Numbers 21
Big idea: The book turns. Israel wins its first battle at Hormah, then falls back into the old complaint on the long detour around Edom — our soul loathes this disgusting food — and venomous snakes come among them. The remedy is strange and simple: a bronze serpent on a pole, and everyone who is bitten lives by looking at it. From there the chapter changes key entirely. Israel sings a song at a well, quotes an old war poem, asks Sihon for safe passage and is refused, and this time fights and wins. Og of Bashan comes out and falls too. A generation that could not take a hill country now possesses two kingdoms east of the Jordan — and the difference is not their strength but whose war it is.
Chapter 21 makes Israel a military power on Moab's doorstep. Chapter 22 shows Moab's king reacting the only way he can think of — hiring someone to curse them.
21:1–3 — Hormah, taken at last
The Canaanite king of Arad, hearing Israel came by the way of Atharim, fights against them and takes some captive. Israel vows a vow to Yahweh: if you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. Yahweh listens to the voice of Israel and delivers up the Canaanites; they destroy them and their cities, and the name of the place is called Hormah.
1 The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the South, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim. He fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2 Israel vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” 3 Yahweh listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. The name of the place was called Hormah.
21:4–9 — The bronze serpent
They travel from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea to go around Edom, and the soul of the people is very discouraged because of the journey. They speak against God and against Moses: why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, there is no water, and our soul loathes this disgusting food. Yahweh sends venomous snakes among them and many die. The people come to Moses: we have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh and against you — pray that he take away the serpents. Moses prays. And the answer is not removal but a remedy: make a venomous snake and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. Moses makes a serpent of bronze and sets it on the pole, and whoever looked at it lived.
4 They traveled from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. The soul of the people was very discouraged because of the journey. 5 The people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, there is no water, and our soul loathes this disgusting food!” 6 Yahweh sent venomous snakes among the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died. 7 The people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh, that he take away the serpents from us.” Moses prayed for the people. 8 Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole. It shall happen that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 Moses made a serpent of bronze, and set it on the pole. If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of bronze, he lived.
21:10–20 — Spring up, well!
They travel and encamp at Oboth, Iyeabarim, the valley of Zered, and beyond the Arnon on the Amorite border. The narrator quotes The Book of the Wars of Yahweh on the Arnon's valleys, then brings them to Beer — the well of which Yahweh said, gather the people together and I will give them water. And Israel sings: Spring up, well! Sing to it — the well which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their poles. From the wilderness to Mattanah, to Nahaliel, to Bamoth, to the valley in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah looking down on the desert.
10 The children of Israel traveled, and encamped in Oboth. 11 They traveled from Oboth, and encamped at Iyeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they traveled, and encamped in the valley of Zered. 13 From there they traveled, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that comes out of the border of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in The Book of the Wars of Yahweh, “Vaheb in Suphah, the valleys of the Arnon, 15 the slope of the valleys that incline toward the dwelling of Ar, leans on the border of Moab.” 16 From there they traveled to Beer; that is the well of which Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, well! Sing to it, 18 the well, which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter, and with their poles.” From the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah; 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; 20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks down on the desert.
21:21–35 — Sihon and Og
Israel sends the same courteous request to Sihon king of the Amorites: let us pass through, we will not turn into field or vineyard or drink from the wells; we will go by the king's highway. Sihon refuses, gathers all his people and comes out against Israel at Jahaz. Israel strikes him with the sword and possesses his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and lives in Heshbon and all its villages. The narrator quotes a proverb about Heshbon's own conquest of Moab, then notes that Israel lived in the land of the Amorites and took Jazer. They turn up by the way of Bashan, and Og comes out to battle at Edrei. Yahweh says: don't fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land — do to him as you did to Sihon. So they strike him with his sons and all his people until there are no survivors, and possess his land.
21 Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn away into field or vineyard. We will not drink of the water of the wells. We will go by the king’s highway, until we have passed your border.” 23 Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border, but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz. He fought against Israel. 24 Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, even to the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was fortified. 25 Israel took all these cities. Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to the Arnon. 27 Therefore those who speak in proverbs say, “Come to Heshbon. Let the city of Sihon be built and established; 28 for a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon. It has devoured Ar of Moab, The lords of the high places of the Arnon. 29 Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon king of the Amorites. 30 We have shot at them. Heshbon has perished even to Dibon. We have laid waste even to Nophah, Which reaches to Medeba.” 31 Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 Moses sent to spy out Jazer. They took its villages, and drove out the Amorites who were there. 33 They turned and went up by the way of Bashan. Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 Yahweh said to Moses, “Don’t fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people, and his land. You shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” 35 So they struck him, with his sons and all his people, until there were no survivors; and they possessed his land.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).