Deuteronomy 1:6-18

Moses called Mt. Sinai "Horeb" almost exclusively in this book, ". . . in keeping with the rhetorical style of the book." [Note: C. F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Pentateuch, 3:284.] The events in this section of verses took place before Israel left Horeb. The references to "the river Euphrates" (Deuteronomy 1:7) and "the stars of heaven for multitude" (Deuteronomy 1:10) hark back to God’s promises to Abraham.

"Virtually all of Palestine and Syria are included in these terms [in Deuteronomy 1:7], an area larger than Israel ever possessed in fact, even during the reigns of David and Solomon." [Note: Craigie, p. 95.]

"The Lord’s gift of Canaan to Israel (Deuteronomy 1:8) and his command to them to enter and to possess the land began here and was reiterated and emphasized repeatedly in the speeches of Moses recorded in Deuteronomy. They are cardinal elements of the teaching of the book and show that, as Baly has said, ’Palestine was, in fact, the Chosen Land for the Chosen People; not, it should be noticed, chosen by them, but chosen for them’ (p. 303)." [Note: Kalland, p. 22. The quotation is from Dennis Baly, The Geography of the Bible.]

God had already multiplied the Israelites, and He was ready to give them the land. However the "strife" (Deuteronomy 1:12) of the people would prove to be their undoing. God appointed judges (Deuteronomy 1:16) to help Moses carry the burden of legal decisions that resulted from the giving of the Law. It was very important, therefore, that these men judge fairly (Deuteronomy 1:17).