Notes for 3. The Great Reversal

1. The three main verbs are halak (which may be translated variously as "walk," "go," "go forward"), 'ala ("go up," "ascend," or "climb"), and bo' ("go in," "enter," "come to")—occurring five times each. Halak would disappear from the rest of the first section (1:6-2:1) of Moses' address, but 'ala and bo' would reappear in telling manners in the next two units (esp. v39 and vv42-43). All occurrences of 'ala and bo' have Israel as the subject. A sense of expectancy shades all the uses of bo' : ". . . so we arrived at Kadesh Barnea" (v19), "You have reached . . ." (v20), ". . . the cities we will come to" (v22), "they came to the Valley of Eschol" (v24), and "Yhwh carried you . . . until you arrived at this place" (v31). In contrast, 'ala and halak are used with varying shades of theological nuances concerning Israel's reversal in fortune.