Numbers 33:4
in Numbers 33who were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them; for the LORD had executed judgment against their gods.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
while the Egyptians were burying all their first-born, whom Jehovah had smitten among them: upon their gods also Jehovah executed judgments.
KJV
For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the Lord had smitten among them: upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments.
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This verse in Numbers 33
Commentary
5 notes on this verseOn their gods - Their false gods, namely those beasts which the brutish Egyptians worshipped as gods, which were killed with the rest, for the first-born both of men and beasts were then killed.
This site's exposition
under the hand of Moses
on Numbers 33:1-4
The list opens with a statement about itself, that Moses wrote these stages by the commandment of the Lord, so the keeping of the record was commanded work rather than a private memorandum. Verse 4 supplies a line the Exodus account never gave, that upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments, reporting as done what Exodus 12:12 had said would be done. The departure is dated to the fifteenth day of the first month, on the morrow after the passover, and Israel goes out with an high hand while Egypt is burying its firstborn.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(5.) To all the plagues of Egypt it is added here that on their gods also the Lord executed judgments. Their idols which they worshipped, it is probable, were broken down, as Dagon afterwards before the ark, so that they could not consult them about this great affair. To this perhaps there is reference, Isa. xix.
For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the Lord had smitten among them,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
upon their gods--used either according to Scripture phraseology to denote their rulers (the first-born of the king and his princes) or the idolatrous objects of Egyptian worship.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִצְרַ֣יִם | umitzrayim | and Egypt | H4713 → | 70 times |
| מְקַבְּרִ֗ים | mekaberim | [were] burying | H6912 → | 133 times |
| אֵת֩ | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | [those] whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִכָּ֧ה | hikah | he had struck down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בָּהֶ֖ם | bahem | among <the> them | ||
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּכ֑וֹר | bekhor | firstborn | H1060 → | 122 times |
| וּבֵאלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם | uveloheihem | and on gods their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עָשָׂ֥ה | ʾasah | he had done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שְׁפָטִֽים׃ | shefatim | acts of judgment | H8201 → |
וּמִצְרַ֣יִםand Egypt
umitzrayimH4713 →70 times
מְקַבְּרִ֗ים[were] burying
mekaberimH6912 →133 times
אֵת֩<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁ֨ר[those] whom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הִכָּ֧הhe had struck down
hikahH5221 →499 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בָּהֶ֖םamong <the> them
bahem
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּכ֑וֹרfirstborn
bekhorH1060 →122 times
וּבֵאלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔םand on gods their
uveloheihemH430 →2601 times
עָשָׂ֥הhe had done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
שְׁפָטִֽים׃acts of judgment
shefatimH8201 →
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
Exodus 12:12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am…
it leads to
- Psalms 82:6
I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’
- Exodus 12:23
When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow…
- Zephaniah 2:11
The LORD will be terrifying to them when He starves all the gods of the earth. Then the nations of every shore will bow in worship to Him, each in its own place.
- Jeremiah 43:13
He will demolish the sacred pillars of the temple of the sun in the land of Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.’”
- Psalms 82:1
God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods:
- Psalms 82:6
Through
Exodus 18:11Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”
it leads to
- Psalms 95:3
For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.
- Exodus 15:11
Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
- 2 Chronicles 2:5
The house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.
- Psalms 95:3
About Numbers
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.