Deuteronomy 2:21 describes a people called the Zamzummim, who were large and strong, being driven out of their land by the LORD so that another people could move in and settle there. The verse is part of Moses’ farewell address to the Israelites as they prepared to enter the land God had promised them, and it reminds them that the LORD had done the same kind of thing for other nations before.
A great people, many, and tall, as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and lived in their place…
Deuteronomy 2:21 (WEB)
What Deuteronomy 2:21 Means
The verse begins by describing the former inhabitants of the land. They were “a great people, many, and tall,” comparable to the Anakim, a race of giants Israel had heard about and feared. Moses is not describing a myth here but a known threat, a population that looked formidable by any measure. The point is that these were not weak or small nations.
The turning point comes with the phrase “but the LORD destroyed them before them.” The verse says the outcome was not decided by the size or strength of the people, but by God’s action. Their removal is attributed to the LORD, not to Israel’s skill or numbers. The next phrase, “they succeeded them, and lived in their place,” states the result: another people took up residence where these had lived.
What the verse does not do is give a general promise that God will always clear the way for his people or that every obstacle will vanish. It reports a specific historical event and draws a lesson from it. Its purpose is to show that God has been active in the history of the nations, and that the land Israel was about to enter had been prepared through his judgment on earlier inhabitants.
The Context of Deuteronomy 2:21
Deuteronomy is a book of Moses’ speeches to Israel on the plains of Moab, just before they crossed the Jordan River into Canaan. The original audience was the new generation of Israelites who had grown up during the wilderness years, since the generation that left Egypt had died off. Moses is retelling their history and reminding them of the commands and faithfulness of God so that they will live well in the land.
The surrounding verses describe God’s instructions regarding the lands of Ammon, Moab, and Seir, which Israel was not to attack because God had given them to other descendants of Lot and Esau. Verse 21 is an aside that explains a pattern: the Rephaim, who once lived in Ammon’s territory, were destroyed by God and replaced, just as the Horites had been removed from Seir and the Avvim from the coast. This reading shows that Israel’s current situation fits a larger divine ordering of nations, which makes the verse less about giants and more about God’s sovereignty over the land.
Key Phrases in Deuteronomy 2:21
Deuteronomy 9:4
Don’t say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out from before you, saying, “For my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land”; because the LORD drives them out before you because of the wickedness of these nations.
(WEB)
This verse expands on the same theme, telling Israel that they should not think their own righteousness brought them victory over the nations. It reinforces the point of 2:21 that the displacement of other peoples was the LORD’s doing, not a reward for Israel’s merit.
Joshua 24:12
I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow.
(WEB)
In this passage Joshua recalls how God sent hornets ahead of Israel to drive out the enemies, a vivid picture of the same divine clearing of the land described in Deuteronomy 2:21. It shows the pattern continuing into the conquest under Joshua’s leadership.
A Short Prayer From Deuteronomy 2:21
Lord, you have been at work in the history of the nations long before we arrived on the scene. When the obstacles in front of me look larger than I can handle, remind me that you go before me and that the outcome rests in your hands. Teach me to trust your power rather than my own strength, and to wait on you with faith. Help me to see your faithfulness in the past so that I may hold on to hope for what lies ahead. Amen.
