Continuing a chronological Bible study, the order of which was suggested by Skip Andrews:
(Numbers 33:40) Now the king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.
The children of Israel had now spent forty years in the wilderness. In the last post, they had journeyed to Kadeh and there had sought permission from the king of Edom to pass through his land on the king's highway, but he refused. They then moved to Mount Hor, still near the border of Edom, as they were going around it, not being permitted to go through it. Aaron died and was buried at Mount Hor. It appears it was at this time that the king of Arad, a Canaanite, who dwelt in the southern part of the land of Canaan, heard about the coming of the children of Israel.
I have a difficult time trying to picture where the Israelites were at this time and why they had to cross Edom, but here are a couple of maps that together might help some to pinpoint them:
Click the image for a larger view. I circled Arad in the second map.
(Numbers 21:1) The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
Numbers 21 tells of the incident in more detail. The king of Arad heard that the Israelites were coming by way of the spies, pictured in a map here:
(2) And Israel vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”
It looks as though the children of Israel had learned a lesson and this time instead of running scared and murmuring against Moses and the Lord, they went straight to the Lord and prayed that He deliver this people to them. Their vow to utterly destroy their cities was their faith that He would indeed deliver them. They trusted their Lord this time.
(3) And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities; and they called the name of the place Hormah.
The Lord heard Israel's plea and vow, and delivered up the Canaanites. This verse states they utterly destroyed them and their cities, and they called the name of the place Hormah. There is some disagreement among Biblical scholars as to what actually happened and it depends on the meaning of the original word. Apparently, the name of the place was originally Zephath, and later scriptures will tell how it was utterly destroyed in Joshua's time. It's reasonable to think that it was destroyed at this time, so as to keep the enemy from pursuing the Israelites, but as the Israelites did not remain in the city, the Canaanites reinhabited it. However, the original word "charam" that was translated as "utterly destroy" can also mean "devoted or dedicated for destruction". The meaning of the name "Hormah" is indeed "devoted" or "devotion". So at the very least, the enemy was devoted for destruction and kept at bay from the children of Israel. More probably, the Israelites fought with the current residents of the land as verse 1 does say the king of Arad fought with them and took some as prisoners.
(4) And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
Because the way through Edom was closed to them, the people had to go back to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. Because they were going backward instead of forward and because it was a long way, the people began to get discouraged.
(Numbers 33:41) And they departed from Mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah. (42) And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon.
Numbers 33 also records the Israelites' departure from Mount Hor, and states specifically that they camped at Zalmonah and then moved on to Punon.
(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, neither is there any water; and our soul loathes this light bread."
I may have given the Israelites too much credit in my comments on verse 2, for if they had truly learned their lesson, they wouldn't be speaking against God at this time. Had they not learned they could trust Him no matter how it appeared?! God gave them manna and they complained about it! He provided their every need and yet they complained they had been brought out of Egypt to die in the wilderness because they didn't have something else they thought they should have! Although this seems unfathomable, I can see myself. Perhaps I don't call God by name to ask why He had done or not done this or that, but by complaining that I don't have all I think I need, I am belittling all that He has done! He sustains me every day and I have complained that I don't have something else. Again, though I think it is not to Him directly, is IS to Him, about Him, and about not having gratitude and faith in Him to continue to carry me through! I can be a grumbling Israelite, and I don't like that idea at all!
(6) And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died.
In answer the Lord let loose fiery serpents, probably so called because their bites were poisonous and burned. The scripture says the Lord sent the fiery serpents, and He truly may have, as He had every right to; but I often think that He may just turn His back and let us see how it would be without Him. The snakes were surely all over this wilderness, but God had protected His people from them. He gave them protection and sustenance, but all they could see was what they did not have, so by turning His back and allowing the serpents to attack the people, they could see what it was like to not have His protection. This was a teaching moment. Many of the children of Israel died from the snake bites, and one would hope the rest would learn from this incident.
(7) Therefore 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 take away the serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people.
The people came to Moses, indeed recognizing they had sinned against the Lord, and asked that he pray to the Lord to take the serpents away from them. Moses prayed for the people. How blessed we are in this current time to have a constant intercessor in Jesus that we don't have to suffer serpents before we come to our senses again! If we DO have to suffer serpents or the like, I believe it is in His mercy to bring us to Him, or back to Him, our only salvation and source of eternal life.
(8) And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall come to pass, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
The Lord answered Moses by telling him to make a likeness of a fiery serpent and set it up on a pole so that whenever someone who was bitten looked up at it, he would live. In the past I never quite understood why God would have Moses make an image for the people to look up to, when in the past (and in the future) images and molten likenesses became idols. However, this brass serpent Moses would make was certainly not God, but neither was a golden calf (Exodus 32), but unlike the calf, this serpent was a visual of their sin and chastisement, so that looking up to it represented looking up to their Lord and acknowledging their sin. God did not take the serpents away as the people had asked, but saw fit a better way, that when they were bitten by the serpents, they could look up to Him and be saved. Jesus later referred to this as a symbol of Christ Himself:
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:14-15
Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, brought up another point. According to him, "This method of cure was altogether miraculous, and the more wonderful if what some naturalists say be true, that looking upon bright and burnished brass is hurtful to those that are stung with fiery serpents. God can bring about his purposes by contrary means." The ways of God are almost always not as what we expect them to be; all the more reason to trust in Him, not in how it may look.
(9) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it up on a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
Moses did as the Lord had instructed and made a brass serpent and put it up on a pole, and indeed, when someone who had been bitten, looked up at the brass serpent, he would live, in spite of being bitten. Again, this is a beautiful symbol of Christ. Even though we sin and deserve death, looking to Him saves us and we live!
(10) And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth. (11) And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ije Abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrise.
The children of Israel then moved onward and camped at Oboth; from there they journeyed to Ije Abarim, in the wilderness to the east of Moab.
(Numbers 33:43) And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth. (44) And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ije Abarim, at the border of Moab.
Numbers 33 records their departure from Punon, and then their journey to Oboth, and then to Ije Abarim, at the border of Moab.
(Numbers 21:12) From there they moved and camped in the valley of Zared.
From Ije Abarim they moved to the brook of Zared, which is what most scholars agree the translation should have read. Indeed, the original word translated as "valley", that is "nachal", literally meant "stream", and "by implication, valley".
(13) From there they moved and camped on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the coasts of the Amorites, for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
From the Zared, they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which was a river that separated the Moabites and the Amorites.
(14) Therefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, "What He did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, (15) And at the stream of the brooks that go down to the dwelling of Ar, and lies upon the border of Moab."
Apparently there was a book of the wars of the Lord unknown to us, but known to contemporaries of this passage. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote that the book may have been a "book of remembrances and directions, written by Moses for Joshua’s private instruction for the management of the wars after him", and may be referenced in Exodus 17:14: "And the LORD said to Moses, 'Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.'" Almost every translation other than King James reads some form of “Waheb in Suphah" rather than "What He did in the Red Sea". Even though this is the only verse in the Bible where the word "vaheb" was used, and therefore its meaning is uncertain, and could therefore be the name of a place, the word "suphah" does mean "storm, whirlwind, or Red Sea" and would not necessarily have to be the name of a place. Since this was only an excerpt from the book of wars, and we have no context, it would be impossible to know for certain what is meant. However, I have no problem taking it as written in the KJV as it may have been a record of what God had done for His people, and where He brought them. The passage referred to in the book of the wars was used to confirm what was written in verse 13, that they had camped at the brooks of the Arnon, and that was on the border of Moab.
(Numbers 33:45) And they departed from Ijim and camped at Dibon Gad.
As this verse immediately follows verse 44 in Numbers 33 where it said they camped at Ije Abarim, I assume Ijim is a shortened version of that same place. From there they camped at Dibon Gad, which was actually just Dibon at the time, but called Dibon Gad after it was rebuilt later by Gad.
(Numbers 21:16) And from there they went to Beer, which is the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
As I follow a chronological order suggested by Skip Andrews, and have no explanation as to why Mr. Andrews inserted this verse after Dibon Gad, I can only assume it was reasonable considering the general route of the Israelites is fairly ascertained by comparison of Numbers 21 and 33. The meaning of the word "Beer" is "well", and it may have been so named after the Lord apparently miraculously gave the people water. There is no indication here that the people murmured or complained about having no water, but the Lord, knowing their need of water by this time, blessed them with it.
(Numbers 33:46) And they removed from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.
I assume that Beer was between Dibon Gad and Almon Diblathaim, but as they apparently did not camp at Beer, it was not mentioned here. Apparently after they received water at Beer, they moved on to Almon Diblathaim, where they camped.
(47) And they removed from Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.
From Almon Diblathaim, they journeyed to the mountains of Abarim, and camped before Nebo, which appears to be the name of one of the mountains according to later scriptures.
(Numbers 21:17) Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well! You sing to it."
It would seem to me that this song about a well should have immediately followed God's blessing of water at Beer, and in fact, it did immediately follow in Numbers 21. Mr. Andrews's insertion of the verses in Numbers 33 seems a little out of place, but as I started with his chronological study, I don't dare change now, or I might miss something. After the people received water at Beer, they sang a song of praise about it. The word translated as "sing" above, "anah", means more like "respond" or "in answer to", so the people were singing in response to the Lord's blessing of the well.
(18) "The princes dug the well, the nobles of the people dug it, by the lawgiver, with their staves." And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah.
The song of the people continued. The princes, the nobles of the people dug the well, probably the lawgiver being the Lord or perhaps under His direction, Moses. "With their staves" could mean "with their staffs" or "with their support". It could have been that with the lawgiver's staff, direction was given to dig the well, or perhaps with their staffs making holes in the ground, the Lord caused the water to spring up. However it came about, the people were thankful, recognizing the blessing was from the Lord. From the wilderness near Arnon (v. 13) after they dug the well at Beer, they went to Mattanah, the meaning of which is “gift of Jehovah”, which was surely a reference to the well. Once again, I struggle a bit with the chronological order, but as Dr. John Gill stated in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, some of the people's removes were mentioned in one place and not the other, because they "perhaps, were small removes, and not properly stations."
(19) And from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, (20) And from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks toward Jeshimon.
Taken as it appears written in this translation, the people journeyed from Mattanah to Nahaliel, then from Nahaliel to Bamoth, in the valley that was in Moab, to the mountain Pisgah which looked over Jeshimon. It is at this verse that Dr. Gill stated that "all the Targums", the early Aramaic interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures provided by the Jewish rabbis, interpreted these verses as meaning "not of the journeying of the children of Israel, but of the motion of the well, that that, from the place from whence it was given them, descended with them into the valleys, and from thence to the high places, as these words signify: and indeed those places are not mentioned in the journeys of the children of Israel", that is, the journeys documented in Numbers 33. That would explain the discrepancy between the places documented in Numbers 33 versus those in this chapter of Numbers 21. Indeed, even verse 18, "from the wilderness they went to Mattanah" might be better translated as "and from the wilderness it was given to them for a gift'', wrote Dr. Gill, and then verses 19 and 20, explain the motion of the well, probably providing them with water all along their way.
(21) And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, (22) “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go along by the king's highway, until we be past your borders."
The children of Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, asking that they be allowed passage through his land by the king's highway. They stated they would not turn aside into the fields or vineyards, nor drink from their wells, but would just pass through on the king's highway.
(23) And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness; and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
However, Sihon not only refused them passage, as did Edom (Numbers 20:18-20) who came out against them to keep them from passing through, but Sihon gathered his people and went outside his own borders into the wilderness to fight against them at a place called Jahaz.
(24) And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon to Jabbok, as far as the children of Ammon, for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.
The children of Israel slew Sihon and his army of people and were victorious over them; and Sihon's country came into possession of Israel, from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. Sihon's territory went only as far as the border of Ammon because that border was very strong.
(25) And Israel took all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages.
Israel took all the cities that lay between the Arnon and the Jabbok, and Israel dwelt in all these cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages, Heshbon being the main metropolis with smaller towns and villages adjacent to it.
(26) For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon.
Heshbon is further described as the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken it from him, that city and all Moab's land as far as the Arnon.
(27) Therefore those who speak in proverbs say: "Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared."
The historical writers among the Amorites, who generally wrote in poetic or proverbial verses, had written about this land they had seized from Moab. "Come into Heshbon", the song or verse began, and let the city of Sihon now be built up and prepared for the new king.
(28) "For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it has consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon."
The song or verse continued. The fire had gone out of Heshbon after Sihon had subdued it. Sihon and his armies had been like a fire that consumed Ar of Moab and all the lords in the high places along the Arnon.
(29) "Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh; he has given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites."
Woe to Moab, the people who worshiped their idol, Chemosh. Chemosh had given his sons and daughters, those who worshiped him, and who had escaped the sword of the Amorites, into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.
(30) "We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished as far as Dibon, and we have laid them waste as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.”
There are two different ways to look at this. The first way is that the song of the Amorites continued. They had shot at the Moabites, and Heshbon was destroyed as far as Dibon, and the land of the Moabites laid waste as far as Nophah. However, according to Aben Ezra, one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators and philosophers of the Middle Ages, the last line had been added by Moses. Although Moab had been undone and taken captive by Sihon, now the Israelites had shot at the Amorites and those Moabites who had been taken captive, and it was Israel that now laid waste Heshbon and their cities. It looks more likely that verse 30 was a continuation of the song of the Amorites by the lyrical way it was written, but I suppose it is possible that Moses added his own verse to their song. The next verse would seem to well follow his lyric:
(31) Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.
Having defeated Sihon who had once defeated the former king of Moab, the Israelites now dwelt in the land of the Amorites.
(32) And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
Moses sent spies to spy out Jazer, apparently another city inhabited by Amorites, perhaps mentioned separately because it was not formerly Moab's. The Israelites then also took the villages of Jazer and drove out the Amorites who were there.
(33) And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.
From Jazer, the Israelites turned back and went by the way of Bashan, a nearer way to the land of Canaan. Og king of Bashan and all his people went out against the Israelites to a battle at Edrei.
(34) And the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.”
The Lord told Moses not to fear Og because He had already determined to deliver him into his hand, and when the Lord determined a thing, it was said to be already done. Og and all his people and land were delivered into Moses's hand, and he would do to them just as he had done with Sihon and his people at Heshbon.
(35) So they smote him, his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive; and they possessed his land.
Indeed, the Israelites slew Og, his sons, and all his people, until there were none of Og's people left alive. Then the Israelites possessed Og's land of Bashan.
Chapter 21 of Numbers, along with excerpts from chapter 33, tell of Israel's emergence from the wilderness into inhabited lands on their way to their promised land. God gave them victories not only over the armies that obstructed their way, but gave them their enemies' countries, which would later become part of their inheritance. These conquests were not without the people's faltering and need for chastisement of the Lord, as the fiery serpents were sent during this time. However, upon their repentance, God directed that a brass serpent be made and put up on a pole, that whoever had been bitten might look up to it and live, a beautiful illustration of Christ. Although the people faltered and sinned, God gave them a path to salvation, and continued to give them victories over their enemies. Matthew Henry made an additional observation about this time before the official delivery of the promised land. He wrote that God "gave Israel these successes, while Moses was yet with them, both for his comfort (that he might see the beginning of that glorious work, which he must not live to see the finishing of) and for the encouragement of the people..."
