Numbers 22:3
in Numbers 22and Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous. Indeed, Moab dreaded the Israelites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
KJV
And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
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This verse in Numbers 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
camped in the plains of Moab
on Numbers 22:1-3
The plains of Moab are the camp for the rest of the book, where every remaining law, census and ruling is given. Israel sits there under Deuteronomy 2:9, Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war. Moab was terrified anyway, and that fear starts the next three chapters.
This site's exposition
Moab dreaded the Israelites
John Wesley reads the dread as a promise kept, foretold of all nations at Deuteronomy 2:25 and of Moab at Exodus 15:15. John Calvin notes the fear had no ground, since God had exempted Moab. He adds that it spread from the king to the nation, then drew in Midian.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): They were many; and hence infer how easily they would conquer their country, and all about them if some speedy and effectual course were not taken to stop the progress of their victorious arms: "They shall lick up or devour us, and all that are round about us, as speedily and irresistibly as the ox eats up the grass " (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And Moab was sore afraid of the people,....
They needed not to fear any harm from them if they knew (and it is probable that Moses let them know) the orders God had given to Israel not to contend with the Moabites, nor to use any hostility against them, Deut. ii. But, if they had any notice of this, they were jealous that it was but a sham, to make them secure, that they might be the more easily conquered.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֨גָר | vaiyagor | and it was afraid | H1481 → | 97 times |
| מוֹאָ֜ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֥י | mipenei | <from> because of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָעָ֛ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מְאֹ֖ד | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רַב־ | rav- | [was] numerous | H7227 → | 454 times |
| ה֑וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וַיָּ֣קָץ | vaiyakotz | and it felt dread | H6973 → | |
| מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֖י | mipenei | <from> because of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיָּ֨גָרand it was afraid
vaiyagorH1481 →97 times
מוֹאָ֜בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
מִפְּנֵ֥י<from> because of
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
הָעָ֛םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
מְאֹ֖דexceedingly
meodH3966 →300 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
רַב־[was] numerous
rav-H7227 →454 times
ה֑וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וַיָּ֣קָץand it felt dread
vaiyakotzH6973 →
מוֹאָ֔בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
מִפְּנֵ֖י<from> because of
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 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
Deuteronomy 2:25This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.”
it leads to
- Exodus 15:14–16
The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 11:25
No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.
- Deuteronomy 28:10
Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you.
- Exodus 23:27
I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
- Joshua 9:24
The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we…
- Exodus 15:14–16
Through
Exodus 15:15Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,
it leads to
- Joshua 5:1
Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until…
- Joshua 2:9
and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting…
- Joshua 5:1
Through
Joshua 9:24The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 20:15–17
This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.
- Deuteronomy 20:15–17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.