Numbers 20:18
in Numbers 20But Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against thee.
KJV
And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
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This verse in Numbers 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd Edom said unto him,.... The king of Edom replied to Israel, represented by the messengers sent in their name: thou shall not pass by me; through my country: lest I come out against thee with the sword; or with those that use the sword, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; that is, with an army of soldiers with their drawn swords in their hands, to slay them as enemies.
This site's exposition
Please let us pass through your land
on Numbers 20:17-19
The terms give away every advantage a passing army has: the King’s Highway, no field or vineyard, not to the right or to the left. When Edom refuses, Israel offers to pay for water the first message had waived.
This site's exposition
or we will come out and confront you with the sword
Isaac had told Esau at Genesis 27:40 that he would live by the sword, and his descendants meet Jacob's with it here. John Gill reports the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan reading the sword as an army of swordsmen. Verse 20 shows that army on the road.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Edom, that is, the king of Edom, as protector of his country, said, Thou shalt not pass by me; and, when the ambassadors urged it further, he repeated the denial (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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. Before the Lord - Suddenly, rather than to die such a lingering death. Their sin was much greater than that of their parents, because they should have taken warning by their miscarriages, and by the terrible effects of them, which their eyes had seen.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and it said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָיו֙ | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֱד֔וֹם | ʾedom | Edom | H123 → | 99 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַעֲבֹ֖ר | taavor | you will pass | H5674 → | 556 times |
| בִּ֑י | bi | in <the> me | ||
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| בַּחֶ֖רֶב | bacherev | with the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| אֵצֵ֥א | ʾetze' | I should come out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| לִקְרָאתֶֽךָ׃ | likratecha | to meet you | H7122 → | 139 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand it said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָיו֙to him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֱד֔וֹםEdom
ʾedomH123 →99 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תַעֲבֹ֖רyou will pass
taavorH5674 →556 times
בִּ֑יin <the> me
bi
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
בַּחֶ֖רֶבwith the sword
bacherevH2719 →413 times
אֵצֵ֥אI should come out
ʾetze'H3318 →1067 times
לִקְרָאתֶֽךָ׃to meet you
likratechaH7122 →139 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
On this verse
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.