Discovery BoxNumbers 20:1--21:35 
Context20:1 1 Then the entire community of Israel 2 entered the wilderness of Zin in the first month, 3 and the people stayed in Kadesh. 4 Miriam died and was buried there. 5
20:2 And there was no water for the community, and so they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron. 20:3 The people contended 6 with Moses, saying, 7 “If only 8 we had died when our brothers died before the Lord! 20:4 Why 9 have you brought up the Lord’s community into this wilderness? So that 10 we and our cattle should die here? 20:5 Why 11 have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring us to 12 this dreadful place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink!”
20:6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting. They then threw themselves down with their faces to the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 20:7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 20:8 “Take the staff and assemble the community, you and Aaron your brother, and then speak 13 to the rock before their eyes. It will pour forth 14 its water, and you will bring water out of the rock for them, and so you will give the community and their beasts water to drink.”
20:9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, just as he commanded him. 20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community together in front of the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, 15 must we bring 16 water out of this rock for you?” 20:11 Then Moses raised his hand, and struck the rock twice with his staff. And water came out abundantly. So the community drank, and their beasts drank too.
20:12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough 17 to show me as holy 18 before 19 the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.” 20
20:13 These are the waters of Meribah, because the Israelites contended with the Lord, and his holiness was maintained 21 among them.
20:14 22 Moses 23 sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: 24 “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardships we have experienced, 25 20:15 how our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time, 26 and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly. 27 20:16 So when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent a messenger, 28 and has brought us up out of Egypt. Now 29 we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your country. 30 20:17 Please let us pass through 31 your country. We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well. We will go by the King’s Highway; 32 we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region.’” 33
20:18 But Edom said to him, “You will not pass through me, 34 or I will come out against 35 you with the sword.” 20:19 Then the Israelites said to him, “We will go along the highway, and if we 36 or our cattle drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We will only pass through on our feet, without doing anything else.”
20:20 But he said, “You may not pass through.” Then Edom came out against them 37 with a large and powerful force. 38 20:21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him.
20:22 So the entire company of Israelites 39 traveled from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. 40 20:23 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom. He said: 20:24 “Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors, 41 for he will not enter into the land I have given to the Israelites because both of you 42 rebelled against my word 43 at the waters of Meribah. 20:25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up on Mount Hor. 20:26 Remove Aaron’s priestly garments 44 and put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors 45 and will die there.”
20:27 So Moses did as the Lord commanded; and they went up Mount Hor in the sight 46 of the whole community. 20:28 And Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 20:29 When all the community saw that Aaron was dead, the whole house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.
21:1 47 When the Canaanite king of Arad 48 who lived in the Negev 49 heard that Israel was approaching along the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.
21:2 So Israel made a vow 50 to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed deliver 51 this people into our 52 hand, then we will utterly destroy 53 their cities.” 21:3 The Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, 54 and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of the place was called 55 Hormah.
21:4 Then they traveled from Mount Hor by the road to the Red Sea, 56 to go around the land of Edom, but the people 57 became impatient along the way. 21:5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, for there is no bread or water, and we 58 detest this worthless 59 food.”
21:6 So the Lord sent poisonous 60 snakes 61 among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died. 21:7 Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he would take away 62 the snakes from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
21:8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous snake and set it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks 63 at it, he will live.” 21:9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole, so that if a snake had bitten someone, when he looked at the bronze snake he lived. 64
21:10 65 The Israelites traveled on and camped in Oboth. 21:11 Then they traveled on from Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, 66 in the wilderness that is before Moab, on the eastern side. 67 21:12 From there they moved on and camped in the valley of Zered. 21:13 From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends from the regions 68 of the Amorites, for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 21:14 This is why it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
“Waheb in Suphah 69 and the wadis,
the Arnon 21:15 and the slope of the valleys 70
that extends to the dwelling of Ar, 71
and falls off at the border of Moab.”
21:16 And from there they traveled 72 to Beer; 73 that is the well where the Lord spoke to Moses, “Gather the people and I will give them water.” 21:17 Then Israel sang 74 this song:
“Spring up, O well, sing to it!
21:18 The well which the princes 75 dug,
which the leaders of the people opened
with their scepters and their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah; 21:19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; 21:20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the country of Moab, near the top of Pisgah, which overlooks the wilderness. 76
21:21 77 Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, saying, 78
21:22 “Let us 79 pass through your land; 80 we will not turn aside into the fields or into the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well, but we will go along the King’s Highway until we pass your borders.” 21:23 But Sihon did not permit Israel to pass through his border; he 81 gathered all his forces 82 together and went out against Israel into the wilderness. When 83 he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. 21:24 But the Israelites 84 defeated him in battle 85 and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strongly defended. 21:25 So Israel took all these cities; and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 86 21:26 For Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites. Now he had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all of his land from his control, 87 as far as the Arnon. 21:27 That is why those who speak in proverbs 88 say,
“Come to Heshbon, let it be built.
Let the city of Sihon be established! 89
21:28 For fire went out from Heshbon,
a flame from the city of Sihon.
It has consumed Ar of Moab
and the lords 90 of the high places of Arnon.
21:29 Woe to you, Moab.
You are ruined, O people of Chemosh! 91
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters the prisoners of King Sihon of the Amorites.
21:30 We have overpowered them; 92
Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon.
We have shattered them as far as Nophah,
which 93 reaches to Medeba.”
21:31 So the Israelites 94 lived in the land of the Amorites. 21:32 Moses sent spies to reconnoiter 95 Jaazer, and they captured its villages 96 and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.
21:33 Then they turned and went up by the road to Bashan. And King Og of Bashan and all his forces 97 marched out against them to do battle at Edrei. 21:34 And the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand. You will do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. 21:35 So they defeated Og, 98 his sons, and all his people, until there were no survivors, 99 and they possessed his land.
1 sn This chapter is the account of how Moses struck the rock in disobedience to the
2 tn The Hebrew text stresses this idea by use of apposition: “the Israelites entered, the entire community, the wilderness.”
3 sn The text does not indicate here what year this was, but from comparing the other passages about the itinerary, this is probably the end of the wanderings, the fortieth year, for Aaron died some forty years after the exodus. So in that year the people come through the wilderness of Zin and prepare for a journey through the Moabite plains.
4 sn The Israelites stayed in Kadesh for some time during the wandering; here the stop at Kadesh Barnea may have lasted several months. See the commentaries for the general itinerary.
5 sn The death of Miriam is recorded without any qualifications or epitaph. In her older age she had been self-willed and rebellious, and so no doubt humbled by the vivid rebuke from God. But she had made her contribution from the beginning.
6 tn The verb is רִיב (riv); it is often used in the Bible for a legal complaint, a law suit, at least in form. But it can also describe a quarrel, or strife, like that between Abram’s men and Lot’s men in Genesis 13. It will be the main verb behind the commemorative name Meribah, the place where the people strove with God. It is a far more serious thing than grumbling – it is directed, intentional, and well-argued. For further discussion, see J. Limburg, “The Root ‘rib’ and the Prophetic Lawsuit Speeches,” JBL 88 (1969): 291-304.
7 tn Heb “and they said, saying.”
8 tn The particle לוּ (lu) indicates the optative nuance of the line – the wishing or longing for death. It is certainly an absurdity to want to have died, but God took them at their word and they died in the wilderness.
9 tn Heb “and why….” The conjunction seems to be recording another thing that the people said in their complaint against Moses.
10 tn The clause uses the infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition. The clause would be a result clause in this sentence: “Why have you brought us here…with the result that we will all die?”
11 tn Heb “and why.”
12 tn Here also the infinitive construct (Hiphil) forms the subordinate clause of the preceding interrogative clause.
13 tn The verb is the Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, following the two imperatives in the verse. Here is the focus of the instruction for Moses.
14 tn Heb “give.” The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, as are the next two in the verse. These are not now equal to the imperatives, but imperfects, showing the results of speaking to the rock: “speak…and it will…and so you will….”
15 tn The word is הַמֹּרִים (hammorim, “the rebels”), but here as a vocative: “you rebels.” It was a harsh address, although well-earned.
16 tn The word order and the emphasis of the tense are important to this passage. The word order is “from this rock must we bring out to you water?” The emphasis is clearly on “from this rock!” The verb is the imperfect tense; it has one of the modal nuances here, probably obligatory – “must we do this?”
17 tn Or “to sanctify me.”
sn The verb is the main word for “believe, trust.” It is the verb that describes the faith in the Word of the
18 sn Using the basic meaning of the word קָדַשׁ (qadash, “to be separate, distinct, set apart”), we can understand better what Moses failed to do. He was supposed to have acted in a way that would have shown God to be distinct, different, holy. Instead, he gave the impression that God was capricious and hostile – very human. The leader has to be aware of what image he is conveying to the people.
19 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
20 tn There is debate as to exactly what the sin of Moses was. Some interpreters think that the real sin might have been that he refused to do this at first, but that fact has been suppressed from the text. Some think the text was deliberately vague to explain why they could not enter the land without demeaning them. Others simply, and more likely, note that in Moses there was unbelief, pride, anger, impatience – disobedience.
21 tn The form is unusual – it is the Niphal preterite, and not the normal use of the Piel/Pual stem for “sanctify/sanctified.” The basic idea of “he was holy” has to be the main idea, but in this context it refers to the fact that through judging Moses God was making sure people ensured his holiness among them. The word also forms a wordplay on the name Kadesh.
22 sn For this particular section, see W. F. Albright, “From the Patriarchs to Moses: 2. Moses out of Egypt,” BA 36 (1973): 57-58; J. R. Bartlett, “The Land of Seir and the Brotherhood of Edom,” JTS 20 (1969): 1-20, and “The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Edom,” PEQ 104 (1972): 22-37, and “The Brotherhood of Edom,” JSOT 4 (1977): 2-7.
23 tn Heb “And Moses sent.”
24 sn Some modern biblical scholars are convinced, largely through arguments from silence, that there were no unified kingdoms in Edom until the 9th century, and no settlements there before the 12th century, and so the story must be late and largely fabricated. The evidence is beginning to point to the contrary. But the cities and residents of the region would largely be Bedouin, and so leave no real remains.
25 tn Heb “found.”
26 tn Heb “many days.”
27 tn The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) means “to act or do evil.” Evil here is in the sense of causing pain or trouble. So the causative stem in our passage means “to treat wickedly.”
28 tn The word could be rendered “angel” or “messenger.” Some ambiguity may be intended in this report.
29 tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) to emphasize the “here and now” aspect of the report to Edom.
30 tn Heb “your border.”
31 tn The request is expressed by the use of the cohortative, “let us pass through.” It is the proper way to seek permission.
32 sn This a main highway running from Damascus in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba, along the ridge of the land. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been given by the later Assyrians (see B. Obed, “Observations on Methods of Assyrian Rule in Transjordan after the Palestinian Campaign of Tiglathpileser III,” JNES 29 [1970]: 177-86). Bronze Age fortresses have been discovered along this highway, attesting to its existence in the time of Moses. The original name came from the king who developed the highway, probably as a trading road (see S. Cohen, IDB 3:35-36).
33 tn Heb “borders.”
34 tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of prohibition.
35 tn Heb “to meet.”
36 tn The Hebrew text uses singular pronouns, “I” and “my,” but it is the people of Israel that are intended, and so it may be rendered in the plural. Similarly, Edom speaks in the first person, probably from the king. But it too could be rendered “we.”
37 tn Heb “to meet him.”
38 tn Heb “with many [heavy] people and with a strong hand.” The translation presented above is interpretive, but that is what the line means. It was a show of force, numbers and weapons, to intimidate the Israelites.
39 tn Again the passage uses apposition: “the Israelites, the whole community.”
40 sn The traditional location for this is near Petra (Josephus, Ant. 4.4.7). There is serious doubt about this location since it is well inside Edomite territory, and since it is very inaccessible for the transfer of the office. Another view places it not too far from Kadesh Barnea, about 15 miles (25 km) northeast at Jebel Madurah, on the northwest edge of Edom and so a suitable point of departure for approaching Canaan from the south (see J. L. Mihelec, IDB 2:644; and J. de Vaulx, Les Nombres [SB], 231). Others suggest it was at the foot of Mount Hor and not actually up in the mountains (see Deut 10:6).
41 sn This is the standard poetic expression for death. The bones would be buried, often with the bones of relatives in the same tomb, giving rise to the expression.
42 tn The verb is in the second person plural form, and so it is Moses and Aaron who rebelled, and so now because of that Aaron first and then Moses would die without going into the land.
43 tn Heb “mouth.”
44 tn The word “priestly” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
45 tn Heb “will be gathered”; this is a truncated form of the usual expression “gathered to his ancestors,” found in v. 24. The phrase “to his ancestors” is supplied in the translation here.
46 tn Heb “eyes.”
47 sn This chapter has several events in it: the victory over Arad (vv. 1-3), the plague of serpents (vv. 4-9), the approach to Moab (vv. 10-20), and the victory over Sihon and Og (vv. 21-35). For information, see D. M. Gunn, “The ‘Battle Report’: Oral or Scribal Convention.” JBL 93 (1974): 513-18; and of the extensive literature on the archaeological site, see EAEHL 1:74-89.
48 sn The name Arad probably refers to a place a number of miles away from Tel Arad in southern Israel. The name could also refer to the whole region (like Edom).
49 tn Or “the south”; “Negev” has become a technical name for the southern desert region and is still in use in modern times.
50 tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative with the verb: They vowed a vow. The Israelites were therefore determined with God’s help to defeat Arad.
51 tn The Hebrew text has the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of נָתַן (natan) to stress the point – if you will surely/indeed give.”
52 tn Heb “my.”
53 tn On the surface this does not sound like much of a vow. But the key is in the use of the verb for “utterly destroy” – חָרַם (kharam). Whatever was put to this “ban” or “devotion” belonged to God, either for his use, or for destruction. The oath was in fact saying that they would take nothing from this for themselves. It would simply be the removal of what was alien to the faith, or to God’s program.
54 tc Smr, Greek, and Syriac add “into his hand.”
55 tn In the Hebrew text the verb has no expressed subject, and so here too is made passive. The name “Hormah” is etymologically connected to the verb “utterly destroy,” forming the popular etymology (or paronomasia, a phonetic wordplay capturing the significance of the event).
56 tn The “Red Sea” is the general designation for the bodies of water on either side of the Sinai peninsula, even though they are technically gulfs from the Red Sea.
57 tn Heb “the soul of the people,” expressing the innermost being of the people as they became frustrated.
58 tn Heb “our souls.”
59 tn The Israelites’ opinion about the manna was clear enough – “worthless.” The word used is קְלֹקֵל (qÿloqel, “good for nothing, worthless, miserable”).
60 tn Heb “fiery.”
61 tn The designation of the serpents/ snakes is נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim), which is similar to the word for “bronze” (נְחֹשֶׁת, nÿkhoshet). This has led some scholars to describe the serpents as bronze in color. The description of them as fiery indicates they were poisonous. Perhaps the snake in question is a species of adder.
62 tn The verb is the Hiphil jussive with a vav (ו) consecutive from the verb סוּר (sur); after the imperative this form may be subordinated to become a purpose clause.
63 tn The word order is slightly different in Hebrew: “and it shall be anyone who is bitten when he looks at it he shall live.”
64 sn The image of the snake was to be a symbol of the curse that the Israelites were experiencing; by lifting the snake up on a pole Moses was indicating that the curse would be drawn away from the people – if they looked to it, which was a sign of faith. This symbol was later stored in the temple, until it became an object of worship and had to be removed (2 Kgs 18:4). Jesus, of course, alluded to it and used it as an illustration of his own mission. He would become the curse, and be lifted up, so that people who looked by faith to him would live (John 3:14). For further material, see D. J. Wiseman, “Flying Serpents,” TynBul 23 (1972): 108-10; and K. R. Joines, “The Bronze Serpent in the Israelite Cult,” JBL 87 (1968): 245-56.
65 sn See further D. L. Christensen, “Numbers 21:14-15 and the Book of the Wars of Yahweh,” CBQ 36 (1974): 359-60; G. W. Coats, “The Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 34 (1972): 135-52; G. I. Davies, “The Wilderness Itinerary,” TB 25 (1974): 46-81; idem, The Way of the Wilderness; G. E. Mendenhall, “The Hebrew Conquest of Palestine,” BA 25 (1962): 66-87.
66 sn These places are uncertain. Oboth may be some 15 miles (25 km) from the south end of the Dead Sea at a place called ‘Ain el-Weiba. Iye Abarim may be the modern Mahay at the southeastern corner of Moab. See J. Simons, The Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament.
67 tn Heb “the rising of the sun.”
68 tn Or “border.”
69 tc The ancient versions show a wide variation here: Smr has “Waheb on the Sea of Reeds,” the Greek version has “he has set Zoob on fire and the torrents of Arnon.” Several modern versions treat the first line literally, taking the two main words as place names: Waheb and Suphah. This seems most likely, but then there would then be no subject or verb. One would need something like “the Israelites marched through.” The KJV, following the Vulgate, made the first word a verb and read the second as “Red Sea” – “what he did in the Red Sea.” But subject of the passage is the terrain. D. L. Christensen proposed emending the first part from אֶת וָהֵב (’et vahev) to אַתָּה יְהוָה (’attah yehvah, “the
70 tc There are many variations in this text, but the MT reading of something like “the descent of the torrents/valleys” is preferable, since it is describing the topography.
71 sn The place is unknown; it is apparently an important city in the region.
72 tn The words “they traveled” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied here because of English style. The same phrase is supplied at the end of v. 18.
73 sn Isa 15:8 mentions a Moabite Beerelim, which Simons suggests is Wadi Ettemed.
74 tn After the adverb “then” the prefixed conjugation has the preterite force. For the archaic constructions, see D. N. Freedman, “Archaic Forms in Early Hebrew Poetry,” ZAW 72 (1960): 101-7. The poem shows all the marks of being ancient.
75 sn The brief song is supposed to be an old workers’ song, and so the mention of leaders and princes is unusual. Some think they are given credit because they directed where the workers were to dig. The scepter and staff might have served some symbolic or divining custom.
76 tn Or perhaps as a place name, “Jeshimon.”
77 sn For this section, see further J. R. Bartlett, “Sihon and Og of the Amorites,” VT 20 (1970): 257-77, and “The Moabites and the Edomites,” Peoples of Old Testament Times, 229-58; S. H. Horn, “The Excavations at Tell Hesban, 1973,” ADAJ 18 (1973): 87-88.
78 tc Smr and the LXX have “words of peace.”
79 tn The Hebrew text uses the singular in these verses to match the reference to “Israel.”
80 tc Smr has “by the King’s way I will go. I will not turn aside to the right or the left.”
81 tn Heb “Sihon.”
82 tn Heb “people.”
83 tn The clause begins with a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, but may be subordinated to the next preterite as a temporal clause.
84 tn The Hebrew text has “Israel,” but the verb is plural.
85 tn Heb “with the edge of the sword.”
86 tn Heb “its daughters.”
87 sn There is a justice, always, in the divine plan for the conquest of the land. Modern students of the Bible often think that the conquest passages are crude and unjust. But an understanding of the ancient Near East is critical here. This Sihon was not a part of the original population of the land. He himself invaded the territory and destroyed the population of Moab that was indigenous there and established his own kingdom. The ancient history is filled with such events; it is the way of life they chose – conquer or be conquered. For Israel to defeat them was in part a turning of their own devices back on their heads – “those that live by the sword will die by the sword.” Sihon knew this, and he did not wait, but took the war to Israel. Israel wanted to pass through, not fight. But now they would either fight or be pushed into the gorge. So God used Israel to defeat Sihon, who had no claim to the land, as part of divine judgment.
88 sn Proverbs of antiquity could include pithy sayings or longer songs, riddles, or poems composed to catch the significance or the irony of an event. This is a brief poem to remember the event, like an Egyptian victory song. It may have originated as an Amorite war taunt song; it was sung to commemorate this victory. It was cited later by Jeremiah (48:45-46). The composer invites his victorious people to rebuild the conquered city as a new capital for Sihon. He then turns to address the other cities which his God(s) has/have given to him. See P. D. Hanson, “The Song of Heshbon and David’s Nir,” HTR 61 (1968): 301.
89 tn Meaning, “rebuilt and restored.”
90 tc Some scholars emend to בָּלְעָה (bal’ah), reading “and devoured,” instead of בַּעֲלֵי (ba’aley, “its lords”); cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV. This emendation is closer to the Greek and makes a better parallelism, but the MT makes good sense as it stands.
91 sn The note of holy war emerges here as the victory is a victory over the local gods as well as over the people.
92 tc The first verb is difficult. MT has “we shot at them.” The Greek has “their posterity perished” (see GKC 218 §76.f).
93 tc The relative pronoun “which” (אֲשֶׁר, ’asher) posed a problem for the ancient scribes here, as indicated by the so-called extraordinary point (punta extraordinaria) over the letter ר (resh) of אֲשֶׁר. Smr and the LXX have “fire” (אֵשׁ, ’esh) here (cf. NAB, NJB, RSV, NRSV). Some modern scholars emend the word to שֹׁאָה (sho’ah, “devastation”).
94 tn Heb “Israel.”
95 tn Heb “Moses sent to spy out.”
96 tn Heb “daughters.”
97 tn Heb “people.”
98 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Og) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
99 tn Heb “no remnant.”
