Numbers 20:2
in Numbers 20Now there was no water for the congregation, so they gathered against Moses and Aaron.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there was no water for the congregation: and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
KJV
And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
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This verse in Numbers 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd there was no water for the congregation - The same occurrence took place to the children of Israel at Kadesh, as did formerly to their fathers at Rephidim, see Exo 17:1; and as the fathers murmured, so also did the children.
This site's exposition
And there was no water for the congregation
on Numbers 20:2-3
Exodus 17:1-7 is the first Meribah and this is the second, the same complaint at the start of the wandering and at the end of it. The verb behind chode is rib, to bring a suit, and it is the root of the name given to the place at verse 13. Their wish, that they had died when their brethren died before the Lord, takes its sense from 16:49 and from the sentence of 14:29, so the second generation asks to be given what the first was given.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And there was no water for the congregation,.... Which was so ordered, for the trial of this new generation, to see whether they would behave any better than their fathers had done in a like circumstance, the first year they came out of Egypt, Exo 17:1. and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron; just as their fathers had done before them, being of the like temper and disposition.
But in this place it fell out that there was no water, or not sufficient for the congregation. Note, We live in a wanting world, and, wherever we are, must expect to meet with some inconvenience or other. It is a great mercy to have plenty of water, a mercy which if we found the want of we should own the worth of.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there was no water for the congregation--There was at Kadesh a fountain, En-Mishpat (Ge 14:7), and at the first encampment of the Israelites there was no want of water.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The language of the murmurers is noteworthy. It has the air of a traditional remonstrance handed down from the last generation. Compare marginal references.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The entire community of Bnei Yisroel came to the wilderness of Tzin, in the first month.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָ֥יָה | hayah | it belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מַ֖יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| לָעֵדָ֑ה | laedah | to the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
| וַיִּקָּ֣הֲל֔וּ | vaiyikahalu | and they assembled | H6950 → | 39 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֖ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וְעַֽל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אַהֲרֹֽן׃ | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָ֥יָהit belonged
hayahH1961 →3559 times
מַ֖יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
לָעֵדָ֑הto the congregation
laedahH5712 →149 times
וַיִּקָּ֣הֲל֔וּand they assembled
vaiyikahaluH6950 →39 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מֹשֶׁ֖הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וְעַֽל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
אַהֲרֹֽן׃Aaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 16:19When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation.
it leads to
- Numbers 14:10
But the whole congregation threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 14:10
Through
Numbers 16:3They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves! For everyone in the entire congregation is holy, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then…
it leads to
- Psalms 106:16
In the camp they envied Moses, as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.
- Exodus 19:6
And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”
- Psalms 106:16
Through
Numbers 16:42But when the congregation gathered against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the Tent of Meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared.
it leads to
- Leviticus 9:23
Moses and Aaron then entered the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 16:19
When Korah had gathered his whole assembly against them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the LORD appeared to the whole congregation.
- Exodus 16:10
And as Aaron was speaking to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the desert, and there in a cloud the glory of the LORD appeared.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 9:23
Through
Exodus 16:2And there in the desert they all grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
it leads to
- Exodus 15:24
So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
- 1 Corinthians 10:10
And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel.
- Exodus 15:24
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.