It is an eleven-day journeyThis phrase highlights the relatively short distance between Horeb and Kadesh-barnea, emphasizing the Israelites' prolonged journey due to their disobedience and lack of faith. The eleven-day journey serves as a reminder of the consequences of not trusting in God's promises. This short journey contrasts with the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness, as recounted in
Numbers 14:33-34, due to their rebellion and lack of faith in God's ability to lead them into the Promised Land.
from Horeb
Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai, where God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. This location is significant as it represents the place where the Israelites entered into a covenant with God, receiving His laws and instructions. Horeb is a symbol of God's revelation and His desire for a relationship with His people. The events at Horeb are foundational to Israel's identity and their understanding of God's holiness and expectations, as seen inExodus 19-20.
to Kadesh-barnea
Kadesh-barnea is a significant location in the wilderness journey of the Israelites. It served as a major encampment and a launching point for the exploration of Canaan, as described inNumbers 13:26. Kadesh-barnea represents a place of decision and testing for the Israelites, where they failed to trust in God's promise to give them the land of Canaan. This failure led to their extended wandering in the desert. The site is often associated with rebellion and unbelief, as seen in the account of the spies and the people's refusal to enter the land (Numbers 14).
by way of Mount Seir
Mount Seir is the mountainous region inhabited by the Edomites, descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother. This route indicates the path the Israelites would have taken, skirting the territory of Edom. The mention of Mount Seir underscores the historical and familial connections between Israel and Edom, as well as the challenges the Israelites faced in navigating relationships with neighboring nations. The Edomites' refusal to allow passage through their land, as recorded inNumbers 20:14-21, further complicated the Israelites' journey. This route also highlights the fulfillment of God's promise to give Esau's descendants their own land, as seen inDeuteronomy 2:5.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
HorebOften identified with Mount Sinai, Horeb is the mountain where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. It is a place of divine revelation and covenant.
2.
Kadesh-barneaA significant location in the wilderness journey of the Israelites, Kadesh-barnea served as a major encampment and a launching point for the exploration of the Promised Land.
3.
Mount SeirA mountainous region associated with the descendants of Esau, the Edomites. It represents a geographical landmark on the journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea.
4.
The IsraelitesThe chosen people of God, led by Moses, who are on a journey from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land.
5.
MosesThe leader and prophet chosen by God to deliver the Israelites from Egypt and guide them through the wilderness.
Teaching Points
The Consequence of DisobedienceThe eleven-day journey turning into forty years of wandering highlights the severe consequences of disobedience and lack of faith in God's promises.
God's FaithfulnessDespite the Israelites' failures, God remained faithful to His covenant, guiding and providing for them throughout their journey.
The Importance of ObedienceThe journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea serves as a reminder of the importance of obedience to God's commands and the blessings that follow.
Trust in God's TimingThe Israelites' experience teaches us to trust in God's timing and plan, even when the journey seems longer than expected.
Reflection on Spiritual JourneysJust as the Israelites had a physical journey, we have spiritual journeys that require faith, patience, and reliance on God.
Lists and Questions
Top 10 Lessons from Deuteronomy 1
In Deuteronomy 1:2, how can an 11-day journey become a 40-year wander, and is there historical or logical support for such a timeline discrepancy?
Why did Israelites' journey to the Promised Land take 40 years?
In Deuteronomy 33:2, how do we reconcile the claim of God's appearance from Sinai, Seir, and Paran with the lack of archaeological evidence for these events?
What is the biblical significance of Kadesh Barnea?(2)
Eleven days' journey from Horeb . . .--In our English Version this verse forms a separate sentence; but there seems nothing to prevent our taking it as completing the first verse. The route between Paran on the one side and the line from Tophel to Hazeroth on the other is still further defined as "a distance of eleven days' journey from Horeb in the direction of Mount Seir, reaching to Kadesh-barnea." The position of this last place is not yet determined with certainty. But the requirements of the text seem, upon the whole, to demand that it should be placed high up in the wilderness of Paran, not far from the border of the wilderness of Zin. It must be close to some passage out of the wilderness of Zin into the Negeb, or south of Judah.
Kadesh-barnea.--In the regular narrative of the exodus we read of the place to which the twelve spies returned asKadesh(Numbers 13:26), and of the place at which the period of unrecorded wandering closed (Numbers 20:1), in the first month of the fortieth year, asKadesh.The name Kadesh-barnea first appears in Moses' speech (Numbers 32:8), where he refers to the sending of the twelve spies. And with the exception of three places where the name is used in describing boundaries, Kadesh-harneais always found in speeches. This first chapter of Deuteronomy is the only one which contains the name both with and without the appendage-barnea,which connects it with the wanderings of Israel (Deuteronomy 1:32). Upon the whole, it seems most likely that only one place or district is intended by the name.
We have now obtained the following view of this first short introduction to the Book of Deuteronomy. It consists of words spoken (in the first instance) to all Israel on their march from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea. But the following verses show that the Law was further "declared" to Israel in the plains of Moab, at the close of the fortieth year of the exodus and of Moses' life. It does not seem possible for us to separate entirely what was spoken earlier from what was declared later. In several places we have the record of words spoken: for example, in this very chapter (Deuteronomy 1:9;Deuteronomy 1:16;Deuteronomy 1:18;Deuteronomy 1:20;Deuteronomy 1:29;Deuteronomy 1:43), andDeuteronomy 5:5, &c. And the very name Deuteronomy implies the repetition of a law previously given. Further, the exhortations contained in this book are all enforced by the immediate prospect of going over Jordan and entering the promised land. But when Israel marched from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, it was with this very same prospect full in view. It does not appear, by what Moses "said" at that time (Deuteronomy 1:20), that he had any thought of their turning away from the enterprise. But if so, what supposition is more natural than this--that he delivered the same kind of exhortations in the course of that earlier journey which he afterwards delivered in the plains of Moab? And although the distance is but eleven days' march, the Israelites spent something like three months on the way, and in waiting for the spies to return from Canaan. . . .
Verse 2. -
Horeb. The name generally given to Sinai in Deuteronomy (see introduction, § 4). Sinai, however, occurs in
Deuteronomy 33:2 of this book.
By the way of mount Seir,
i.
e. by the way that leads to Mount Seir; just as in
Deuteronomy 2:1, "the way of the Red sea" is the way that leads to that sea (see also
Numbers 14:25).
Mount is here, as often elsewhere, for
mountain range. The mountain range here referred to seems to have been, not that on the east of the 'Arabah, but what is in vers. 6 and 19 called "the mountain of the Amorites," "the Seir by Hormah" of ver. 44, i e. the southern part of what was afterwards called the mountains of Judah. According to ver. 19, the Israelites, when they left Horeb, passed through the wilderness along the way that led to the mountains of the Amorites, and came to Kadesh-barnea. Kadesh must, therefore, be looked for, not on the eastern side of the 'Arabah, but somewhere in the wilderness of Zin. It has been identified with the place now known as 'Ain Kudes, near the northern extremity of Jebel Halal, and to the east of that hill; but this is far from being certain. Moses reminds the Israelites that the distance between Horeb and Kadesh is eleven days -
i.e., about one hundred and sixty-five miles, the day's journey being reckoned at fifteen miles - not to give them a piece of information, but rather to suggest to them how, in consequence of rebellion, a journey which might have been so easily accomplished, had been protracted through many wearisome years.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
It is an eleven-dayאַחַ֨ד(’a·ḥaḏ)Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 259:United, one, first[journey] from Horebמֵֽחֹרֵ֔ב(mê·ḥō·rêḇ)Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2722:Horeb -- 'waste', a mountain in Sinaitoעַ֖ד(‘aḏ)Preposition
Strong's 5704:As far as, even to, up to, until, whileKadesh-barneaבַּרְנֵֽעַ׃(bar·nê·a‘)Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6947:Kadesh-barnea -- a place in the desertby wayדֶּ֖רֶךְ(de·reḵ)Noun - common singular construct
Strong's 1870:A road, a course of life, mode of actionof Mountהַר־(har-)Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2022:Mountain, hill, hill countrySeir.שֵׂעִ֑יר(śê·‘îr)Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8165:Seir -- a mountain range in Edom, also its inhabitants, also a mountain in Judah
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OT Law: Deuteronomy 1:2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb (Deut. De Du) 
