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Text -- Numbers 20:1-29 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
The Israelites Complain Again
20:1 Then the entire community of Israel entered the wilderness of Zin in the first month , and the people stayed in Kadesh . Miriam died and was buried there .
20:2 And there was no water for the community , and so they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron .
20:3 The people contended with Moses , saying , “If only we had died when our brothers died before the Lord !
20:4 Why have you brought up the Lord’s community into this wilderness ? So that we and our cattle should die here ?
20:5 Why have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring us to this dreadful place ? It is no place for grain , or figs , or vines , or pomegranates ; nor is there any water to drink !”
Moses Responds
20:6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting . They then threw themselves down with their faces to the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
20:7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses :
20:8 “Take the staff and assemble the community , you and Aaron your brother , and then speak to the rock before their eyes . It will pour forth its water , and you will bring water out of the rock for them, and so you will give the community and their beasts water to drink .”
20:9 So Moses took the staff from before the Lord , just as he commanded him.
20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community together in front of the rock , and he said to them, “Listen , you rebels , must we bring water out of this rock for you?”
20:11 Then Moses raised his hand , and struck the rock twice with his staff . And water came out abundantly . So the community drank, and their beasts drank too.
The Lord’s Judgment
20:12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron , “Because you did not trust me enough to show me as holy before the Israelites , therefore you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.”
20:13 These are the waters of Meribah , because the Israelites contended with the Lord , and his holiness was maintained among them.
Rejection by the Edomites
20:14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom : “Thus says your brother Israel : ‘You know all the hardships we have experienced ,
20:15 how our ancestors went down into Egypt , and we lived in Egypt a long time , and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly .
20:16 So when we cried to the Lord , he heard our voice and sent a messenger , and has brought us up out of Egypt . Now we are here in Kadesh , a town on the edge of your country .
20:17 Please let us pass through your country . We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards , nor will we drink water from any well . We will go by the King’s Highway ; we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region .’”
20:18 But Edom said to him, “You will not pass through me, or I will come out against you with the sword .”
20:19 Then the Israelites said to him, “We will go along the highway , and if we or our cattle drink any of your water , we will pay for it . We will only pass through on our feet , without doing anything else.”
20:20 But he said , “You may not pass through .” Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful force . force .
20:21 So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border ; therefore Israel turned away from him.
Aaron’s Death
20:22 So the entire company of Israelites traveled from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor .
20:23 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor , by the border of the land of Edom . He said :
20:24 “Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors , for he will not enter into the land I have given to the Israelites because both of you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah .
20:25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son , and bring them up on Mount Hor .
20:26 Remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on Eleazar his son , and Aaron will be gathered to his ancestors and will die there .”
20:27 So Moses did as the Lord commanded ; and they went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community .
20:28 And Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar . So Aaron died there on the top of the mountain . And Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain .
20:29 When all the community saw that Aaron was dead , the whole house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Aaron |
Moses |
Exodus |
NUMBERS, BOOK OF |
JEPHTHAH |
PENTATEUCH, 2B |
Meribah |
Israel |
Hor |
MASSAH AND MERIBAH |
PENTATEUCH, 2A |
Trouble |
CRITICISM |
Quotations and Allusions |
PENTATEUCH, 3 |
Eleazar |
Edom |
OBADIAH, BOOK OF |
Death |
Kadesh |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Num 20:1; Num 20:1; Num 20:1; Num 20:1; Num 20:1; Num 20:3; Num 20:3; Num 20:3; Num 20:4; Num 20:4; Num 20:5; Num 20:5; Num 20:8; Num 20:8; Num 20:10; Num 20:10; Num 20:12; Num 20:12; Num 20:12; Num 20:12; Num 20:12; Num 20:13; Num 20:14; Num 20:14; Num 20:14; Num 20:14; Num 20:15; Num 20:15; Num 20:16; Num 20:16; Num 20:16; Num 20:17; Num 20:17; Num 20:17; Num 20:18; Num 20:18; Num 20:19; Num 20:20; Num 20:20; Num 20:22; Num 20:22; Num 20:24; Num 20:24; Num 20:24; Num 20:26; Num 20:26; Num 20:27
NET Notes: Num 20:1 The death of Miriam is recorded without any qualifications or epitaph. In her older age she had been self-willed and rebellious, and so no doubt humbl...
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NET Notes: Num 20:3 The particle לוּ (lu) indicates the optative nuance of the line – the wishing or longing for death. It is certainly an absurdi...
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NET Notes: Num 20:4 The clause uses the infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition. The clause would be a result clause in this sentence: “Why have y...
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NET Notes: Num 20:5 Here also the infinitive construct (Hiphil) forms the subordinate clause of the preceding interrogative clause.
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NET Notes: Num 20:8 Heb “give.” The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive, as are the next two in the verse. These are not now equal to the...
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NET Notes: Num 20:10 The word order and the emphasis of the tense are important to this passage. The word order is “from this rock must we bring out to you water?...
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NET Notes: Num 20:12 There is debate as to exactly what the sin of Moses was. Some interpreters think that the real sin might have been that he refused to do this at first...
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NET Notes: Num 20:13 The form is unusual – it is the Niphal preterite, and not the normal use of the Piel/Pual stem for “sanctify/sanctified.” The basic ...
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NET Notes: Num 20:15 The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) means “to act or do evil.” Evil here is in the sense of causing pain or t...
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NET Notes: Num 20:19 The Hebrew text uses singular pronouns, “I” and “my,” but it is the people of Israel that are intended, and so it may be rende...
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NET Notes: Num 20:20 Heb “with many [heavy] people and with a strong hand.” The translation presented above is interpretive, but that is what the line means. I...
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NET Notes: Num 20:22 The traditional location for this is near Petra (Josephus, Ant. 4.4.7). There is serious doubt about this location since it is well inside Edomite ter...
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NET Notes: Num 20:26 Heb “will be gathered”; this is a truncated form of the usual expression “gathered to his ancestors,” found in v. 24. The phra...
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