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parallelVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
Num Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31 C32 C33 C34 C35 C36
Num 21 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34 V35
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET-LV And_sent YHWH in/on/at/with_people DOM the_poisonous_snakes the_venomous and_bit DOM the_people and_he/it_died a_people numerous of_Yisrāʼēl/(Israel).
UHB וַיְשַׁלַּ֨ח יְהוָ֜ה בָּעָ֗ם אֵ֚ת הַנְּחָשִׁ֣ים הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים וַֽיְנַשְּׁכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיָּ֥מָת עַם־רָ֖ב מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ‡
(vayəshallaḩ yhwh bāˊām ʼēt hannəḩāshim hassərāfim vayənashshəkū ʼet-hāˊām vayyāmāt ˊam-rāⱱ miyyisrāʼēl.)
Key: khaki:verbs, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXX Καὶ ἀπέστειλε Κύριος εἰς τὸν λαὸν τοὺς ὄφεις τοὺς θανατοῦντας, καὶ ἔδακνον τὸν λαόν, καὶ ἀπέθανε λαὸς πολὺς τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ.
(Kai apesteile Kurios eis ton laon tous ofeis tous thanatountas, kai edaknon ton laon, kai apethane laos polus tōn huiōn Israaʸl. )
BrTr And the Lord sent among the people deadly serpents, and they bit the people, and much people of the children of Israel died.
ULT And Yahweh sent snakes, fiery ones, among the people and they bit the people, and many people from Israel died.
UST So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among them. Many of the people were bitten by the snakes and died.
BSB § So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.
OEB No OEB NUM book available
WEBBE The LORD sent venomous snakes amongst the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died.
LSV And YHWH sends the burning serpents among the people, and they bite the people, and many people of Israel die;
FBV So the Lord sent poisonous snakes to attack them, and many Israelites were bitten and died.
T4T So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among them. Many of the people were bitten by the snakes and died.
LEB And Yahweh sent among the people poisonous snakes; they bit the people, and many people from Israel died.
BBE Then the Lord sent poison-snakes among the people; and their bites were a cause of death to numbers of the people of Israel.
Moff No Moff NUM book available
JPS And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
ASV And Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
DRA Wherefore the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, which bit them and killed many of them.
YLT And Jehovah sendeth among the people the burning serpents, and they bite the people, and much people of Israel die;
Drby Then Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, which bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
RV And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
Wbstr And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died.
KJB-1769 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
KJB-1611 [fn]And the LORD sent fierie serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died.
21:6 Wisd.16. 1, 5. 1.cor. 10.9.
Bshps Wherfore the Lorde sent fierie serpentes among the people, which stong them: and much people of Israel dyed.
(Wherefore the Lord sent fierie serpentes among the people, which stong them: and much people of Israel died.)
Gnva Wherefore the Lord sent fierie serpents among ye people, which stung the people: so that many of the people of Israel died.
(Wherefore the Lord sent fierie serpents among ye/you_all people, which stung the people: so that many of the people of Israel died. )
Cvdl Than sent the LORDE fyrie serpentes amonge the people, which bote the peple, so that there dyed moch people in Israel.
(Than sent the LORD fyrie serpentes among the people, which bote the peple, so that there died much people in Israel.)
Wycl Wherfor the Lord sente `firid serpentis in to the puple; at the woundis of whiche serpentis, and the dethis of ful many men,
(Wherfor the Lord sent `firid serpentis in to the people; at the woundis of which serpentis, and the deathis of full many men,)
Luth Da sandte der HErr feurige Schlangen unter das Volk; die bissen das Volk, daß ein groß Volk in Israel starb.
(So sent the/of_the LORD feurige Schlangen under the people; the bissen the people, that a large people in Israel died.)
ClVg Quam ob rem misit Dominus in populum ignitos serpentes, ad quorum plagas et mortes plurimorum,
(Quam ob rem he_sent Master in the_people ignitos serpentes, to quorum plagas and mortes plurimorum, )
21:6 This whole region provided (and still provides) habitat for extremely poisonous snakes (cp. Isa 30:6).
The Bronze Snake
Numbers 21:4-9 contains one of many incidents in which the Israelites spoke against God and Moses. When the Israelites complained about their lack of food and water and “this horrible manna” (21:5), the Lord sent poisonous snakes that fatally bit many of the people (cp. Deut 8:15). When the Israelites realized their mistake in speaking against God as well as against Moses, they asked Moses to pray that the Lord would remove the snakes. In response, God instructed Moses to make a bronze replica of a snake; whenever the afflicted would look upon the snake, they would be healed (Num 21:8). What kind of medical treatment was this? The power came from God, but it required an act of faith to look at the bronze image and trust that God would heal. Just as the serpent bites resulted from God’s wrath, the Lord provided deliverance through his own gracious will (see Wisdom of Solomon 16:5-7).
When Hezekiah became king of Judah in 715 BC, the Israelites had begun using Moses’ bronze serpent as an idol (see 2 Kgs 18:1-4). They had probably kept the image as a reminder of God’s power, just as they kept other artifacts from the wilderness period (see Deut 10:5; Heb 9:4-5). But they began worshiping it as another deity, so it had to be destroyed like other pagan shrines and sacred pillars. Such idolatry is a serious threat to the worship of the one true God (cp. Exod 32).
Jesus referred to the incident of the bronze snake to predict the manner of his execution: He would be “lifted up” on the cross just as Moses had lifted up the snake on a pole (John 3:14-15; see also 8:28; 12:32-33). The metal image of a snake offered an antidote to injected venom; by analogy, those who look at the cross and accept God’s sacrifice lay claim to an eternal promise (John 3:14-16). The Lord sent the serpents to punish Israel because they complained about the manna God had sent them in the wilderness (Num 21:4-9). Jesus referred to himself as the “true bread from heaven,” the manna that provides life for his people (John 6:32-40).
Passages for Further Study
Num 21:4-9; 2 Kgs 18:1-4; John 3:14-15; 6:32-40; 8:28; 12:30-34
Numbers 13-14; 20-21; 33; Deuteronomy 1-2; 10:6-9
After the Israelites received the law on Mount Sinai, which may have been located at Khashm et-Tarif (see also “The Route of the Exodus”), they traveled to Kadesh-barnea, a distance that took eleven days “by the way of Mount Seir” (Deuteronomy 1:2). The phrase “by the way of Mount Seir” suggests that more than one route existed between Mount Sinai and Kadesh, as shown here, but the road the Israelites took probably ran alongside the mountainous region of Seir. This route would have offered greater access to water from wells, natural springs, and seasonal streams flowing from the hills of Seir–a critical necessity for a large group traveling through this very arid region. Nearly every location identified on this map was essentially a small community centered around one of these life-enabling sources of water. After reaching Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, the Israelites prepared to enter Canaan by sending spies to scout out the land. But when ten of the twelve spies brought back news about the strength of the Canaanites, the people became afraid to enter the land, so the Lord punished them by condemning them to travel in the wilderness for forty years until that generation died off. Some Israelites repented and tried to enter the land, but they were beaten back to Hormah by the Amalekites and Canaanites. So for forty years the Israelites traveled from place to place, probably in the general area of Kadesh-barnea, though very few locations mentioned are able to be established with much certainty. As the forty years of traveling drew to a close, the Israelites prepared again to travel to Canaan by requesting permission from the king of Edom to pass through his land. When the king refused, the Israelites “turned away” from the Edomites and set out from Kadesh to travel to Mount Hor. The Jewish historian Josephus located Mount Hor at Jebel Nebi Harun, a very tall mountain in eastern Edom, but this has been rejected by many scholars in favor of other sites such as Jebel Madeira to the northeast of Kadesh. This author is convinced, however, that any candidate for Mount Hor must be sought to the south of Kadesh-barnea. Numbers 33:30 and Deuteronomy 10:6 mention that, during their wilderness travels, the Israelites camped at Moseroth/Moserah, which was apparently located at Mount Hor, since both Moseroth/Moserah and Mount Hor are cited as the place where Aaron died (Numbers 21:29-29; 33:37-39; Deuteronomy 10:6-9). It is difficult to envision the Israelites traveling back to the edge of Canaan after suffering defeat there the last time they attempted to enter the land. These same passages also note that after their stay at Moseroth/Moserah the Israelites traveled to Hor-haggidgad/Gudgodah (probably located along the Wadi Khadakhid) and then to Jotbathah, with no mention of passing through Kadesh, which they would have had to do if Mount Hor was north of Kadesh (since they were avoiding the land of Edom). Also, in Deuteronomy 2:1 Moses says that after the Israelites left Kadesh, “we journeyed back into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me and skirted Mount Seir for many days,” and Aaron’s death on Mount Hor fits best during this time. Similarly, Numbers 21:4 says “from Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom,” but there would have been no way to the Red Sea around the land of Edom if Mount Hor were located northeast of Kadesh. One element of the wilderness narratives that appears to favor a northeast location for Mount Hor, however, is the story of the king of Arad, which the book of Numbers (chapters 21 and 33) places immediately after the death of Aaron on Mount Hor. At first glance, the narrative seems to imply that the king attacked the Israelites at Mount Hor, which fits better with a northern location. Yet, it is also possible that the story is simply noting that it was after the Israelites’ arrival at Mount Hor that the king of Arad first learned of the Israelites’ renewed intentions to enter Canaan, perhaps as a result of their request to pass through Edom. But it may have been later that the king of Arad actually engaged them in battle, perhaps as they were passing north of Zalmonah and appeared to be ready to enter Canaan by way of Arad (see Numbers 33:41-42 and the map “The Journey to Abel-shittim”). For these reasons, this author believes that Har Karkom is the best candidate for the location of Mount Hor. The site is appropriately located at the edge of Seir and along the way to the Red Sea. This site’s role as an ancient cultic center is also well established. Perhaps Aaron’s priestly duties and authority in Israel had grown out of a similar role he had previously held at Mount Hor (see also Numbers 12:1-2; Deuteronomy 33:2; Judges 5:4-5), where he was eventually buried.