Numberschapter 21

The Bronze Serpent — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

A.A vow, and the place called Hormahvv. 1-3

1 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked Israel and captured some prisoners. 2 So Israel made a vow to the LORD: “If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction.” 3 And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah.

B.Look at the serpent of brass and livevv. 4-9

4 Then they set out from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, in order to bypass the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient on the journey 5 and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” 6 So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses interceded for the people. 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live.

C.Spring up, O well — songs on the marchvv. 10-20

10 Then the Israelites set out and camped at Oboth. 11 They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the wilderness opposite Moab to the east. 12 From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: “Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon, 15 even the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.” 16 From there they went on to Beer, the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people so that I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well, all of you sing to it! 18 The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with their scepters and with their staffs.” From the wilderness the Israelites went on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.

D.Sihon of Heshbon fallsvv. 21-32

21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. 24 And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified. 25 Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages. 26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon. 27 That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored. 28 For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights. 29 Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites. 30 But we have overthrown them; Heshbon is destroyed as far as Dibon. We demolished them as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.” 31 So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.

E.Og of Bashan fallsvv. 33-35

33 Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet them in battle at Edrei. 34 But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” 35 So they struck down Og, along with his sons and his whole army, until no remnant was left. And they took possession of his land.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

Bronze serpent.

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Bronze serpent. Arad king attacks and is vowed and destroyed. The people speak against God and Moses. The food they loathe. And fiery serpents are sent; many die. Moses prays; the LORD instructs him to make a serpent of brass and set it on a pole; whoever is bitten and looks at it lives. Then the northern march. Oboth, Iye-abarim, Zered, Arnon. A song of the well. Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan defeated. The land east of Jordan taken. John 3:14–15: ‘as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life’.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Law · Moses — Numbers overview

A. 1–3 A vow, and the place called Hormah
B. 4–9 Look at the serpent of brass and live
C. 10–20 Spring up, O well — songs on the march
D. 21–32 Sihon of Heshbon falls
E. 33–35 Og of Bashan falls

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Judges 115 verses
- Judges 11:18Then Israel traveled through the wilderness and bypassed the lands of Edom and Moab. They came to the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, since the Arnon was its border.
- Judges 11:19And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land into our own place.’
- Judges 11:20But Sihon would not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So he gathered all his people, encamped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.
- Judges 11:24Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us.
- Judges 11:30Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand,
- Read Judges 11 →
Deuteronomy 25 verses
- Deuteronomy 2:9Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
- Deuteronomy 2:13“Now arise and cross over the Brook of Zered.” So we crossed over the Brook of Zered.
- Deuteronomy 2:18“Today you are going to cross the border of Moab at Ar.
- Deuteronomy 2:24“Arise, set out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.
- Deuteronomy 2:26So from the Wilderness of Kedemoth I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon, saying,
- Read Deuteronomy 2 →
Jeremiah 485 verses
- Jeremiah 48:18Come down from your glory; sit on parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.
- Jeremiah 48:22upon Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,
- Jeremiah 48:32I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah, more than I weep for Jazer. Your tendrils have extended to the sea; they reach even to Jazer. The destroyer has descended on your summer fruit and grape harvest.
- Jeremiah 48:45“Those who flee will stand helpless in Heshbon’s shadow, because fire has gone forth from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It devours the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons of tumult.
- Jeremiah 48:46Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh have perished; for your sons have been taken into exile and your daughters have gone into captivity.
- Read Jeremiah 48 →
Numbers 324 verses
- Numbers 32:1Now the Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, and they saw that the region was suitable for livestock.
- Numbers 32:7Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land that the LORD has given them?
- Numbers 32:33So Moses gave to the Gadites, to the Reubenites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the land including its cities and the territory surrounding them.
- Numbers 32:35Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,
- Read Numbers 32 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Numbers 214 verses
- Numbers 21:14Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: “Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon,
- Numbers 21:15even the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.”
- Numbers 21:24And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified.
- Numbers 21:28For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights.
- Read Numbers 21 →
Numbers 204 verses
- Numbers 20:8“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”
- Numbers 20:14From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,
- Numbers 20:17Please let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”
- Numbers 20:21So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their territory, and Israel turned away from them.
- Read Numbers 20 →
Numbers 333 verses
- Numbers 33:40Now the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.
- Numbers 33:43They set out from Punon and camped at Oboth.
- Numbers 33:49And there on the plains of Moab they camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim.
- Read Numbers 33 →
Deuteronomy 13 verses
- Deuteronomy 1:4This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and then at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.
- Deuteronomy 1:5On the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:
- Deuteronomy 1:44Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah.
- Read Deuteronomy 1 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.