Deuteronomy 2 · Verse 20

Deuteronomy 2:20

(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;
Deuteronomy 2:20, King James Version

Deuteronomy 2:20 in other translations

BSB(That too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim, who used to live there, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
WEB(That also is considered a land of Rephaim. Rephaim lived there in the past, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,
ASV(That also is accounted a land of Rephaim: Rephaim dwelt therein aforetime; but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,
YLT‘A land of Rephaim it is reckoned, even it; Rephaim dwelt in it formerly, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim;
DARBY(That also is reckoned a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in time past, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim;
BBE(That land is said to have been a land of the Rephaim, for Rephaim had been living there in earlier times, but they were named Zamzummim by the Ammonites;
Webster(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt in it in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

What does Deuteronomy 2:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 2:19-37

19-37. when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them--The Ammonites, being kindred to the Moabites, were, from regard to the memory of their common ancestor, to remain undisturbed by the Israelites. The territory of this people had been directly north from that of Moab. It extended as far as the Jabbok, having been taken by them from a number of small Canaanitish…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 2:19-37 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 That also was accounted a land of giants - That was accounted the land or territory of the Rephaim. Zamzummims - Supposed to be the same as the Zuzim, Gen 14:5. Of these ancient people we know very little; they were probably inconsiderable tribes or clans, "pursuing and pursued, each other's prey," till at length a stronger totally destroyed or subdued them, and their name became either extinct or absorbed in that of their conquerors. From the 10th to the 12th, and from the 20th to the 23d verse inclusive (Deu 2:10-12, Deu 2:20-23), we have certain historical remarks introduced which do not seem to have been made by Moses, but rather by Joshua or Ezra. By the introduction of these verses the thread of the narrative suffers considerable interruption. Dr. Kennicott considers both these passages to be interpolations. That they could not have made a part of the speech of Moses originally, needs little proof.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 2:8-23

We have the origin of the Moabites, Edomites, and Ammonites. Moses also gives an instance older than any of these; the Caphtorims drove the Avims out of their country. These revolutions show what uncertain things wordly possessions are. It was so of old, and ever will be so. Families decline, and from them estates are transferred to families that increase; so little continuance is there in these things. This is…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 2:8-23 →

Deuteronomy 2:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֶֽרֶץ\־'e.retz-[the] land ofH776
רְפָאִ֥יםre.fa.'Im[the] RephaitesH7497
תֵּחָשֵׁ֖בte.cha.Shevit was regardedH2803
אַף\־'af-alsoH637
הִ֑ואhi'itH1931
רְפָאִ֤יםre.fa.'Im[the] RephaitesH7497
יָֽשְׁבוּ\־ya.she.vu-they dweltH3427
בָהּ֙vahin it
לְפָנִ֔יםle.fa.Nim<to> beforeH6440
וְהָֽעַמֹּנִ֔יםve.ha.'a.mo.Nimand the AmmonitesH5984
יִקְרְא֥וּyik.re.'Uthey calledH7121
לָהֶ֖םla.Hem<to> them
זַמְזֻמִּֽים\׃zam.zu.MimZamzummitesH2157

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 2:20

  • Genesis 14:5

    And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Zamzummims.
Ge 14:5
Zuzims.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Deuteronomy 2:19

    And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.

  • Deuteronomy 2:20

    (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

  • Deuteronomy 2:21

    A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

Read all of Deuteronomy 2

Deuteronomy 2:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		(Por tierra de gigantes fué también ella tenida: habitaron en ella gigantes en otro tiempo, á los cuales los Ammonitas llamaban Zomzommeos;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		(Il est aussi réputé pays des Rephaïm; les Rephaïm y habitaient auparavant, et les Ammonites les appellent Zamzummim,
German
Elberfelder 1871		Für ein Land der Riesen wird auch dieses gehalten; Riesen wohnten vordem darin, und die Ammoniter nennen sie Samsummim:
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Terra gigantum reputata est: et in ipsa olim habitaverunt gigantes, quos Ammonitæ vocant Zomzommim,