Full Num 21:4–9 with the Edom-detour context (Num 20:14–21). Hebrew key terms: saraph (fiery serpent); nahash nehoshet (bronze serpent). Cross-references to Gen 3 (the Eden serpent as judgment-symbol) and 1 Cor 10:9–11 (Paul's application of the wilderness generation to the church). Featured voice: Spurgeon, The Mysteries of the Brazen Serpent (1857).
Numbers 21 — The Wilderness Incident
Israel grumbles; fiery serpents bite; Moses is commanded to lift bronze.
Primary passage:Numbers 21:9 →
Commentary
Featured voice
John Calvin
Commentaries
1. And when king Arad the Canaanite. It is not altogether agreed among commentators who this king Arad was. Some think that he was an Amalekite, but this error is refuted by the fact that the Amalekites had already attempted in vain to interrupt the journey of the people. Nor…
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