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Key: khaki:verbs.
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).
BrLXXΚαὶ ἐποίησε Μωυσῆς ὄφιν χαλκοῦν, καὶ ἔστησεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ σημείου· καὶ ἐγένετο ὅταν ἔδακνεν ὄφις ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὸν ὄφιν τὸν χαλκοῦν, καὶ ἔζη. (Kai epoiaʸse Mōusaʸs ofin ⱪalkoun, kai estaʸsen auton epi saʸmeiou; kai egeneto hotan edaknen ofis anthrōpon, kai epeblepsen epi ton ofin ton ⱪalkoun, kai ezaʸ. )
BrTrAnd Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a signal-staff: and it came to pass that whenever a serpent bit a man, and he looked on the brazen serpent, he lived.
ULTAnd Moses made a snake of bronze, and he set it on the pole. And it happened that if the snake bit a man, then he looked to the snake of bronze, and he lived.
USTSo Moses made a snake from bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Then, when those who had been bitten by a snake looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!
BSBSo Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live.
NETSo Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole, so that if a snake had bitten someone, when he looked at the bronze snake he lived.
LSVAnd Moses makes a serpent of bronze, and sets it on the ensign, and it has been, if the serpent has bitten any man, and he has looked expectingly to the serpent of bronze—he has lived.
FBVMoses made a snake out of bronze and put it on a pole. Those who looked at it did live.
T4TSo Moses/I made a snake from bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Then, when those who had been bitten by a snake looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!
LEBSo Moses made a snake of bronze, and he placed it on the pole; whenever[fn] a snake bit someone, and that person looked at the snake of bronze, he lived.
JPSAnd Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the pole; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.
ASVAnd Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.
DRAMoses therefore made a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: which when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed.
YLTAnd Moses maketh a serpent of brass, and setteth it on the ensign, and it hath been, if the serpent hath bitten any man, and he hath looked expectingly unto the serpent of brass — he hath lived.
DrbyAnd Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole; and it came to pass, if a serpent had bitten any man, and he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
RVAnd Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.
WbstrAnd Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
KJB-1769And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
KJB-1611[fn]And Moses made a serpent of brasse, and put it vpon a pole, and it came to passe, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when hee beheld the serpent of brasse, he liued. (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)
BshpsAnd Moyses made a serpent of brasse, and set it vpon a pole: and when the serpent had bitten any man, he behelde the serpent of brasse, and lyued. (And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon a pole: and when the serpent had bitten any man, he beheld the serpent of brass, and lived.)
GnvaSo Moses made a serpent of brasse, and set it vp for a signe: and when a serpent had bitten a man, then he looked to the serpent of brasse, and liued. (So Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it up for a signe: and when a serpent had bitten a man, then he looked to the serpent of brass, and lived. )
CvdlThen made Moses a serpent of brasse, and set it vp for a token: and whan a serpent had bytten eny man, he behelde the brasen serpente, and recouered. (Then made Moses a serpent of brass, and set it up for a token: and when a serpent had bytten any man, he beheld the brasen serpente, and recovered.)
WyclTherfor Moyses made a serpent of bras, and settide for a signe; and men smytun and biholdynge it, weren heelid. (Therefore Moses made a serpent of brass, and set for a signe; and men smytun and biholdynge it, were healed.)
LuthDa machte Mose eine eherne Schlange und richtete sie auf zum Zeichen; und wenn jemanden eine Schlange biß, so sah er die eherne Schlange an und blieb leben. (So made Mose one eherne Schlange and richtete they/she/them on for_the Zeichen; and when yemanden one Schlange biß, so saw he the eherne Schlange at and blieb life.)
ClVgFecit ergo Moyses serpentem æneum, et posuit eum pro signo: quem cum percussi aspicerent, sanabantur. (Fecit therefore Moyses serpentem æneum, and put him for signo: which when/with percussi aspicerent, sanabantur. )
21:4-9 The “vow to the Lord” and consequent victory (21:2-3) did not eliminate Israel’s criticisms against God and Moses, even though the long journey was punishment for the same kind of complaining (14:26-35).
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).
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_made Mosheh snake copper/brass/bronze//coin and,set,it on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in the,pole and=it_was if bit the=snake DOM (a)_man and,looked to/towards snake the,bronze and,lived )
Alternate translation: “a snake out of bronze”
(Occurrence 0) if he looked at the bronze snake, he survived
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_made Mosheh snake copper/brass/bronze//coin and,set,it on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in the,pole and=it_was if bit the=snake DOM (a)_man and,looked to/towards snake the,bronze and,lived )
Here “he” refers to “any person” who was bitten by a snake.
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.
