrew where nouns of direction serve prepositional roles. The compound place name Beit Pe'or ("house of Peor") identifies the location by relation to a known site, without further elaboration in this verse.

The sentence contains no additional clauses, verbs, or descriptive material—it is a minimal geographic notice, syntactically simple, consisting of verb + locative phrase + directional phrase.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders mul ("opposite to," H4136) with σύνεγγυς ("near, close to"), a term suggesting proximity rather than the directional "facing" sense conveyed by the Hebrew construct form. The Vulgate uses contra ("against/opposite"), which aligns more closely with the Hebrew's directional nuance. Additionally, the LXX translates Beit Pe'or as οἴκου Φογώρ ("house of Phogor"), preserving the construct sense of "house of," while the Vulgate's fanum Phogor ("shrine/temple of Phogor") introduces a different nuance, rendering Beit not as "house" but as a cultic site.