The Israelites were not chosen because they were more in number than other peoples; on the contrary, they were the fewest in number. This may not literally have been the case; it is a way of pointing out that they were an insignificant people, of little power and no prestige.

The LORD set his love on you: New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and New Revised Standard Version have “set his heart on you,” which is a more natural expression in English. The verb means “desire” or “want.” The Septuagint translates with a verb that means “prefer,” “choose.”

And chose you: this additional verbal phrase may be joined to the previous one, as follows: “he decided you were the people he wanted, and so he chose you,” and the whole verse may be restructured as follows:

• The LORD [or, Yahweh] decided that you were the people he wanted, and chose you. This was not because you had more people [or, were more numerous] than any other nation. Actually you were the smallest nation on earth.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .