Numbers 21:18
in Numbers 21The 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,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The well, which the princes digged, Which the nobles of the people delved, With the sceptre, and with their staves. And from the wilderness they journeyed to Mattanah;
KJV
The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:
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This verse in Numbers 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe princes digged the well - with their staves - This is not easily understood. Who can suppose that the princes dug this well with their staves? And is there any other idea conveyed by our translation? The word חפרו chapharu, which is translated they digged, should be rendered they searched out, which is a frequent meaning of the root; and במשענתם bemishanotham, which we render with their staves, should be translated on their borders or confines, from the root שען shaan, to lie along. With these corrections the whole song may be read thus: - Spring up, O well!
This site's exposition
The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people
on Numbers 21:18-20
The well is given by God and dug by the princes and nobles with their staves, and one verse records both. The phrase by the direction of the lawgiver is read of Moses commanding the work, and it is also read of the ruler's staff, the word Genesis 49:10 puts between Judah's feet, and the older commentators divide over which is meant. The stages end at the top of Pisgah, where Balak will take Balaam at 23:14 and where Moses will be shown the land and die at Deuteronomy 34:1.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): The princes digged the well, the seventy elders, it is probable, by direction of the lawgiver (that is, Moses, under God) with their staves; that is, with their staves they made holes in the soft and sandy ground, and God caused the water miraculously to spring up in the holes which they made.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The princes digged the well,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
WE have remarked in our reading that the children of Israel were continually changing their places and that there was usually a great difference between one station and the next. So, also, we are constantly varying in our experience, and the variations are sometimes exceedingly remarkable. You observe, in the neighborhood of the text, that the people pitched their tents at one time by the brooks of Arnon. There appears to have been an exceedingly abundance of water where they then were, but nevertheless they removed into the wilderness where there was not a single drop to quench their thirst. So is it with us. At one time we are abounding in every good thing, rejoicing "with joy unspeakable and full of glory." And at another time we discover how great our weakness is—faith is at a very low ebb—and joy seems as though the frost of doubt had nipped its root. But, great as the changes of our experience certainly are, our necessities never change. Whether they found water or not, the people always needed water. The great camp must always have a supply, or perish for the lack of it. So, at all hours, and in all places, Believers need the Divine Grace which only their Lord can give them. They carry no stores with them—they are daily dependent upon their God. "All my springs are in You," said David, and every heir of Heaven must experimentally learn this Truth of God. Now there is one thing certain, that although our experiences vary and our necessities remain the same, yet there is something that does not change, namely, the supply which God has provided for our needs. Our experience may be high or low, bright or dark, but JEHOVAH-JIREH is still the name of our God. In the mountain of the Lord it shall be seen, and in the valley, too, that the Lord will provide. As our day, so shall our strength be.
WE have remarked in our reading that the children of Israel were continually changing their places and that there was usually a great difference between one station and the next. So, also, we are constantly varying in our experience, and the variations are sometimes exceedingly remarkable. You observe, in the neighborhood of the text, that the people pitched their tents at one time by the brooks of Arnon. There appears to have been an exceedingly abundance of water where they then were, but nevertheless they removed into the wilderness where there was not a single drop to quench their thirst.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּאֵ֞ר | beer | a well | H875 → | 38 times |
| חֲפָר֣וּהָ | chafaruha | [which] they dug it | H2658 → | |
| שָׂרִ֗ים | sarim | [the] leaders | H8269 → | 421 times |
| כָּר֙וּהָ֙ | karuha | [which] they dug it | H3738 → | |
| נְדִיבֵ֣י | nedivei | [the] noble [people] of | H5081 → | |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בִּמְחֹקֵ֖ק | bimchokek | with a ruler's staff | H2710 → | |
| בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָ֑ם | bemishanotam | with staffs their | H4938 → | |
| וּמִמִּדְבָּ֖ר | umimidbar | and from [the] wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| מַתָּנָֽה׃ | matanah | Mattanah | H4980 → |
בְּאֵ֞רa well
beerH875 →38 times
חֲפָר֣וּהָ[which] they dug it
chafaruhaH2658 →
שָׂרִ֗ים[the] leaders
sarimH8269 →421 times
כָּר֙וּהָ֙[which] they dug it
karuhaH3738 →
נְדִיבֵ֣י[the] noble [people] of
nediveiH5081 →
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
בִּמְחֹקֵ֖קwith a ruler's staff
bimchokekH2710 →
בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָ֑םwith staffs their
bemishanotamH4938 →
וּמִמִּדְבָּ֖רand from [the] wilderness
umimidbarH4057 →270 times
מַתָּנָֽה׃Mattanah
matanahH4980 →
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
John 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
it leads to
- John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Romans 6:14
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
- Romans 3:19–26
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Romans 5:20–21
The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
- John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- John 14:6
Through
Isaiah 33:22For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.
it leads to
- Acts 5:31
God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
- James 4:12
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
- Zephaniah 3:15–17
The LORD has taken away your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. Israel’s King, the LORD, is among you; no longer will you fear any harm.
- Acts 5:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 776: “A Song at the Wellhead” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.