Numbers21
New Living Translation
1The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were approaching on the road through Atharim. So he attacked the Israelites and took some of them as prisoners.
2Then the people of Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will hand these people over to us, we will completely destroy all their towns.”
3The Lord heard the Israelites’ request and gave them victory over the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed them and their towns, and the place has been called Hormah ever since.
4Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey,
5and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”
6So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died.
7Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!”
9So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!
10The Israelites traveled next to Oboth and camped there.
11Then they went on to Iye-abarim, in the wilderness on the eastern border of Moab.
12From there they traveled to the valley of Zered Brook and set up camp.
13Then they moved out and camped on the far side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness adjacent to the territory of the Amorites. The Arnon is the boundary line between the Moabites and the Amorites.
14For this reason The Book of the Wars of the Lord speaks of “the town of Waheb in the area of Suphah, and the ravines of the Arnon River,
15and the ravines that extend as far as the settlement of Ar on the border of Moab.”
16From there the Israelites traveled to Beer, which is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Assemble the people, and I will give them water.”
17There the Israelites sang this song: “Spring up, O well! Yes, sing its praises!
18Sing of this well, which princes dug, which great leaders hollowed out with their scepters and staffs.” Then the Israelites left the wilderness and proceeded on through Mattanah,
19Nahaliel, and Bamoth.
20After that they went to the valley in Moab where Pisgah Peak overlooks the wasteland.
21The Israelites sent ambassadors to King Sihon of the Amorites with this message:
22“Let us travel through your land. We will be careful not to go through your fields and vineyards. We won’t even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king’s road until we have passed through your territory.”
23But King Sihon refused to let them cross his territory. Instead, he mobilized his entire army and attacked Israel in the wilderness, engaging them in battle at Jahaz.
24But the Israelites slaughtered them with their swords and occupied their land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. They went only as far as the Ammonite border because the boundary of the Ammonites was fortified.
25So Israel captured all the towns of the Amorites and settled in them, including the city of Heshbon and its surrounding villages.
26Heshbon had been the capital of King Sihon of the Amorites. He had defeated a former Moabite king and seized all his land as far as the Arnon River.
27Therefore, the ancient poets wrote this about him: “Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt! Let the city of Sihon be restored.
28A fire flamed forth from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It burned the city of Ar in Moab; it destroyed the rulers of the Arnon heights.
29What sorrow awaits you, O people of Moab! You are finished, O worshipers of Chemosh! Chemosh has left his sons as refugees, his daughters as captives of Sihon, the Amorite king.
30We have utterly destroyed them, from Heshbon to Dibon. We have completely wiped them out as far away as Nophah and Medeba.”
31So the people of Israel occupied the territory of the Amorites.
32After Moses sent men to explore the Jazer area, they captured all the towns in the region and drove out the Amorites who lived there.
33Then they turned and marched up the road to Bashan, but King Og of Bashan and all his people attacked them at Edrei.
34The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, along with all his people and his land. Do the same to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.”
35And Israel killed King Og, his sons, and all his subjects; not a single survivor remained. Then Israel occupied their land.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Numbers 21.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The Canaanites of Arad destroyed. (1–3). The people murmuring, are plagued with fiery serpents, They repenting, are healed through the brazen serpent. (4–9). Further journeys of the Israelites. (10–20). Sihon and Og overcome, Their land possessed. (21–35).
vv1-3
Before the people began their march round the country of Edom, the king of Arad, a Canaanite, who inhabited the southern part of the country, attacked them in the wilderness, and took some prisoners. This was to lead the Israelites to look more thoroughly to the Lord.
vv4-9
The children of Israel were wearied by a long march round the land of Edom. They speak discontentedly of what God had done for them, and distrustfully of what he would do. What will they be pleased with, whom manna will not please? Let not the contempt which some cast on the word of God, make us value it less. It is the bread of life, substantial bread, and will nourish those who by faith feed upon it, to eternal life, whoever may call it light bread. We see the righteous judgment God brought upon them for murmuring. He sent fiery serpents among them, which bit or stung many to death. It is to be feared that they would not have owned the sin, if they had not felt the smart; but they relent under the rod. And God made a wonderful provision for their relief. The Jews themselves say it was not the sight of the brazen serpent that cured; but in looking up to it, they looked up to God as the Lord that healed them. There was much gospel in this. Our Saviour declared, Joh 3:14, 15, that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up, that whatsoever believeth in him, should not perish. Compare their disease and ours. Sin bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder. Compare the application of their remedy and ours. They looked and lived, and we, if we believe, shall not perish. It is by faith that we look unto Jesus, Heb 12:2. Whosoever looked, however desperate his case, or feeble his sight, or distant his place, was certainly and perfectly cured. The Lord can relieve us from dangers and distresses, by means which human reason never would have devised. Oh that the venom of the old serpent, inflaming men's passions, and causing them to commit sins which end in their eternal destruction, were as sensibly felt, and the danger as plainly seen, as the Israelites felt pain from the bite of the fiery serpents, and feared the death which followed! Then none would shut their eyes to Christ, or turn from his gospel. Then a crucified Saviour would be so valued, that all things else would be accounted loss for him; then, without delay, and with earnestness and simplicity, all would apply to him in the appointed way, crying, Lord, save us; we perish! Nor would any abuse the freeness of Christ's salvation, while they reckoned the price which it cost him.
vv10-20
We have here the removes of the children of Israel, till they came to the plains of Moab, from whence they passed over Jordan into Canaan. The end of their pilgrimage was near. “They set forward.” It were well if we did thus; and the nearer we come to heaven, were so much the more active and abundant in the work of the Lord. The wonderful success God granted to his people, is here spoken of, and, among the rest, their actions on the river Arnon, at Vaheb in Suphah, and other places on that river. In every stage of our lives, nay, in every step, we should notice what God has wrought for us; what he did at such a time, and what in such a place, ought to be distinctly remembered. God blessed his people with a supply of water. When we come to heaven, we shall remove to the well of life, the fountain of living waters. They received it with joy and thankfulness, which made the mercy doubly sweet. With joy must we draw water out of the wells of salvation, Isa 12:3. As the brazen serpent was a figure of Christ, who is lifted up for our cure, so is this well a figure of the Spirit, who is poured forth for our comfort, and from whom flow to us rivers of living waters, Joh 7:38, 39. Does this well spring up in our souls? If so, we should take the comfort to ourselves, and give the glory to God. God promised to give water, but they must open the ground. God's favours must be expected in the use of such means as are within our power, but still the power is only of God.
Key Words
כְּנַעַנִי: a Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan; by implication, a pedlar (the Canaanites standing for their neighbors the Ishmaelites, who conducted mercantile caravans)
מֶלֶךְ: a king
עֲרָד: Arad, the name of a place near Palestine, also of a Canaanite and an Israelite
יָשַׁב: properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry
נֶגֶב: the south (from its drought); specifically, the Negeb or southern district of Judah, occasionally, Egypt (as south to Palestine)
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
דֶּרֶךְ: a road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb
אֲתָרִים: Atharim, a place near Palestine
Cross References
Numbers 21Jesus directly compares Himself being lifted up to Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Paul warns against tempting Christ as Israel did, resulting in their destruction by fiery serpents.
Supported by JFB
Moses recalls God leading Israel through the great wilderness infested with fiery serpents and scorpions.
Supported by JFB
Hezekiah destroys this very bronze serpent because the Israelites had turned it into an idol.
Supported by JFB
The promised well of water typifies the Holy Spirit, poured forth to satisfy and comfort believers.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Recounts Sihon refusing passage, hardening his heart, and marching out to fight at Jahaz.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallel account of the battle against Og, king of Bashan, at Edrei and his defeat.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Contrast with their earlier defeat at Hormah when they presumptuously fought without God.
Jephthah historical defense citing Moses' peaceful messengers and Sihon's hostile refusal.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Poetic celebration of God smiting great kings, specifically mentioning Sihon and Og.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Jeremiah directly quotes this ancient proverb of Heshbon, Sihon, and Moab's destruction.
Confirms the geographical identity of King Arad the Canaanite in the south.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Details the transition at the valley of Zered, marking thirty-eight years of wandering.
Supported by JFB
Jephthah refers to Chemosh, the national god of Moab, matching the proverb quoted here.