Text -- Numbers 33:17-56 (NET)

33:17 They traveled from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. 33:18 They traveled from Hazeroth and camped in Rithmah. 33:19 They traveled from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. 33:20 They traveled from Rimmon-perez and camped in Libnah. 33:21 They traveled from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 33:22 They traveled from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah. 33:23 They traveled from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 33:24 They traveled from Mount Shepher and camped in Haradah. 33:25 They traveled from Haradah and camped in Makheloth. 33:26 They traveled from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 33:27 They traveled from Tahath and camped at Terah. 33:28 They traveled from Terah and camped in Mithcah. 33:29 They traveled from Mithcah and camped in Hashmonah. 33:30 They traveled from Hashmonah and camped in Moseroth. 33:31 They traveled from Moseroth and camped in Bene-jaakan. 33:32 They traveled from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. 33:33 They traveled from Hor-haggidgad and camped in Jotbathah. 33:34 They traveled from Jotbathah and camped in Abronah. 33:35 They traveled from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. 33:36 They traveled from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.

Wanderings from Kadesh to Moab

33:37 They traveled from Kadesh and camped in Mount Hor at the edge of the land of Edom. 33:38 Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the command of the Lord, and he died there in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt on the first day of the fifth month. 33:39 Now Aaron was 123 years old when he died in Mount Hor. 33:40 The king of Arad, the Canaanite king who lived in the south of the land of Canaan, heard about the approach of the Israelites. 33:41 They traveled from Mount Hor and camped in Zalmonah. 33:42 They traveled from Zalmonah and camped in Punon. 33:43 They traveled from Punon and camped in Oboth. 33:44 They traveled from Oboth and camped in Iye-abarim, on the border of Moab. 33:45 They traveled from Iim and camped in Dibon-gad. 33:46 They traveled from Dibon-gad and camped in Almon-diblathaim. 33:47 They traveled from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim before Nebo. 33:48 They traveled from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River across from Jericho. 33:49 They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

At the Border of Canaan

33:50 The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. He said: 33:51 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 33:52 you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images, all their molten images, and demolish their high places. 33:53 You must dispossess the inhabitants of the land and live in it, for I have given you the land to possess it. 33:54 You must divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families. To a larger group you must give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group you must give a smaller inheritance. Everyone’s inheritance must be in the place where his lot falls. You must inherit according to your ancestral tribes. 33:55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those whom you allow to remain will be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your side, and will cause you trouble in the land where you will be living. 33:56 And what I intended to do to them I will do to you.”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Num 33:48

The place where the people sinned in the matter of Peor, is here called Abel - Shittim - Abel signifies mourning; and probably this place was so called, from the mourning of Israel for that sin, and the heavy punishment inflicted on the sinners.

Wesley: Num 33:52

Not by banishing, but by destroying them.

Wesley: Num 33:52

Which seem to have been stones curiously engraven, and set up for worship.

Wesley: Num 33:52

Chapels, altars, groves, or other means of worship there set up.

JFB: Num 33:18

A station possibly in some wady extending westward of the Ghor.

JFB: Num 33:19

A city of Judah and Simeon (Jos 15:32); Libnah, so called from its white poplars (Jos 10:29), or, as some think, a white hill between Kadesh and Gaza (Jos 10:29); Rissah (El-arish); mount Shapher (Cassius); Moseroth, adjacent to mount Hor, in Wady Mousa. Ezion-geber, near Akaba, a seaport on the western shore of the Elanitic gulf; Wilderness of Zin, on the east side of the peninsula of Sinai; Punon, in the rocky ravines of mount Hor and famous for the mines and quarries in its vicinity as well as for its fruit trees, now Tafyle, on the border of Edom; Abarim, a ridge of rugged hills northwest of the Arnon--the part called Nebo was one of its highest peaks--opposite Jericho. (See on Deu 10:6).

JFB: Num 33:50-53

Not, however, by expulsion, but extermination (Deu 7:1).

JFB: Num 33:50-53

Obelisks for idolatrous worship (see on Lev 26:1).

JFB: Num 33:50-53

By metonymy for all their groves and altars, and materials of worship on the tops of hills.

JFB: Num 33:54

The particular locality of each tribe was to be determined in this manner while a line was to be used in measuring the proportion (Jos 18:10; Psa 16:5-6).

JFB: Num 33:55

No associations were to be formed with the inhabitants; otherwise, "if ye let remain, they will be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides"--that is, they would prove troublesome and dangerous neighbors, enticing to idolatry, and consequently depriving you of the divine favor and blessing. The neglect of the counsel against union with the idolatrous inhabitants became fatal to them. This earnest admonition given to the Israelites in their peculiar circumstances conveys a salutary lesson to us to allow no lurking habits of sin to remain in us. That spiritual enemy must be eradicated from our nature; otherwise it will be ruinous to our present peace and future salvation.

Clarke: Num 33:17

Hazeroth - This place Dr. Shaw computes to have been about thirty miles distant from Mount Sinai

Stat. 14.

Clarke: Num 33:18

Rithmah - This place lay somewhere in the wilderness of Paran, through which the Israelites were now passing. See Num 13:1, Num 13:3. The name signifies the juniper tree; and the place probably had its name from the great number of those trees growing in that district

Stat. 15.

Clarke: Num 33:19

Rimmon-parez - Unknown

Stat. 16.

Clarke: Num 33:20

Libnah - The situation of this place is uncertain. A city of this name is mentioned Jos 10:29, as situated between Kadesh-barnea and Gaza

Stat. 17.

Clarke: Num 33:21

Bissah - A place mentioned nowhere else in the sacred writings. Its situation utterly uncertain

Stat. 18.

Clarke: Num 33:22

Kehelathah - Utterly unknown; though some conjecture that it might have been the place called Keilah, 1Sa 23:1, etc., but this is unlikely

Stat. 19.

Clarke: Num 33:23

Shapher - Where this mountain lay cannot be determined

Stat. 20.

Clarke: Num 33:24

Haradah - Unknown, Calmet supposes that it may be the place called Bered, Gen 16:14, which was in the vicinity of Kadesh

Stat. 21.

Clarke: Num 33:25

Makheloth - A name found nowhere else in Scripture

Stat. 22.

Clarke: Num 33:26

Tahath - Unknown

Stat. 23.

Clarke: Num 33:27

Tarah - Also unknown

Stat. 24.

Clarke: Num 33:28

Mithcah - Calmet conjectures that this may be Mocha, a city in Arabia Petraea

Stat. 25.

Clarke: Num 33:29

Hashmonah - Supposed by some to be the same as Azmon, Num 34:4

Stat. 26.

Clarke: Num 33:30

Moseroth - Situation unknown. In Deu 10:6 it is said that the Israelites took their journey from Beeroth, the wells of the children of Jaakan, to Mosera, and there Aaron died. If so, Mosera, Moseroth, and Hor, must be different names of the same place; or Moseroth, or Mosera, must have been some town or village near Mount Hor, for there Aaron died. See Num 33:38

Stat. 27.

Clarke: Num 33:31

Bene-jaakan - Unknown. The sons of Jaakan. See the preceding verse, Num 33:30 (note)

Stat. 28.

Clarke: Num 33:32

Hor-hagidgad - The hole or pit of Gidgad. Unknown. It was a place perhaps remarkable for some vast pit or cavern, from which it took its name

Stat. 29.

Clarke: Num 33:33

Jotrathah - Situation unknown. It is said in Deu 10:7 to be a land of rivers of waters

Stat. 30.

Clarke: Num 33:34

Ebronah - Nowhere else mentioned. Stat. 31.

Clarke: Num 33:35

Ezion-gaber - Dr. Shaw places this port on the western coast of the Elantic gulf of the Red Sea. It is now called Meenah el Dsahab, or the golden port, by the Arabs; because it was from this place that Solomon sent his ships for gold to Ophir, 1Ki 9:26. He supposes it to be about sixty miles distant from Mount Sinai - Travels, p. 322, 4th. edition

Stat. 32.

Clarke: Num 33:36

Zin, which is Kadesh - A place remarkable for the death of Miriam the prophetess, and bringing water out of the rock. As this place was on the borders of Edom, the Israelites, being denied permission to pass through their land, which lay on the direct road to the promised land, were obliged to turn to the right to Mount Hor, now called Accaba by the Arabs

Stat. 33.

Clarke: Num 33:37

Hor - Famous for the death of Aaron. See on Numbers 20 (note). Perhaps Moseroth or Mosera, Num 33:30 (note), was a village near this mountain

Stat. 34.

Clarke: Num 33:41

Zalmonah - Probably in the neighborhood of the land of Edom. As צלם tselem signifies an image, this place probably had its name from the brazen serpent set up by Moses. See Num 21:9 (note), etc. From the same root the word telesm , corruptly called talisman, which signifies a consecrated image, is derived

Stat. 35.

Clarke: Num 33:42

Punon - A place in Idumea. Nowhere else mentioned

Stat. 36.

Clarke: Num 33:43

Oboth - Mentioned before, Num 21:10

Stat. 37.

Clarke: Num 33:44

Ije-abarim - The heaps of Abarim. See Num 21:11. Situation uncertain. It is called Iim in the following verse. As the word signifies heaps or protuberances, it probably means tumuil or small hills near some of the fords of Jordan

Stat. 38.

Clarke: Num 33:45

Dibon-gad - Supposed to be the same as Dibon, Num 32:34, and to be situated on the brook Arnon

Stat. 39.

Clarke: Num 33:46

Almon-diblathaim - Situation not known. It belonged to the Moabites in the time of the prophet Jeremiah. Jer 48:22

Stat. 40.

Clarke: Num 33:47

Mountains of Abarim, before Nebo - The mountain on which Moses died. They came to this place after the overthrow of the Amorites. See Numbers 21

Stat. 41.

Clarke: Num 33:48

The Plains of Moab - This was the scene of the transactions between Balaam and Balak; see Numbers 23, 24, 25

Stat. 42.

Clarke: Num 33:49

From Beth-jesimoth even unto Abel-shittim - The former of these places fell to the Reubenites, Jos 13:15-20. The Israelites were now come to the edge of Jordan, over against Jericho, where they afterwards passed

For further information on the subject of these different encampments, the reader is requested to refer to the extracts from Dr. Shaw at the end of the book of Exodus.

Clarke: Num 33:52

Ye shall - destroy all their pictures - משכיתם maskiyotham , from שחה sachah , to be like, or resemble, either pictures, carved work, or embroidery, as far as these things were employed to exhibit the abominations of idolatry. Molten images צלמי מסכתם tsalmey massechotham , metallic talismanical figures, made under certain constellations, and supposed in consequence to be possessed of some extraordinary influences and virtues.

Clarke: Num 33:55

Shall be pricks in your eyes - Under these metaphors, the continual mischief that should be done to them, both in soul and body, by these idolaters, is set forth in a very expressive manner. What can be more vexatious than a continual goading of each side, so that the attempt to avoid the one throws the body more forcibly on the other? And what can be more distressing than a continual pricking in the eye, harassing the mind, tormenting the body, and extinguishing the sight

1.    It has been usual among pious men to consider these Canaanites remaining in the land, as emblems of indwelling sin; and it must be granted that what those remaining Canaanites were to the people of Israel, who were disobedient to God, such is indwelling sin to all those who will not have the blood of the covenant to cleanse them from all unrighteousness. For a time, while conscience is tender, such persons feel themselves straitened in all their goings, hindered in all their religious services, and distressed beyond measure because of the law - the authority and power of sin, which they find warring in their members: by and by the eye of their mind becomes obscured by the constant piercings of sin, till at last, fatally persuaded that sin must dwell in them as long as they live, they accommodate their minds to their situation, their consciences cease to be tender, and they content themselves with expecting redemption where and when it has never been promised, viz., beyond the grave! On the subject of the journeyings of the Israelites, the following observations from old Mr. Ainsworth cannot fail to interest the reader

2.    "The Travels of Israel through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water, Deu 8:15, which was a land of deserts, and of pits, a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt, Jer 2:6, signified the many troubles and afflictions through which we must enter into the kingdom of God, Act 14:22. The helps, comforts, and deliverances which God gave unto his people in their distresses, are examples of his love and mercy towards his followers; for he comforts them in all their tribulation, that as the sufferings of Christ abound in them, so their consolation also abounds in Christ, 2Co 1:5. The punishments which God inflicted upon the disobedient, who perished in the wilderness for their sins, happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come, 1Co 10:1, 1Co 10:11; Heb 3:17, Heb 3:18, Heb 3:19; Heb 4:1, Heb 4:2. By the names of their encamping places, and histories adjoined, it appears how Israel came sometimes into straits and troublesome ways, as at Pihahiroth, Exo 14:2, Exo 14:3, Exo 14:10, etc.; and at Zalmonah, Num 2:1, Num 2:4, etc.; sometimes into large and ample room, as at the plains of Moab; sometimes to places of hunger and thirst, as at Rephidim and Kadesh, Exodus 16, 17; Numbers 20; sometimes to places of refreshing, as at Elim and Beer, Exo 15:27; Num 21:16; sometimes where they had wars, as at Rephidim, Kadesh, Edrei, Exo 17:8; Num 21:1, Num 21:33; sometimes where they had rest, as at Mount Sinai: sometimes they went right forward, as from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea; sometimes they turned backward, as from Kadesh-barnea to the Red Sea: sometimes they came to mountains, as Sinai, Shapher, Hor-Gidgad; sometimes to valleys, as Tahath, etc.; sometimes to places of bitterness, as Marah; sometimes, of sweetness, as Mithcah

3.    "The Sins which they committed in the wilderness were many and great; as open Idolatry by the calf, at Horeb, Exodus 32, and with Baal-peor, Numbers 25. Unbelief, at Kadesh, Numbers 14; and afterwards Presumptuous Boldness in the same place; Murmuring against God sundry times, with tempting of Christ, (as the apostle speaks, 1 Corinthians 15). Contention and Rebellion against their governors often; lusting for flesh to fill their appetites, and loathing manna, the heavenly food; Whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and many other provocations; so that this complaint is after made of them, How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Psa 78:40. All sorts of persons sinned against God; the multitude of people very often; the mixed multitude of strangers among them, Numbers 11. The princes, as the ten spies, Dathan, Abiram, etc. The Levites, as Korah and his company; Miriam the prophetess, Numbers 12; Aaron the priest with her, besides his sin at Horeb, Exodus 32; and at the water of Meribah, Numbers 20. Moses also himself at the same place, for which he was excluded from the land of Canaan

4.    "The Punishments laid on them by the Lord for their disobedience were many. They died by the sword of the enemy, as of the Amalekites, Exodus 17, and of the Canaanites, Num 14:45; and some by the sword of their brethren, Exodus 32. Some were burned with fire, Numbers 11, 16; some died with surfeit, Numbers 11; some were swallowed up alive in the earth, Numbers 16; some were killed with serpents, Numbers 21; many died of the pestilence, Num 16:46, and Num 5:25; and generally all that generation which were first mustered, after their coming out of Egypt, perished, Num 26:64, Num 26:65. God consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror, Psa 78:33

5.    "Nevertheless, for his name’ s sake, he magnified his Mercies unto them and their posterity. He had divided the sea, and led them through on dry land, drowning their enemies, Exodus 14. He led them with a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, continually. He gave them manna from heaven daily. He clave the rock, and gave them water for their thirst. He fed them with quails, when they longed for flesh. He sweetened the bitter waters. He saved them from the sword of their enemies. He delivered them from the fiery serpents and scorpions. Their raiment waxed not old upon them, neither did their foot swell for forty years, Deu 8:4. He delivered them from the intended curse of Balaam, and turned it into a blessing, because he loved them, Numbers 22; Deu 23:5. He came down from Mount Sinai, and spake with them from heaven, and gave them right judgments and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and gave also his good Spirit to instruct them, Neh 9:13, Neh 9:20. In the times of his wrath he remembered mercy; his eye spared them from destroying them, neither did he make an end of them in the wilderness, Eze 20:17, Eze 20:22. He gave them kingdoms and nations, and they possessed the lands of their enemies; and he multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land promised unto their forefathers. Neh 9:22, Neh 9:23. Now whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope, Rom 15:4."Let him that readeth understand."

Calvin: Num 33:39

39.And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old It is not without reason that the great age of Aaron is expressly stated, inasmuch as his life had been prolonged to an unusual period, for the good of the people. At the age of an hundred he had already exceeded the ordinary extent of life; whereas, by God’s extraordinary blessing, he survived until the people were about to pass into the promised land. Hence their ingratitude was the more base in not acknowledging this paternal care of God, since it was for their advantage that He preserved so long the minister of His grace.

Calvin: Num 33:40

40.And king Arad the Canaanite Although Moses gives no account of a battle, yet he briefly revives the recollection of the previous history; as much as to say, that in this part of their journey the Israelites at length met with their enemy, since they then began to fight with one of the nations of Canaan. In a word, the meaning is, that this was the beginning of their warfare, when the land which God had promised them as an inheritance was about to be occupied.

Calvin: Num 33:50

50.And the Lord spake unto Moses The end and design of God in willing that these nations should be expelled, I have elsewhere explained, ²²⁶ viz, lest they should adulterate the pure worship of God by their admixtures, should corrupt the people by their bad examples, and thus be pollutions to the Holy Land. But Moses now refers to another point, for, when about to speak of the division of the land, he begins by saying that it must be emptied of its inhabitants, that its free and full enjoyment may remain for the children of Israel. We must remark the connection here, for else this passage would have been a supplement of the First Commandment, to which I have indeed appended the latter part of the verse: but, since God declares connectedly, “Ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein, for I have given you the land to possess it,” it would have been absurd that one clause should be disjoined from the other.

Calvin: Num 33:54

54.And ye shall divide the land by lot The mode of division is also stated, that each should possess what fell to him by lot; and this was the best plan, for the several tribes would never have allowed themselves to be sent here or there at the option of men: and even if the arrangement had been left to the voices of the judges, they would rather have quarreled with each other than determined what was right. But we must here take into consideration something deeper; viz., that by this method God gave certain proof that the children of Israel were the inheritors and masters of that land by His liberality and special blessing. And, in the first place, we must remember that, although men consider nothing more fortuitous than casting lots, still they are governed by God, as Solomon says. (Pro 16:33.) God, therefore, commanded the people to cast lots, reserving to Himself the judgment as to those to whom they should fall. For how came it to pass that Zebulun obtained his portion on the sea-shore, except because it had been thus predicted by the Patriarch Jacob? Why did a district productive of the best corn fall to the tribe of Asher, unless because it had been pronounced by the same lips, that

“Out of Asher his bread should be fat;
and he should yield royal dainties”? (Gen 49:20.)

By the same prophecy the tribe of Judah obtained an inheritance rich in vines, and abounding in the best of pastures. Thus the division of the land, by lot, clearly showed that God had not formerly promised that land to Abraham in vain; because the proclamation of the gift by the mouth of Jacob was actually confirmed. The pious old man had been expelled from hence by famine; he was but a sojourner in Egypt, and twice an exile, and yet he assigns their portions to his descendants in the most authoritative manner, just as the father of a family might divide his few acres of land among his heirs. Yet God finally sealed what then might have seemed ridiculous. Hence it appears that things which, in the feebleness of our senses, we imagine to move at the blind impulse of chance, are directed by God’s secret providence; and that His counsel always proceeds in such a regular course, that the end corresponds with the beginning. Again he recommends to them the law of proportion, so that, according to their numbers, a greater or a less allotment should be given to the several tribes. The allegory which some conceive to be indicated here, viz., that we obtain our heavenly inheritance by God’s gratuitous good pleasure, as if by lot, although at first sight plausible, is easily refuted. Hebron was a part of the inheritance, but Caleb obtained it without casting lots: and a still more decided exception appears in the case of the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh, who, by the consent of the rest, and not by lot, acquired by privilege, as it were, all the territory that had been won on the other side of Jordan. Let my readers, therefore, learn to abstain from such conceits, lest they should often be obliged to confess with shame, that they have caught at an empty shadow.

Calvin: Num 33:55

55.But if ye will not drive out We have elsewhere seen why God’s wrath was so greatly aroused against those nations, that He desired them to be exterminated. Even in Abraham’s time gross indulgence of sin had begun to prevail there, as we gather from God’s word, when He said that “their iniquity was not yet full.” After they had abused the forbearance of God Himself for 400 years, who will deny that their destruction was the just and reasonable reward of their long obstinacy? Still, in cutting them off, God had regard to His elect people, in order that they might be separated from the heathen, and never turn aside to foreign superstitions. But the punishment which is here threatened the Israelites deserved twice over by their remissness, for they neither performed their duty in executing God’s vengeance, and, as far as in them lay, they detracted from His grace. He had conferred upon them no common honor, when He appointed them to be His ministers for executing His judgments. It was therefore base supineness in them to be remiss on this point. But again, He had given them the whole land; when, then, they contented themselves with part of it, and neglected the rest, their perverse ingratitude betrayed itself by their indifference. Besides, they had willfully entangled themselves in deadly nerds, by mixing with heathen nations, from whom they had been separated by God, lest they should imitate their habits, and corrupt religious ceremonies. God, therefore, threatens that these nations shall be as prickles to pierce their eyes, and thorns in their sides. That this was fulfilled, the Book of Judges affords the clearest and most ample testimony, although, even to the days of David, this punishment was constantly in course of infliction upon their eyes and sides. Thus, also, is their untamable headstrongness proved, since such a solemn admonition had no effect in causing ²²⁷ them to go forwards, no less in the open punishment of iniquity, than in a course of victory and success.

Defender: Num 33:53

This command to drive out the Canaanites was frequently given (Exo 23:24; Exo 34:11-13; Lev 20:22-24; Deuteronomy 7:1-26; Deu 20:16-18). The order was accompanied by a serious warning that failure to do this would lead to continuing trouble from the Canaanites, a prophetic warning which was terribly fulfilled in later years."

TSK: Num 33:17

Num 11:35

TSK: Num 33:18

they departed : Num 12:16

Rithmah : Rithmah was a place in the wilderness of Paran, near Kadesh Barnea; probably so called from the great number of juniper trees, as the name signifies, growing in that district.

TSK: Num 33:19

Rimmonparez : Probably the same as Rimmon, a city of Judah and Simeon, Jos 15:32, Jos 19:7. Num 33:19

TSK: Num 33:21

Libnah : Deu 1:1, Laban

Rissah : This is supposed, apparently with good reason, by the Editor of Calmet, to be the same with the present El Arish, a village three quarters of a league from the Mediterranean, and the last stage in Syria, on the road to Egypt.

TSK: Num 33:24

Shapher : The Editor of Calmet, who supposes the Israelites to be now in the regular track from Gaza to Egypt, is of opinion that mount Shapher is the ancient name of mount Cassius, Catjeh, or Catie, a huge mole of sand, almost surrounded by the Mediterranean, on which was built a temple to Jupiter Cassius. Thevenot states, that at the village of Catie there is a well of water unpleasant for drinking; but two miles off, another whose water is good after standing a little. Num 33:24

TSK: Num 33:30

Moseroth : This is supposed by Mr. C. Taylor, to be Ain el Mousa (probably a corruption of Moseroth) or fountains of Moses, at the head of the western gulf of the Red sea, about seven or eight miles east from Suez, seven or eight days’ journey from Gaza, and five or six from Sinai. Deu 10:5, Mosera

TSK: Num 33:31

Benejaakan : Gen 36:27; Deu 10:6; 1Ch 1:43

TSK: Num 33:32

Hor-hagid-gad, Deu 10:7, Gudgodah

TSK: Num 33:33

Jotbathah : Mr. Taylor, who imagines the Israelites to be now in the track of the Mecca pilgrims, supposes Jotbathah, which is described as ""a land of brooks of water,""to be Callah Nahar, a torrent, said to be good water by Dr. Shaw. Deu 10:7, Jotbath

TSK: Num 33:34

Ebronah : Probably at Abiah Ailana, or Sat el Acaba, stations nearer Accaba. Num 33:34

TSK: Num 33:35

Eziongaber : Dr. Shaw places this port on the western shore of the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea. He says it is now called Meenah el Dsahab, or the golden port, by the Arabs; because it was from this place that Solomon sent his ships to Ophir. He supposes it to be about sixty miles from Sinai; and it is probable that it was near the present Accaba, i.e., the end (of the sea). Num 14:25; Deu 2:8; 1Ki 9:26, 1Ki 22:48, Ezion-geber, 2Ch 20:36

TSK: Num 33:36

the wilderness of Zin : Num 13:21, Num 20:1, Num 27:14; Deu 32:51

TSK: Num 33:37

Kadesh : Num 20:22, Num 20:23, Num 21:4

TSK: Num 33:38

Num 20:24-28; Deu 10:6, Deu 32:50

TSK: Num 33:40

Num 21:1-3, Num 21:4-9

TSK: Num 33:41

Num 21:4

TSK: Num 33:42

Punon : Called Phainon by Eusebius, who places it between Petra and Zoar. Perhaps it is the present Tafyle, mentioned by Burckhardt. Num 33:42

TSK: Num 33:43

pitched in Oboth : Num 21:10

TSK: Num 33:44

Ijeabarim : or, heaps of Abarim, Num 21:11

TSK: Num 33:46

Dibongad : Num 32:34; Isa 15:2; Jer 48:18

Almondiblathaim : Jer 48:22, Beth-diblathaim, Eze 6:14, Diblath

TSK: Num 33:47

the mountains : These mountains were a ridge of rugged hills east of Jordan, and north and west of the Arnon. Nebo, Pisgah, and Peor, were but different names of the hills of which they were composed. Eusebius and Jerome inform us, that some part of them, as one went up to Heshbon, retained the old name of Abarim in their time; and that the part called Nebo was opposite Jericho, not far from the Jordan, six miles west from Heshbon, and seven east from Livias. Dr. Shaw describes them as ""an exceeding high ridge of desolate mountains, no otherwise diversified than by a succession of naked rocks and precipices; rendered in some places the more frightful by a multiplicity of torrents, which fall on each side of them. This ridge is continued all along the eastern coast of the Dead sea.""Mount Nebo is now called Djebel Attarous; and is described as a barren mountain, the highest point in the neighbourhood, with an uneven plain on the top. Burckhardt, Travels , pp. 369, 370. Num 21:20; Deu 32:49, Deu 34:1

TSK: Num 33:48

in the plains : Num 22:1

TSK: Num 33:49

Bethjesimoth : Probably the place called Bethsimath by Eusebius, east of Jordan, and about ten miles south of Jericho. Jos 13:20; Eze 25:9

Abelshittim : or, the plains of Shittim, This place, according to Josephus (Ant. 1. v. c. 1, § 1. Bell. 1. iv. c. 7 sec. 6), who calls it Abila, was 60 furlongs east of Jordan. Num 25:1-9; Exo 25:5, Exo 25:10, Exo 25:23; Jos 2:1

TSK: Num 33:50

Num 33:48, Num 33:49

TSK: Num 33:51

Deu 7:1, Deu 9:1; Jos 3:17

TSK: Num 33:52

Exo 23:24, Exo 23:31-33, Exo 34:12-17; Deu 7:2-5, Deu 7:25, Deu 7:26, Deu 12:2, Deu 12:3, Deu 12:30, Deu 12:31, Deu 20:16-18; Jos 11:11, Jos 11:12, Jos 23:7; Jdg 2:2

TSK: Num 33:53

Deu 32:8; Psa 24:1, Psa 24:2, Psa 115:16; Jer 27:5, Jer 27:6; Dan 4:17, Dan 4:25, Dan 4:32; Mat 20:15

TSK: Num 33:54

ye shall divide : Num 26:53-56

give the more inheritance : Heb. multiply his inheritance, Num 26:54

give the less inheritance : Heb. diminish his inheritance in the place, Jos 15:1-12, Jos 16:1-4, Jos 17:1-13, 18:11-28, 19:1-48

TSK: Num 33:55

shall be pricks : Exo 23:33; Deu 7:4, Deu 7:16; Jos 23:12, Jos 23:13; Judg. 1:21-36, Jdg 2:3; Psa 106:34-36; Eze 28:24

TSK: Num 33:56

Lev 18:28, Lev 20:23; Deu 28:63, Deu 29:28; Jos 23:15, Jos 23:16; 2Ch 36:17-20; Eze 33:24-29; Luk 21:23, Luk 21:24

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Num 33:1-49

This list was written out by Moses at God’ s command Num 33:2, doubtless as a memorial of God’ s providential care for His people throughout this long and trying period.

Num 33:3-6. For these places, see the marginal reference.

Num 33:8

Pi-hahiroth - Hebrew "Hahiroth,"but perhaps only by an error of transcription. However, the omitted "pi"is only a common Egyptian prefix.

Wilderness of Etham - i. e., that part of the great wilderness of Shur which adjoined Etham; compare Exo 15:22 note.

The list of stations up to that at Sinai agrees with the narrative of Exodus except that we have here mentioned Num 33:10 an encampment by the Red Sea, and two others, Dophkah and Alush Num 33:12-14, which are there omitted. On these places see Exo 17:1 note.

Num 33:16, Num 33:17

See the Num 11:35 note.

Num 33:18

Rithmah - The name of this station is derived from retem, the broom-plant, the "juniper"of the King James Version. This must be the same encampment as that which is said in Num 13:26 to have been at Kadesh.

Num 33:19

Rimmon-parez - Or rather Rimmon-perez, i. e., "Rimmon (i. e., the Pomegranate) of the Breach."It may have been here that the sedition of Korah occurred.

Verse 19-36

The stations named are those visited during the years of penal wandering. The determination of their positions is, in many cases, difficult, because during this period there was no definite line of march pursued. But it is probable that the Israelites during this period did not overstep the boundaries of the wilderness of Paran (as defined in Num 10:12), except to pass along the adjoining valley of the Arabah; while the tabernacle and organized camp moved about from place to place among them (compare Num 20:1).

Rissah, Haradah, and Tahath are probably the same as Rasa, Aradeh, and Elthi of the Roman tables. The position of Hashmonah (Heshmon in Jos 15:27) in the Azazimeh mountains points out the road followed by the children of Israel to be that which skirts the southwestern extremity of Jebel Magrah.

Num 33:34

Ebronah - i. e, "passage."This station apparently lay on the shore of the Elanitic gulf, at a point where the ebb of the tide left a ford across. Hence, the later Targum renders the word as "fords."

Num 33:35

Ezion-gaber - " Giant’ s backbone."The Wady Ghadhyan, a valley running eastward into the Arabah some miles north of the present head of the Elanitic gulf. A salt marsh which here overspreads a portion of the Arabah may be taken as indicating the limit to which the sea anciently reached; and we may thus infer the existence here in former times of an extensive tidal haven, at the head of which the city of Ezion-geber stood. Here it was that from the time of Solomon onward the Jewish navy was constructed 1Ki 9:26; 1Ki 22:49.

Num 33:41-49

Zalmonah and Punon are stations on the Pilgrim’ s road; and the general route is fairly ascertained by a comparison of these verses with Num 21:4, etc.

Barnes: Num 33:50-56

The expulsion of the Canaanites and the destruction of their monuments of idolatry had been already enjoined (see the marginal references); and Num 33:54 is substantially a repetition from Exo. 26:53-55. But the solemn warning of Num 33:55-56 is new. A call for it had been furnished by their past transgressions in the matter of Baal-peor, and by their imperfect fulfillment, at the first, of Moses’ orders in the Midianite war.

Poole: Num 33:18

Ritmah a place in the wilderness of Paran, near Kadesh-barnea.

Poole: Num 33:31

Called more fully Beeroth-bene-jaacan , Deu 10:6 .

Poole: Num 33:32

Called Gudgodah , as Jotbathah is called Jotbath , Deu 10:7 .

Poole: Num 33:35

A place upon the Red Sea, as appears from 1Ki 9:26 22:48

Poole: Num 33:45

Iim rather Ijim , i.e. the heaps, as the word signifies, even the heaps of Abarim , last mentioned; the Hebrew word is the same with Ije , Num 33:44 , only there it is in the construed, and here in the absolute, form. Dibon-gad ; so called partly by way of distinction of this from another Dibon, in the portion of Reuben, Jos 13:17 , and partly, because it was rebuilt by the tribe of Gad.

Poole: Num 33:47

Of which see Num 27:12 Deu 32:49,50 34:1

Poole: Num 33:49

Abel-shittim called Shittim , Num 25:1 , and here Abel-shittim , for the grievous mourning which there was both for the heinous crimes committed, and horrible judgments there inflicted.

Poole: Num 33:52

Ye shall drive out not by banishing, but by destroying them, as it is explained, Deu 7:1,2 , and elsewhere. Their pictures seem to have been stones curiously engraven, and set up for worship. See Deu 16:22 .

Molten images See Exo 23:24,32 De 7:5 .

High places i.e. by a metonymy, the chapels, altars, groves, or other means of worship there set up, for the hills themselves could not be destroyed by them. See Poole "Deu 12:2" .

Poole: Num 33:55

Pricks in your eyes i.e. both vexatious and pernicious, for the eye is a tender part, and a wound there is very mischievous.

Haydock: Num 33:17

Haseroth, near Cades-barne, the same as Aserim, ("the unwalled towns" of the Heveans, extending as far as Gaza,) or Asor, called afterwards Esron, on the south of Chanaan, Josue xi. 10. Moses does not specify here the memorable encampment at Cades-barne, where the Israelites arrived, after 11 days' march from Horeb, Deuteronomy i. 2, 19. It was not far from Asor, on the frontiers of Idumea, (Calmet) in the desert of Pharan, chap. xiii. 1.

Haydock: Num 33:19

Rethma. The situation of this and the following station, cannot be fixed.

Haydock: Num 33:21

Lebna . A strong place besieged by Sennacherib, (4 Kings xix. 8,) between Cades and Gaza, Josue x. 29. The Hebrews encamped a long while about Mount Seir, Deuteronomy ii. 1.

Haydock: Num 33:22

Ressa was in the same neighbourhood. St. Hirarion converted its inhabitants.

Haydock: Num 33:24

Arada. Herad, Adar, or Barad, are probably the same place, on the southern limits of Chanaan, four miles from Maceloth, the Malatis of Eusebius.

Haydock: Num 33:30

Hesmona, or Asemona, a city of the tribe of Juda, towards Egypt, chap. xxxiv. 4.

Haydock: Num 33:32

Gadgad. These three stations are placed in a different order, Deuteronomy x. 6. But some word has been transposed, as Aaron died on Mount Hor, when the Hebrews encamped at Mosera, or Moseroth, a second time. (Calmet)

Haydock: Num 33:34

Jetebatha. It may be rendered also "Hills of concupiscence," famous for torrents of water, Deuteronomy x. 7.

Haydock: Num 33:35

Asiongaber. Some place this station on the Mediterranean, where Strabo fixes the city of Gassion Gaber, the Beto Gabria of Ptolemy. But the Scripture informs us it lay on the Red Sea, 3 Kings ix. 16. Cellarius thinks most probably upon the Elanitic gulf, to the east of that of Suez, or Heroopolis, where Josephus maintains Asiongaber or Bernice stood. The Hebrews came to this station from that of Elat, Deuteronomy ii. 8. (Calmet)

Haydock: Num 33:36

Sin, or Tsin. Cades is another name of the same desert. Near the city of Cades-barne, the Hebrews encamped a long while, and had plenty of water; but here they murmured for want of it, and Mary departed this life, chap. xx. (Calmet)

Haydock: Num 33:37

Hor, at a place called Mosera, Deuteronomy x. 6. This was the road from Arabia to Chanaan, and the Hebrews attempted to enter by it, but were repulsed by the king of Arad, though they afterwards defeated him at Horma, chap. xxi. 3.

Haydock: Num 33:41

Salmona, where it is thought by some that God sent the fiery serpents, chap. xxi. 6. The Israelites being refused a passage by the Idumeans and Moabites, God orders them to measure back their steps towards Asiongaber, and to go round their territories. (Calmet)

Haydock: Num 33:45

Dibongad, is often called Dibon. Moses observes, (chap. xxi.) that the Hebrews passed by or encamped at various places, before they came to this town. It is sometimes attributed to Ruben, and at other times to Gad, being on the confines of both tribes. (Calmet)

Haydock: Num 33:49

Moabites. Here they were deluded by wicked women, chap. xxv. (Haydock) ---

From these 42 stations, the Fathers take occasion to shew, how we must advance in a spiritual life. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: Num 33:52

Pillars. Hebrew, stones placed on high "to be seen." Septuagint, "towers of the sentinels." Chaldean, "temples, where they adore their idols."

Haydock: Num 33:53

Land of its old inhabitants, and of the places dedicated to superstitious purposes. (Haydock) ---

Hebrew, "occupy the land." Septuagint, "drive out the inhabitants, and dwell there."

Haydock: Num 33:55

Nails. Septuagint, "goads," &c., by which they will force you in a manner to gratify your curiosity, by an imitation of their idol worship; and thus will prove to you more dangerous, than if you had nails piercing your eyes. See Josue xxiii. 13., and Ezechiel xxviii. 24. These abandoned nations must not be spared through a false pity, Deuteronomy xx. 16. (Calmet) ---

The Israelites, however, proved negligent, and God made use of the remains of these nations to scourge his people, and to train them for war. (Du Hamel)

Gill: Num 33:17

And they departed from Kibrothhattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth. Eight miles from Kibrothhattaavah, where Miriam was smote with leprosy, Num 12:1.

Gill: Num 33:18

And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched at Rithmah. Eight miles from Hazeroth: Rethem, from whence this place seems to have had its name, is generally rendered by "juniper", 1Ki 19:4 and the Targum of Jonathan here adds, where the juniper trees grew; and, perhaps, it is the same with the valley of Retheme, of which some travellers ^e thus write, "this valley", called in the Hebrew Retheme, and commonly Ritma, derives its name from a yellow flower, with which the valley is covered; we found here, on the left hand, two cisterns of excellent water; and water being to be had here, might be the reason of the Israelites pitching in this place. Some learned men ^f think it is the same with Kadeshbarnea, from whence the spies were sent, that being the next remove from Hazeroth, as this was; see Num 12:16, with which agrees the remark of Jarchi, that this place was so called, because of the evil tongue of the spies, as it is said, Psa 120:3 "what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper"; alluding to the signification of Rithmah; perhaps this is the same place, which by Josephus ^g is called Dathema, and so in the Apocrypha:"Then the heathen that were at Galaad assembled themselves together against the Israelites that were in their quarters, to destroy them; but they fled to the fortress of Dathema.'' (1 Maccabees 5:9)

Gill: Num 33:19-29

And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmonparez. Six miles from Rithmah, and then from Rimmon to Libnah, which was six miles also; and from thence to Rissah, which was six miles more; and from Rissah to, Kehelathah, which was the same number of miles; and from thence to Shapher, which was six miles also; and then they came to Haradah, which was four miles from thence; the next remove was to Makheloth, which was four miles and a half from the last place; then they went to Tahath, which was four miles more; and from thence to Tarah, which also was four miles; the next place they came to was Mithcah, four miles from Tarah; and then to Hashmonah, which was eight miles more.

Gill: Num 33:30-31

And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth. Thirty two miles from Hashmonah. In Deu 10:6 it is called Mosera; and according to the account there, they came hither from the following place, Benejaakan; probably they went first thither from Hashmonah, and then from Mosera or Moserot, and so to Benejaakan again, going backwards and forwards, so Jarchi; the distance of the two places was twenty four miles; for the further reconciliation this; see Gill on Deu 10:6 and the Samaritan version there.

Gill: Num 33:32-37

And they removed from Benejaakan, and encamped at Horhagidgad. In the Targum Jonathan called Gudgod, as it is Gudgodah in Deu 10:7, where the remove to this place is said to be from Mosera; it was twenty miles from Benejaaken; from thence they went to Jotbathah, twenty four miles from Horhagidgad; and from thence to Ebronah, twenty miles more; and so to Eziongeber, of which see 1Ki 9:26 which was twenty eight miles from Ebrorah; and their next remove was to the wilderness of Zin, which was Kadesh, forty eight miles from Eziongeber; and from Kadesh they went to Mount Hor, forty eight miles more: which was

in the edge of the land of Edom; as Kadesh also was; see Num 20:16.

Gill: Num 33:38

And Aaron the priest went up into Mount Hor, at the commandment of the Lord,.... Delivered to Moses:

and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of Egypt; not being suffered to go with them into the land of Canaan, because of his sin of unbelief at Kadesh, the last place from whence they came: in Mount Hor he died:

on the first day of the fifth month; the month Ab, answering to part of July and part of August; so that he lived but four months after his sister Miriam; see Num 20:1.

Gill: Num 33:39

And Aaron was one hundred and twenty three years old when he died in Mount Hor. He was eighty three when he stood before Pharaoh, Exo 7:7, and forty years he had been with Israel since, which make this number; he was three years older than Moses.

Gill: Num 33:40-44

And King Arad the Canaanite,.... Or the king of Arad the Canaanite:

which dwelt in the land of Canaan, he heard of the coming of the children of Israel; towards the land of Canaan, in order to possess it, and he came out and fought with them, and was vanquished; see Num 21:1, this was when Israel was at Mount Hor; from whence they departed to Zalmonah, twenty eight miles from the mount; and from thence to Punon, which was twenty more; and so to Oboth, which was twenty four miles from Punon: and thence

to Ijeabarim, in the border of Moab, which was sixteen miles, see Num 21:9.

Gill: Num 33:45

And they departed from Ijim, and pitched in Dibongad. Sixteen miles from Ijim; the remove from whence is said to be to the valley of Zared, Num 21:12 in which Dibongad was, so called perhaps because rebuilt by Gad afterwards.

Gill: Num 33:46

And they removed from Dibongad, and encamped in Almondiblathaim. Sixteen miles from Dibon, perhaps the same with Diblath, Eze 6:14, according to the account in Num 21:16, &c. they went from hence to Beer, a place where they found a well, which gave it this name; and several other removes are mentioned there, which are not here, and which, perhaps, were small removes, and not properly stations.

Gill: Num 33:47

And they removed from Almondiblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim,.... Sixteen miles from Almondiblathaim; these were so called from passages near them over the river Jordan: and this station was pitched

before Nebo; one of those mountains, whither Moses went up and died.

Gill: Num 33:48

And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab,.... Sixteen miles from Abarim, where all those things were transacted, which make the history of Balak and Balaam, Num 22:1 and where the Israelites now were by Jordan near Jericho; not on that side Jordan where Jericho stood, but on the other; Jericho, according to Eusebius, was ten miles from Bethjesimoth, where Israel now were, as follows.

Gill: Num 33:49

And they pitched by Jordan from Bethjesimoth, even unto Abelshittim, in the plains of Moab. Their camp reached twelve miles, as the Jews commonly say, which we may suppose was the distance of these two places, which were both in the plains of Moab; and the Jerusalem Targum is express for it, for mentioning Israel's encampment from Bethjesimoth to Abelshittim, it asks, how far is that? twelve miles: the latter is sometimes called Shittim, from the shittim wood which grew there, Num 25:1 and here it has the addition of Abel to it, to signify mourning, from the mourning of the children of Israel on account of the plague, in which 24,000 persons died, Num 25:1.

Gill: Num 33:50

And the Lord spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan, near Jericho,.... See Gill on Num 33:48; see Gill on Num 22:1,

saying; as follows.

Gill: Num 33:51

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,.... What was to be said, being what concerned the whole body of the people:

when ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; near to which they now were, and Moses was about to leave them; and therefore it was the more necessary to give them some instructions and directions what they should do, when they were come into it.

Gill: Num 33:52

Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you,.... Not at once, but gradually; and the sense is, that they should use their utmost endeavours wholly to extirpate them:

and destroy all their pictures; their idolatrous ones; the pictures of their gods, or the statues and figured stones of them: the Targum of Jonathan interprets it,"all the temples of their worship;''and the Jerusalem Targum,"all their idols;''so called, as Jarchi notes, because they covered the floor with a pavement of marble stones, to worship upon them by the stretching out of their hands and feet, according to Lev 26:1,

and destroy all their molten images; of gold, silver, &c.

and quite pluck down all their high places; their temples, groves, and altars built upon them.

Gill: Num 33:53

And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein,.... Turn them out of their cities, towns, and houses, and inhabit them:

for I have given you the land to possess it; who had a right to dispose of it, and a better title they needed not desire than the Lord could and did make them.

Gill: Num 33:54

And ye shall divide the land by lot,.... What is said in this verse is the same with Num 26:53, where it has been explained; See Gill on Num 26:53; see Gill on Num 26:54; see Gill on Num 26:55; see Gill on Num 26:56.

Gill: Num 33:55

But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you,.... Should be remiss and careless about it, and indifferent to it, and not make use of the proper means to get rid of them, but, on the contrary, make covenants with them, and intermarry among them; or, however, become friendly to them, and suffer them to dwell among them:

then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them; sparing their lives, and permitting them to dwell among them:

shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides; which figurative expressions show that they should be very troublesome and distressing to them, even in their most tender and nearest concerns, and dearest relations, and which are explained and more properly expressed as follows:

and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell; among other things by their wicked conversation, and by drawing them into sin through their ill examples, and so bring the displeasure of God upon them, and punishment for their evil doings.

Gill: Num 33:56

Moreover, it shall come to pass,.... This being the case, they suffering the Canaanites to dwell among them, and they mingling with them, learning their works, and serving their gods: that

I shall do unto you as I thought I should do unto them; deliver them up into the hands of their enemies, who should carry them captive into other lands.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Num 33:38

¹ tn Heb “mouth.”

NET Notes: Num 33:45

¹ tn Iim is a shortened form of the name Iye-abarim mentioned in v. 44.

NET Notes: Num 33:48

¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

² map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

NET Notes: Num 33:52

¹ tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “you will destroy.”

NET Notes: Num 33:54

¹ tn Heb “of your fathers.”

Geneva Bible: Num 33:38

And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first [day] of the ^{( d )} fifth month.

^{( d )} Which the Hebrews call Ab, and contains part of July and part of August.

Geneva Bible: Num 33:52

Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their ^{( e )} pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:

^{( e )} Which were set up in their high places to worship.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Num 33:1-56

1 The two and forty journeys of the Israelites.

50 The Canaanites are to be destroyed.

MHCC: Num 33:1-49

This is a brief review of the travels of the children of Israel through the wilderness. It is a memorable history. In their travels towards Canaan they were continually on the remove. Such is our state in this world; we have here no continuing city, and all our removes in this world are but from one part a desert to another. They were led to and fro, forward and backward, yet were all the while under the direction of the pillar of cloud and fire. God led them about, yet led them the right way. The way God takes in bringing his people to himself is always the best way, though it does not always seem to us the nearest way. Former events are mentioned. Thus we ought to keep in mind the providences of God concerning us and families, us and our land, and the many instances of that Divine care which has led us, and fed us, and kept us all our days hitherto. Few periods of our lives can be thought upon, without reminding us of the Lord's goodness, and our own ingratitude and disobedience: his kindness leaves us without excuse for our sins. We could not wish to travel over again the stages we have passed, unless we could hope, by the grace of God, to shun the sins we then committed, and to embrace such opportunities of doing good as we have let slip. Soon will our wanderings end, and our eternal state be fixed beyond recall; how important then is the present moment! Happy are those whom the Lord now guides with his counsel, and will at length receive to his glory. To this happiness the gospel calls us. Behold now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. Let sinners seize the opportunity, and flee for refuge to the hope set before them. Let us redeem our time, to glorify God and serve our generation; and he will carry us safely through all, to his eternal kingdom.

MHCC: Num 33:50-56

Now that they were to pass over Jordan, they were entering again into temptation to follow idols; and they are threatened that, if they spared either the idols or the idolaters, their sin would certainly be their punishment. They would foster vipers in their own bosoms. The remnant of the Canaanites, if they made any peace with them, though but for a time, would be pricks in their eyes, and thorns in their sides. We must expect trouble and affliction from whatever sin we indulge; that which we are willing should tempt us, will vex us. It was intended that the Canaanites should be put out of the land; but if the Israelites learned their wicked ways, they also would be put out. Let us hear this and fear. If we do not drive out sin, sin will drive us out. If we are not the death of our lusts, our lusts will be the death of our souls.

Matthew Henry: Num 33:1-49

This is a review and brief rehearsal of the travels of the children of Israel through the wilderness. It was a memorable history and well worthy to be thus abridged, and the abridgment thus preserved, to the honour of God that led them and for the encouragement of the generations that followed. Observe here,

I. How the account was kept: Moses wrote their goings out, Num 33:2. When they began this tedious march, God ordered him to keep a journal or diary, and to insert in it all the remarkable occurrences of their way, that it might be a satisfaction to himself in the review and an instruction to others when it should be published. It may be of good use to private Christians, but especially to those in public stations, to preserve in writing an account of the providences of God concerning them, the constant series of mercies they have experienced, especially those turns and changes which have made some days of their lives more remarkable. Our memories are deceitful and need this help, that we may remember all the way which the Lord our God has led us in this wilderness, Deu 8:2.

II. What the account itself was. It began with their departure out of Egypt, continued with their march through the wilderness, and ended in the plains of Moab, where they now lay encamped.

1. Some things are observed here concerning their departure out of Egypt, which they are reminded of upon all occasions, as a work of wonder never to be forgotten. (1.) That they went forth with their armies (Num 33:1), rank and file, as an army with banners. (2.) Under the hand of Moses and Aaron, their guides, overseers, and rulers, under God. (3.) With a high hand, because God's hand was high that wrought for them, and in the sight of all the Egyptians, Num 33:3. They did not steal away clandestinely (Isa 52:12), but in defiance of their enemies, to whom God had made them such a burdensome stone that they neither could, nor would, nor durst, oppose them. (4.) They went forth while the Egyptians were burying, or at least preparing to bury, their first-born, Num 33:4. They had a mind good enough, or rather bad enough, still to have detained the Israelites their prisoners, but God found them other work to do. They would have God's first-born buried alive, but God set them a burying their own first-born. (5.) To all the plagues of Egypt it is added here that on their gods also the Lord executed judgments. Their idols which they worshipped, it is probable, were broken down, as Dagon afterwards before the ark, so that they could not consult them about this great affair. To this perhaps there is reference, Isa 19:1, The idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence.

2. Concerning their travels towards Canaan. Observe, (1.) They were continually upon the remove. When they had pitched a little while in one place they departed from that to another. Such is our state in this world; we have here no continuing city. (2.) Most of their way lay through a wilderness, uninhabited, untracked, unfurnished even with the necessaries of human life, which magnifies the wisdom and power of God, by whose wonderful conduct and bounty the thousands of Israel not only subsisted for forty years in that desolate place, but came out at least as numerous and vigorous as they went in. At first they pitched in the edge of the wilderness (Num 33:6), but afterwards in the heart of it; by less difficulties God prepares his people for greater. We find them in the wilderness of Etham (Num 33:8), of Sin (Num 33:11), of Sinai, Num 33:15. Our removals in this world are but from one wilderness to another. (3.) They were led to and fro, forward and backward, as in a maze or labyrinth, and yet were all the while under the direction of the pillar of cloud and fire. He led them about (Deu 32:10), and yet led them the right way, Psa 107:7. The way which God takes in bringing his people to himself is always the best way, though it does not always seem to us the nearest way. (4.) Some events are mentioned in this journal, as their want of water at Rephidim (Num 33:14), the death of Aaron (Num 33:38, Num 33:39), the insult of Arad (Num 33:40); and the very name of Kibroth-hattaavah - the graves of lusts (Num 33:16), has a story depending upon it. Thus we ought to keep in mind the providences of God concerning us and our families, us and our land, and the many instances of that divine care which has led us, and fed us, and kept us, all our days hitherto. Shittim, the place where the people sinned in the matter of Peor (Num 25:1), is here called Abel-shittim. Abel signifies mourning (as Gen 50:11), and probably this place was so called from the mourning of the good people of Israel on account of that sin and of God's wrath against them for it. It was so great a mourning that it gave a name to the place.

Matthew Henry: Num 33:50-56

While the children of Israel were in the wilderness their total separation from all other people kept them out of the way of temptation to idolatry, and perhaps this was one thing intended by their long confinement in the wilderness, that thereby the idols of Egypt might be forgotten, and the people aired (as it were) and purified from that infection, and the generation that entered Canaan might be such as never knew those depths of Satan. But now that they were to pass over Jordan they were entering again into that temptation, and therefore, 1. They are here strictly charged utterly to destroy all remnants of idolatry. They must not only drive out the inhabitants of the land, that they may possess their country, but they must deface all their idolatrous pictures and images, and pull down all their high places, Num 33:52. They must not preserve any of them, no, not as monuments of antiquity to gratify the curious, nor as ornaments of their houses, nor toys for their children to play with, but they must destroy all, both in token of their abhorrence and detestation of idolatry and to prevent their being tempted to worship those images, and the false gods represented by them, or to worship the God of Israel by such images or representations. 2. They were assured that, if they did so, God would by degrees put them in full possession of the land of promise, Num 33:53, Num 33:54. If they would keep themselves pure from the idols of Canaan, God would enrich them with the wealth of Canaan. Learn not their way, and then fear not their power. 3. They were threatened that, if they spared either the idols or the idolaters, they should be beaten with their own rod and their sin would certainly be their punishment. (1.) They would foster snakes in their own bosoms, Num 33:55. The remnant of the Canaanites, if they made any league with them, though it were but a cessation of arms, would be pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides, that is, they would be upon all occasions vexatious to them, insulting them, robbing them, and, to the utmost of their power, making mischief among them. We must expect trouble and affliction from that, whatever it is, which we sinfully indulge; that which we are willing should tempt us we shall find will vex us. (2.) The righteous God would turn that wheel upon the Israelites which was to have crushed the Canaanites: I shall do to you as I thought to do unto them, Num 33:56. It was intended that the Canaanites should be dispossessed; but if the Israelites fell in with them, and learned their way, they should be dispossessed, for God's displeasure would justly be greater against them than against the Canaanites themselves. Let us hear this, and fear. If we do not drive sin out, sin will drive us out; if we be not the death of our lusts, our lusts will be the death of our souls.

Keil-Delitzsch: Num 33:1-49

As the Israelites had ended their wanderings through the desert, when they arrived in the steppes of Moab by the Jordan opposite to Jericho (Num 22:1), and as they began to take possession when the conquered land beyond Jordan was portioned out (ch. 32), the history of the desert wandering closes with a list of the stations which they had left behind them. This list was written out by Moses "at the command of Jehovah"(Num 33:2), as a permanent memorial for after ages, as every station which Israel left behind on the journey from Egypt to Canaan "through the great and terrible desert,"was a memorial of the grace and faithfulness with which the Lord led His people safely "in the desert land and in the waste howling wilderness, and kept him as the apple of His eye, as an eagle fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings"(Exo 19:4; Deu 32:10.).

Num 33:1-15

The first and second verses form the heading: " These are the marches of the children of Israel, which they marched out, "i.e., the marches which they made from one place to another, on going out of Egypt. מסּע does not mean a station, but the breaking up of a camp, and then a train, or march (see at Exo 12:37, and Gen 13:3). לצבאתם (see Exo 7:4). בּיד , under the guidance, as in Num 4:28, and Exo 38:21. למסעיהם מוצאיהם ," their goings out (properly, their places of departure) according to their marches ,"is really equivalent to the clause which follows: "their marches according to their places of departure." The march of the people is not described by the stations, or places of encampment, but by the particular spots from which they set out. Hence the constant repetition of the word ויּסעוּ , "and they broke up." In Num 33:3-5, the departure is described according to Exo 12:17, Exo 12:37-41. On the judgments of Jehovah upon the gods of Egypt, see at Exo 12:12. "With an high hand:"as in Exo 14:8. - The places of encampment from Succoth to the desert of Sinai (Num 33:5-15) agree with those in the historical account, except that the stations at the Red Sea (Num 33:10) and those at Dophkah and Alush (Num 33:13 and Num 33:14) are passed over there. For Raemses , see at Exo 12:37. Succoth and Etham (Exo 13:20). Pihahiroth (Exo 14:2). " The wilderness "(Num 33:8) is the desert of Shur , according to Exo 15:22. Marah , see Exo 15:23. Elim (Exo 15:27). For the Red Sea and the wilderness of Sin , see Exo 16:1. For Dophkah , Alush , and Rephidim , see Exo 17:1; and for the wilderness of Sinai , Exo 19:2.

Numbers 33:16-35

In vv. 16-36 there follow twenty-one names of places where the Israelites encamped from the time that they left the wilderness of Sinai till they encamped in the wilderness of Zin , i.e., Kadesh . The description of the latter as "the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh,"which agrees almost word for word with Num 20:1, and still more the agreement of the places mentioned in Num 33:37-49, as the encampments of Israel after leaving Kadesh till their arrival in the steppes of Moab, with the march of the people in the fortieth year as described in Num 20:22-22:1, put it beyond all doubt that the encampment in the wilderness of Zin, i.e., Kadesh (Num 33:36), is to be understood as referring to the second arrival in Kadesh after the expiration of the thirty-eight years of wandering in the desert to which the congregation had been condemned. Consequently the twenty-one names in vv. 16-36 contain not only the places of encampment at which the Israelites encamped in the second year of their march from Sinai to the desert of Paran at Kadesh, whence the spies were despatched into Canaan, but also those in which they encamped for a longer period during the thirty-eight years of punishment in the wilderness. This view is still further confirmed by the fact that the two first of the stations named after the departure from the wilderness of Sinai, viz., Kibroth-hattaavah and Hazeroth , agree with those named in the historical account in Num 11:34 and Num 11:35. Now if, according to Num 12:16, when the people left Hazeroth , they encamped in the desert of Paran , and despatched the spies thence out of the desert of Zin (Num 13:21), who returned to the congregation after forty days "into the desert of Paran to Kadesh "(Num 13:26), it is as natural as it well can be to seek for this place of encampment in the desert of Paran or Zin at Kadesh under the name of Rithmah , which follows Hazeroth in the present list (Num 33:18). This natural supposition reaches the highest degree of probability, from the fact that, in the historical account, the place of encampment, from which the sending out of the spies took place, is described in so indefinite a manner as the "desert of Paran ,"since this name does not belong to a small desert, just capable of holding the camp of the Israelites, but embraces the whole of the large desert plateau which stretches from the central mountains of Horeb in the south to the mountains of the Amorites, which really form part of Canaan, and contains no less than 400 (? 10,000 English) square miles. In this desert the Israelites could only pitch their camp in one particular spot, which is called Rithmah in the list before us; whereas in the historical account the passage is described, according to what the Israelites performed and experienced in this encampment, as near to the southern border of Canaan, and is thus pointed out with sufficient clearness for the purpose of the historical account. To this we may add the coincidence of the name Rithmah with the Wady Abu Retemat , which is not very far to the south of Kadesh, "a wide plain with shrubs and retem ,"i.e., broom (Robinson, i. p. 279), in the neighbourhood of which, and behind the chalk formation which bounds it towards the east, there is a copious spring of sweet water called Ain el Kudeirât . This spot was well adapted for a place of encampment for Israel, which was so numerous that it might easily stretch into the desert of Zin, and as far as Kadesh.

The seventeen places of encampment, therefore, that are mentioned in vv. 19-36 between Rithmah and Kadesh , are the places at which Israel set up in the desert, from their return from Kadesh into the "desert of the way to the Red Sea"(Num 14:25), till the reassembling of the whole congregation in the desert of Zin at Kadesh (Num 20:1).

(Note: The different hypotheses for reducing the journey of the Israelites to a few years, have been refuted by Kurtz (iii. §41) in the most conclusive manner possible, and in some respects more elaborately than was actually necessary. Nevertheless Knobel has made a fresh attempt, in the interest of his fragmentary hypothesis, to explain the twenty-one places of encampment given in vv. 16-37 as twenty-one marches made by Israel from Sinai till their first arrival at Kadesh. As the whole distance from Sinai to Kadesh by the straight road through the desert consists of only an eleven days' journey, Knobel endeavours to bring his twenty-one marches into harmony with this statement, by reckoning only five hours to each march, and postulating a few detours in addition, in which the people occupied about a hundred hours or more. The objection which might be raised to this, namely, that the Israelites made much longer marches than these on their way from Egypt to Sinai, he tries to set aside by supposing that the Israelites left their flocks behind them in Egypt, and procured fresh ones from the Bedouins at Sinai. But this assertion is so arbitrary and baseless an idea, that it is not worth while to waste a single word upon the subject (see Exo 12:38). The reduction of the places of encampment to simple marches is proved to be at variance with the text by the express statement in Num 10:33, that when the Israelites left the wilderness of Sinai they went a three days' journey, until the cloud showed them a resting-place. For it is perfectly evydent from this, that the march from one place to another cannot be understood without further ground as being simply a day's march of five hours.)

Of all the seventeen places not a single one is known, or can be pointed out with certainty, except Eziongeber . Only the four mentioned in Num 33:30-33, Moseroth , Bene-Jaakan , Hor-hagidgad , and Jotbathah , are referred to again, viz., in Deu 10:6-7, where Moses refers to the divine protection enjoyed by the Israelites in their wandering in the desert, in these words: "And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth-bene-Jaakan to Mosera ; there Aaron died, and there he was buried.... From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah , and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah , a land of water-brooks."Of the identity of the places mentioned in the two passages there can be no doubt whatever. Bene Jaakan is simply an abbreviation of Beeroth-bene-Jaakan , wells of the children of Jaakan. Now if the children of Jaakan were the same as the Horite family of Kanan mentioned in Gen 36:27, - and the reading יעקן for ועקן in 1Ch 1:42 seems to favour this-the wells of Jaakan would have to be sought for on the mountains that bound the Arabah on either the east or west.

Gudgodah is only a slightly altered and abbreviated form of Hor-hagidgad , the cave of Gidgad or Gudgodah ; and lastly, Moseroth is simply the plural form of Mosera . But notwithstanding the identity of these four places, the two passages relate to different journeys. Deu 10:6 and Deu 10:7 refers to the march in the fortieth year, when the Israelites went from Kadesh through the Wady Murreh into the Arabah to Mount Hor , and encamped in the Arabah first of all at the wells of the children, and then at Mosera , where Aaron died upon Mount Hor , which was in the neighbourhood, and whence they travelled still farther southwards to Gudgodah and Jotbathah . In the historical account in Num 20 and 21 the three places of encampment, Bene-Jaakan , Gudgodah , and Jotbathah , are not mentioned, because nothing worthy of note occurred there. Gudgodah was perhaps the place of encampment mentioned in Num 21:4, the name of which is not given, where the people were punished with fiery serpents; and Jotbathah is probably to be placed before Zalmonah (Num 33:41). The clause, "a land of water-brooks"(Deu 10:7), points to a spot in or near the southern part of the Arabah, where some wady, or valley with a stream flowing through it, opened into the Arabah from either the eastern or western mountains, and formed a green oasis through its copious supply of water in the midst of the arid steppe. But the Israelites had encamped at the very same places once before, namely, during their thirty-seven years of wandering, in which the people, after returning from Kadesh to the Red Sea through the centre of the great desert of et Tih , after wandering about for some time in the broad desert plateau, went through the Wady el Jerafeh into the Arabah as far as the eastern border of it on the slopes of Mount Hor, and there encamped at Mosera ( Moseroth ) somewhere near Ain et Taiyibeh (on Robinson 's map), and then crossed over to Bene-Jaakan , which was probably on the western border of the Arabah, somewhere near Ain el Ghamr (Robinson), and then turning southwards passed along the Wady el Jeib by Hor-gidgad ( Gudgodah ), Jotbathah , and Abronah to Eziongeber on the Red Sea; for there can be no doubt whatever that the Eziongeber in Num 33:35, Num 33:36, and that in Deu 2:8, are one and the same town, viz., the well-known port at the northern extremity of the Elanitic Gulf, where the Israelites in the time of Solomon and Jehoshaphat built a fleet to sail to Ophir (1Ki 9:26; 1Ki 22:49). It was not far from Elath (i.e., Akaba ), and is supposed to have been "the large and beautiful town of Asziun ,"which formerly stood, according to Makrizi , near to Aila , where there were many dates, fields, and fruit-trees, though it has now long since entirely disappeared.

Consequently the Israelites passed twice through a portion of the Arabah in a southerly direction towards the Red Sea, the second time from Wady Murreh by Mount Hor, to go round the land of Edom, not quite to the head of the gulf, but only to the Wady el Ithm , through which they crossed to the eastern side of Edomitis; the first time during the thirty-seven years of wandering from Wady el Jerafeh to Moseroth and Bene Jaakan, and thence to Eziongeber.

Num 33:36

" And they removed from Eziongeber, and encamped in the desert of Zin, that is Kadesh: "the return to Kadesh towards the end of the thirty-ninth year is referred to here. The fact that no places of encampment are given between Eziongeber and Kadesh, is not to be attributed to the "plan of the author, to avoid mentioning the same places of encampment a second time,"for any such plan is a mere conjecture; but it may be simply and perfectly explained from the fact, that on this return route-which the whole of the people, with their wives, children, and flocks, could accomplish without any very great exertion in ten or fourteen days, as the distance from Aila to Kadesh through the desert of Paran is only about a forty hours' journey upon camels, and Robinson travelled from Akabah to the Wady Retemath, near Kadesh, in four days and a half-no formal camp was pitched at all, probably because the time of penal wandering came to an end at Eziongeber, and the time had arrived when the congregation was to assemble again at Kadesh, and set out thence upon its journey to Canaan. - Hence the eleven names given in Num 33:19-30, between Rithmah and Moseroth , can only refer to those stations at which the congregation pitched their camp for a longer or shorter period during the thirty-seven years of punishment, on their slow return from Kadesh to the Red Sea, and previous to their entering the Arabah and encamping at Moseroth.

This number of stations, which is very small for thirty-seven years (only seventeen from Rithmah or Kadesh to Eziongeber), is a sufficient proof that the congregation of Israel was not constantly wandering about during the whole of that time, but may have remained in many of the places of encampment, probably those which furnished an abundant supply of water and pasturage, not only for weeks and months, but even for years, the people scattering themselves in all directions round about the place where the tabernacle was set up, and making use of such means of support as the desert afforded, and assembling together again when this was all gone, for the purpose of travelling farther and seeking somewhere else a suitable spot for a fresh encampment. Moreover, the words of Deu 1:46,"ye abode in Kadesh many days,"when compared with Num 2:1, "then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness of the way to the Red Sea,"show most distinctly, that after the sentence passed upon the people in Kadesh (Num 14), they did not begin to travel back at once, but remained for a considerable time in Kadesh before going southwards into the desert.

With regard to the direction which they took, all that can be said, so long as none of the places of encampment mentioned in Num 33:19-29 are discovered, is that they made their way by a very circuitous route, and with many a wide detour, to Eziongeber, on the Red Sea.

(Note: We agree so far, therefore, with the vie adopted by Fries , and followed by Kurtz (History of Old Covenant, iii. 306-7) and Schultz (Deut. pp. 153-4), that we regard the stations given in vv. 19-35, between Rithmah and Eziongeber , as referring to the journeys of Israel, after its condemnation in Kadesh, during the thirty-seven years of its wandering about in the desert. But we do not regard the view which these writers have formed of the marches themselves as being well founded, or in accordance with the text, - namely, that the people of Israel did not really come a second time in full procession from the south to Kadesh, but that they had never left Kadesh entirely, inasmuch as then the nation was rejected in Kadesh, the people divided themselves into larger and smaller groups, and that portion which was estranged from Moses, or rather from the Lord, remained in Kadesh even after the rest were scattered about; so that, in a certain sense, Kadesh formed the standing encampment and meeting-place of the congregation even during the thirty-seven years. According to this view, the removals and encampments mentioned in vv. 9-36 do not describe the marches of the whole nation, but are to be understood as the circuit made by the headquarters during the thirty-seven years, with Moses at the head and the sanctuary in the midst ( Kurtz ), or else as showing "that Moses and Aaron, with the sanctuary and the tribe of Levi, altered their resting-place, say from year to year, thus securing to every part of the nation in turn the nearness of the sanctuary, in accordance with the signals appointed by God (Num 10:11-12), and thus passed over the space between Kadesh and Eziongeber within the first eighteen years, and then, by a similar change of place, gradually drew near to Kadesh during the remaining eighteen or nineteen years, and at length in the last year summoned the whole nation (all the congregation) to assemble together at this meeting-place."Now we cannot admit that in this view "we find all the different and scattered statements of the Pentateuch explained and rendered intelligible."In the first place, it does not do justice even to the list of stations; for if the constantly repeated expression, "and they (the children of Israel, Num 33:1) removed...and encamped,"denotes the removal and encamping of the whole congregation in vv. 3-18 and Num 33:37-49, it is certainly at variance with the text to explain the same words in vv. 19-36 as signifying the removal and encamping of the headquarters only, or of Moses, with Aaron and the Levites, and the tabernacle. Again, in all the laws that were given and the events that are described as occurring between the first halt of the congregation in Kadesh (Num 13 and 14) and their return thither at the commencement of the fortieth year (Num 20), the presence of the whole congregation is taken for granted. The sacrificial laws in Num 15, which Moses was to address to the children of Israel (Num 15:1), were given to "the whole congregation"(cf. Num 33:24, Num 33:25, Num 33:26). The man who gathered wood on the Sabbath was taken out of the camp and stoned by "all the congregation"(Num 15:36). "All the congregation"took part in the rebellion of the company of Korah (Num 16:19; Num 17:6, Num 18:8.). It is true this occurrence is supposed by Kurtz to have taken place "during the halt in Kadesh,"but the reasons given are by no means conclusive (p. 105). Besides, if we assign everything that is related in Num 15-19 to the time when the whole congregation abode in Kadesh, this deprives the hypothesis of its chief support in Deu 1:46, "and ye abode in Kadesh a long time, according to the days that he abode."For in that case the long abode in Kadesh would include the period of the laws and incidents recorded in Num 15-19, and yet, after all, "the whole congregation"went away. In no case, in fact, can the words be understood as signifying that a portion of the nation remained there during the thirty-seven years. Nor can this be inferred in any way from the fact that their departure is not expressly mentioned; for, at all events, the statement in Num 20:1, "and the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the desert of Zin,"presupposes that they had gone away. And the "inconceivable idea, that in the last year of their wanderings, when it was their express intention to cross the Jordan and enter Canaan from the east, they should have gone up from Eziongeber to the southern boundary of Canaan, which they had left thirty-seven years before, merely to come back again to the neighbourhood of Eziongeber, after failing in their negotiations with the king of Edom, which they might have carried on from some place much farther south, and to take the road from that point to the country on the east of the Jordan after all"( Fries ), loses all the surprising character which it apparently has, if we only give up the assumption upon which it is founded, but which has no support whatever in the biblical history, viz., that during the thirty-seven years of their wandering in the desert, Moses was acquainted with the fact that the Israelites were to enter Canaan from the east, or at any rate that he had formed this plan for some time. If, on the contrary, when the Lord rejected the murmuring nation (Num 14:26), He decided nothing with reference to the way by which the generation that would grow up in the desert was to enter Canaan, - and it was not till after the return to Kadesh that Moses was informed by God that they were to advance into Canaan from the east and not from the south, - it was perfectly natural that when the time of punishment had expired, the Israelites should assemble in Kadesh again, and start from that point upon their journey onward.)

Num 33:37-49

The places of encampment on the journey of the fortieth year from Kadesh to Mount Hor, and round Edom and Moab into the steppes of Moab, have been discussed at Num 20 and 21. On Mount Hor, and Aaron's death there, see at Num 20:22. For the remark in Num 33:40 concerning the Canaanites of Arad, see at Num 21:1. On Zalmonah , Phunon , and Oboth , see at Num 21:10; on Ijje Abarim , at Num 21:11; on Dibon Gad , Almon Diblathaim , and the mountains of Abarim , before Nebo , Num 21:16-20. On Arboth Moab, see Num 22:1.

Keil-Delitzsch: Num 33:50-56

These instructions, with which the eyes of the Israelites were directed to the end of all their wandering, viz., the possession of the promised land, are arranged in two sections by longer introductory formulas (Num 33:50 and Num 35:1). The former contains the divine commands ( a ) with regard to the extermination of the Canaanites and their idolatry, and the division of the land among the tribes of Israel (Num 33:50-56); ( b ) concerning the boundaries of Canaan (Num 34:1-15); ( c ) concerning the men who were to divide the land (Num 34:16-29). The second contains commands ( a ) respecting the towns to be given up to the Levites (Num 35:1-8); ( b ) as to the setting apart of cities of refuge for unintentional manslayers, and the course to be adopted in relation to such manslayers (Num 35:9-34); and ( c ) a law concerning the marrying of heiresses within their own tribes (Num 36:1-13). - The careful dovetailing of all these legal regulations by separate introductory formulas, is a distinct proof that the section Num 33:50-56 is not to be regarded, as Baumgarten , Knobel , and others suppose, in accordance with the traditional division of the chapters, as an appendix or admonitory conclusion to the list of stations, but as the general legal foundation for the more minute instructions in Num 34-36.

Num 33:50-56

Command to Exterminate the Canaanites, and Divide their Land among the Families of Israel.

Num 33:51-53

When the Israelites passed through the Jordan into the land of Canaan, they were to exterminate all the inhabitants of the land, and to destroy all the memorials of their idolatry; to take possession of the land and well therein, for Jehovah had given it to them for a possession. הורישׁ , to take possession of (Num 33:53, etc.), then to drive out of their possession, to exterminate (Num 33:52; cf. Num 14:12, etc.). On Num 33:52, see Exo 34:13. משׂכּית , an idol of stone (cf. Lev 26:1). מסּכת צלמי , idols cast from brass. Massecah , see at Exo 32:4. Bamoth , altars of the Canaanites upon high places (see Lev 26:30).

Num 33:54-56

The command to divide the land by lot among the families is partly a verbal repetition of Num 26:53-56. וגו לו יצא אל־אשׁר : literally, "into that, whither the lot comes out to him, shall be to him"(i.e., to each family); in other words, it is to receive that portion of land to which the lot that comes out of the urn shall point it. "According to the tribes of your fathers:"see at Num 26:55. - The command closes in Num 33:55, Num 33:56, with the threat, that if they did not exterminate the Canaanites, not only would such as were left become "thorns in their eyes and stings in their sides,"i.e., inflict the most painful injuries upon them, and make war upon them in the land; but Jehovah would also do the very same things to the Israelites that He had intended to do to the Canaanites, i.e., drive them out of the land and destroy them. This threat is repeated by Joshua in his last address to the assembled congregation (Jos 23:13).

Constable: Num 26:1--36:13

II. Prospects of the younger generation in the land chs. 26--36

The focus of Numbers now changes from the older unbelieving generation of Israelites doomed to die in the wilderness to the younger generation that would enter the Promised Land.

"The parallels and contrasts between this narrative and the book of Ruth suggest that both texts are dealing with similar ideas. In fact, the picture of Ruth provides an excellent counterexample [sic] to that of the men of Israel in this episode. Ruth the Moabitess married an Israelite man and forsook her nation's gods to follow the Lord. For this she was given an inheritance in Israel. In this respect she is also like the daughters of Zelophehad in the next chapters of Numbers who also gained an inheritance among the men of Israel (Nu 27:1-11)."²⁴⁸

Constable: Num 33:1--36:13

B. Warning and encouragement of the younger generation chs. 33-36

God gave the final laws governing Israel's entrance into the Promised Land (33:50-36:13). However first Moses recorded at God's command this list of places from which the Israelites had set out on their journey from Egypt to Canaan.²⁷⁴ This list constitutes a memorial to the grace and faithfulness of God in thus far fulfilling His promises to the patriarchs. As a reminder of God's care of His people, it would have been a great encouragement as the Israelites looked forward to taking their final step into the land.

Constable: Num 33:1-49

1. Review of Israel's journey from Egypt 33:1-49

Forty-two stations appear in the list. Eighteen do not appear elsewhere in the record of the journey (vv. 13, 19-29), and four mentioned previously are absent in this chapter (cf. 11:3; 21:19). Obviously this is a selective list. What was God's criterion for including what He did here? As one studies this account of Israel's experiences since leaving Egypt certain patterns begin to emerge. For example, similar events recurred with regularity such as judgment by death, victory over enemies, provision of water and food, and opposition from within Israel. Evidently Moses intended this record to help the Israelites recognize first, their failure to learn from their past, and second, God's continuing faithfulness in spite of this inability.²⁷⁵

Archaeologists have not yet discovered many of the sites named. They were probably only camping places in the desert.

33:1-49 After introductory comments (vv. 1-2), Moses gave a list of 12 important places where Israel stopped from Egypt to Mt. Sinai (vv. 3-15). Note that he did not describe the march by identifying the places where Israel stopped but by citing them as places from which they set out (v. 2). This emphasizes the importance of the goal of their journey: the Promised Land. They set out from these places on their trek to the land.

Moses described the journey from Mt. Sinai to Kadesh and from Kadesh back to Kadesh next (vv. 16-36). This includes the period of 38 years in which Israel wandered while the older generations died out. From the comparatively small number of sites mentioned it is probable that Israel stayed at some locations for long periods of time. The nation was probably at rest much more than it was in transit during these years.

Some scholars believe Israel reversed directions after leaving Mt. Hor (20:23) and marched north to bypass Edom at its north end rather than its south.²⁷⁶ This view depends on identifying Punon and Oboth (vv. 42-44; cf. 21:10-11) with modern Feinan and el-Weibah, both of which are on Edom's west side rather than the east. These identifications are not sure, however. Deuteronomy 2:8 says the Israelites turned at Elath and Ezion-geber, which are at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Therefore this view seems unlikely.²⁷⁷

The last leg of the journey was from Kadesh, the second time, to the plains of Moab (vv. 37-49; cf. chs. 20-21).²⁷⁸

"His [Aaron's] death [vv. 38-39] came at a great age--a mark of God's blessing in his life. By the mercy of the Lord, his time was extended to the very last year of Israel's desert experience; his own sin (Num 20) kept him from living into the time of the conquest of the land."²⁷⁹

"Within the list of encampments are two short narratives that focus on the work of Moses (vv. 2-3) and Aaron (vv. 38-39). . . . Both narratives have the same comment that Moses (v. 2) and Aaron (v. 38) obeyed the command of the LORD.' Thus one of the purposes of this list within the larger strategy of the book appears to be to give a brief review of the work of these two great leaders. God used them and their obedience to lead the people in the wilderness for the forty years."²⁸⁰

"One impression cannot escape the student who has followed the account of Numbers up to this point, that is, the long-suffering grace of God in preserving a people as He had originally promised, through all the experiences of this vast number of places."²⁸¹

Constable: Num 33:50--Deu 1:1

2. Anticipation of the Promised Land 33:50-36:13

"The section breaks down into two groups of three laws each, carefully introduced by the clause and Yahweh spoke to Moses' (. . ., 33:50; 34:1, 16; 35:1, 9; cf. 36:6) and surrounded by the phrase on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho' (. . ., 33:50; 35:1; 36:13)."²⁸²

Constable: Num 33:50-56

Instructions to drive out the Canaanites 33:50-56

This brief section of instructions introduces specific directions concerning the division of the land and its towns that follow in chapters 34-36.

The repetition of "all" (v. 52) stresses the importance of completely clearing the land of its inhabitants and their religious paraphernalia. God wanted to clean up the land spiritually and to make it a "holy land." The land was a gift from God to His first-born son, Israel (v. 53). God warned the Israelites what would happen to them if they were not completely obedient (vv. 55-56). The Canaanites would be a constant source of irritation to them, and God would deal with His people as He planned to deal with the Canaanites.

Guzik: Num 33:1-56

Numbers 33 - Review of the Exodus, Preview of the Conquest

A. Looking back: What God had already done.

1. (1-2) The account of Israel's journey, written by the command of the LORD.

These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the LORD. And these are their journeys according to their starting points:

2. (3-4) The departure from Egypt.

They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had killed among them. Also on their gods the LORD had executed judgments.

a. The children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians: Though they were slaves, they did not have to shrink out of Egypt; God gave them the boldness to leave as conquerors, not as escaping slaves.

b. On their gods the LORD had executed judgments: The plagues the LORD brought upon Egypt were not randomly chosen; they were specifically intended to humble the people and rebuke their belief in the bizarre and demonic Egyptian deities.

3. (5-15) From Egypt to Mount Sinai.

Then the children of Israel moved from Rameses and camped at Succoth. They departed from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. They moved from Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth, which is east of Baal Zephon; and they camped near Migdol. They departed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days' journey in the Wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah. They moved from Marah and came to Elim. At Elim were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there. They moved from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. They moved from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin. They journeyed from the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. They departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. They moved from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. They departed from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.

a. Then the children of Israel moved from Rameses . . . and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai: This portion of the journey took them more than a year, but most of the time was not spent traveling, but in receiving the law at Mount Sinai.

4. (16-49) From Mount Sinai to the shores of the Jordan River.

They moved from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah. They departed from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. They departed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. They departed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez. They departed from Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah. They moved from Libnah and camped at Rissah. They journeyed from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. They went from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. They moved from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. They moved from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. They moved from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. They departed from Tahath and camped at Terah. They moved from Terah and camped at Mithkah. They went from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. They departed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan. They moved from Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Hagidgad. They went from Hor Hagidgad and camped at Jotbathah. They moved from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. They departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber. They moved from Ezion Geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. They moved from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom. Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the LORD, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor. Now the king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel. So they departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. They departed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. They departed from Punon and camped at Oboth. They departed from Oboth and camped at Ije Abarim, at the border of Moab. They departed from Ijim and camped at Dibon Gad. They moved from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim. They moved from Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. They departed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. They camped by the Jordan, from Beth Jesimoth as far as the Abel Acacia Grove in the plains of Moab.

a. They moved from the Wilderness of Sinai: This portion of the journey took them some 38 years; not because the distance was so long, but because God led them in wanderings because the generation of unbelief had to die in the wilderness before a generation of faith could be raised up to take possession of the Promised Land.

b. Kibroth Hattaavah . . . Hazeroth . . . Rithmah . . .: The listing of Israel's encampments comes rapidly; more than 30 place-names are given in quick succession. During this time, there was a lot of activity for the people of Israel - but no progress. They weren't coming any closer to the Promised Land, and would not come closer until the generation of unbelief had passed away.

B. Looking ahead: The conquest of Canaan.

1. (50-53) The command to conquer the inhabitants of Canaan.

Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places; you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess.'"

a. You shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you: God had a unique role for the nation of Israel in regard to the people of Canaan. He used them as an unique instrument of judgment against the Canaanites.

b. Drive out all the inhabitants of the land, and to destroy all their engraved stones . . . their molded images . . their high places: This unique purpose explains why Israel was commanded not only to defeat them militarily, but to erase the remains of the idolatrous culture. Modern archaeology has documented the corrupt and demonic worship practices of the Canaanites. They were truly a culture ripe for the judgment of God.

2. (54-56) The command to possess the land of Canaan.

And you shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families; to the larger you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a smaller inheritance; there everyone's inheritance shall be whatever falls to him by lot. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. Moreover it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them.

a. You shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families: God's intent was not only to bring judgment on the corrupt culture of the Canaanites, but also to give the land to Israel to possess.

b. If you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides: If Israel failed to drive the Canaanites out of the land, they could still occupy the Promised Land - but the corrupt practices and heart of the Canaanites would find a place among Israel, and Israel itself would eventually be driven out of the land (it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them).

i. This became true of Israel's history. They did not fully drive out the Canaanites, and though they possessed the land, the corruption of the Canaanites continued among Israel until eventually God allowed Israel to be driven out of the land in exile.

ii. It is of no use for the church to succeed in the eyes of man - as Israel had succeeded when the occupied the land and became a legitimate nation, instead of an enslaved people - if it merely allows the corrupt practices and attitudes of the world to take root. If this happens, the church should expect to be eventually driven from its place of success.

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: Num 33:44

NUMBERS 33:44-49 —Why is the list of places Israel stopped different here from the ones stated earlier (in Numbers 21 )?

PROBLEM: Numbers 21 speaks of the Israelites stopping off at Oboth, Ije Abarim, Zered, Arnon, Beer, Mattanah, Nahaliel, Bamoth, and Mt. Pisgah in Moab. But the Numbers 33 list of stopoffs includes Oboth, Ije Abarim, Dibon Gad, Almon Diblathaim, mountains of Abarim near Mt. Nebo, and the Plains of Moab.

SOLUTION: Understanding several factors helps to reconcile the apparent discrepancy. First, both lists begin with the exact same names and end in the exact same place (east of Jordan near Jericho). Second, since both lists are in the same book the author saw no contradiction between them. Third, some places may have had more than one name. Ije Abarim, for example, is also called Ijim ( Num. 33:44-45 ). Fourth, neither list may be complete, listing only the names that the author wished to stress at that time. Numbers 21 lists six places in between Ije Abarim and Moab, whereas Numbers 33 lists only three. The more complete list may be astatistic account and the smaller one a historical perspective. Fifth, the list in Numbers 33 may be the head quarters of Moses and the tabernacle. Sixth, since there were millions of people who covered a broad stretch of land, more than one city may have been occupied at the same time. Seventh, in their wandering Israel may have covered the same ground twice, first the more circuitous one and then a more direct route (cf. Num. 33:30-33 ).   

Critics Ask: Num 33:45

NUMBERS 33:44-49 —Why is the list of places Israel stopped different here from the ones stated earlier (in Numbers 21 )?

PROBLEM: Numbers 21 speaks of the Israelites stopping off at Oboth, Ije Abarim, Zered, Arnon, Beer, Mattanah, Nahaliel, Bamoth, and Mt. Pisgah in Moab. But the Numbers 33 list of stopoffs includes Oboth, Ije Abarim, Dibon Gad, Almon Diblathaim, mountains of Abarim near Mt. Nebo, and the Plains of Moab.

SOLUTION: Understanding several factors helps to reconcile the apparent discrepancy. First, both lists begin with the exact same names and end in the exact same place (east of Jordan near Jericho). Second, since both lists are in the same book the author saw no contradiction between them. Third, some places may have had more than one name. Ije Abarim, for example, is also called Ijim ( Num. 33:44-45 ). Fourth, neither list may be complete, listing only the names that the author wished to stress at that time. Numbers 21 lists six places in between Ije Abarim and Moab, whereas Numbers 33 lists only three. The more complete list may be astatistic account and the smaller one a historical perspective. Fifth, the list in Numbers 33 may be the head quarters of Moses and the tabernacle. Sixth, since there were millions of people who covered a broad stretch of land, more than one city may have been occupied at the same time. Seventh, in their wandering Israel may have covered the same ground twice, first the more circuitous one and then a more direct route (cf. Num. 33:30-33 ).   

Critics Ask: Num 33:46

NUMBERS 33:44-49 —Why is the list of places Israel stopped different here from the ones stated earlier (in Numbers 21 )?

PROBLEM: Numbers 21 speaks of the Israelites stopping off at Oboth, Ije Abarim, Zered, Arnon, Beer, Mattanah, Nahaliel, Bamoth, and Mt. Pisgah in Moab. But the Numbers 33 list of stopoffs includes Oboth, Ije Abarim, Dibon Gad, Almon Diblathaim, mountains of Abarim near Mt. Nebo, and the Plains of Moab.

SOLUTION: Understanding several factors helps to reconcile the apparent discrepancy. First, both lists begin with the exact same names and end in the exact same place (east of Jordan near Jericho). Second, since both lists are in the same book the author saw no contradiction between them. Third, some places may have had more than one name. Ije Abarim, for example, is also called Ijim ( Num. 33:44-45 ). Fourth, neither list may be complete, listing only the names that the author wished to stress at that time. Numbers 21 lists six places in between Ije Abarim and Moab, whereas Numbers 33 lists only three. The more complete list may be astatistic account and the smaller one a historical perspective. Fifth, the list in Numbers 33 may be the head quarters of Moses and the tabernacle. Sixth, since there were millions of people who covered a broad stretch of land, more than one city may have been occupied at the same time. Seventh, in their wandering Israel may have covered the same ground twice, first the more circuitous one and then a more direct route (cf. Num. 33:30-33 ).   

Critics Ask: Num 33:47

NUMBERS 33:44-49 —Why is the list of places Israel stopped different here from the ones stated earlier (in Numbers 21 )?

PROBLEM: Numbers 21 speaks of the Israelites stopping off at Oboth, Ije Abarim, Zered, Arnon, Beer, Mattanah, Nahaliel, Bamoth, and Mt. Pisgah in Moab. But the Numbers 33 list of stopoffs includes Oboth, Ije Abarim, Dibon Gad, Almon Diblathaim, mountains of Abarim near Mt. Nebo, and the Plains of Moab.

SOLUTION: Understanding several factors helps to reconcile the apparent discrepancy. First, both lists begin with the exact same names and end in the exact same place (east of Jordan near Jericho). Second, since both lists are in the same book the author saw no contradiction between them. Third, some places may have had more than one name. Ije Abarim, for example, is also called Ijim ( Num. 33:44-45 ). Fourth, neither list may be complete, listing only the names that the author wished to stress at that time. Numbers 21 lists six places in between Ije Abarim and Moab, whereas Numbers 33 lists only three. The more complete list may be astatistic account and the smaller one a historical perspective. Fifth, the list in Numbers 33 may be the head quarters of Moses and the tabernacle. Sixth, since there were millions of people who covered a broad stretch of land, more than one city may have been occupied at the same time. Seventh, in their wandering Israel may have covered the same ground twice, first the more circuitous one and then a more direct route (cf. Num. 33:30-33 ).   

Critics Ask: Num 33:48

NUMBERS 33:44-49 —Why is the list of places Israel stopped different here from the ones stated earlier (in Numbers 21 )?

PROBLEM: Numbers 21 speaks of the Israelites stopping off at Oboth, Ije Abarim, Zered, Arnon, Beer, Mattanah, Nahaliel, Bamoth, and Mt. Pisgah in Moab. But the Numbers 33 list of stopoffs includes Oboth, Ije Abarim, Dibon Gad, Almon Diblathaim, mountains of Abarim near Mt. Nebo, and the Plains of Moab.

SOLUTION: Understanding several factors helps to reconcile the apparent discrepancy. First, both lists begin with the exact same names and end in the exact same place (east of Jordan near Jericho). Second, since both lists are in the same book the author saw no contradiction between them. Third, some places may have had more than one name. Ije Abarim, for example, is also called Ijim ( Num. 33:44-45 ). Fourth, neither list may be complete, listing only the names that the author wished to stress at that time. Numbers 21 lists six places in between Ije Abarim and Moab, whereas Numbers 33 lists only three. The more complete list may be astatistic account and the smaller one a historical perspective. Fifth, the list in Numbers 33 may be the head quarters of Moses and the tabernacle. Sixth, since there were millions of people who covered a broad stretch of land, more than one city may have been occupied at the same time. Seventh, in their wandering Israel may have covered the same ground twice, first the more circuitous one and then a more direct route (cf. Num. 33:30-33 ).   

Critics Ask: Num 33:49

NUMBERS 33:44-49 —Why is the list of places Israel stopped different here from the ones stated earlier (in Numbers 21 )?

PROBLEM: Numbers 21 speaks of the Israelites stopping off at Oboth, Ije Abarim, Zered, Arnon, Beer, Mattanah, Nahaliel, Bamoth, and Mt. Pisgah in Moab. But the Numbers 33 list of stopoffs includes Oboth, Ije Abarim, Dibon Gad, Almon Diblathaim, mountains of Abarim near Mt. Nebo, and the Plains of Moab.

SOLUTION: Understanding several factors helps to reconcile the apparent discrepancy. First, both lists begin with the exact same names and end in the exact same place (east of Jordan near Jericho). Second, since both lists are in the same book the author saw no contradiction between them. Third, some places may have had more than one name. Ije Abarim, for example, is also called Ijim ( Num. 33:44-45 ). Fourth, neither list may be complete, listing only the names that the author wished to stress at that time. Numbers 21 lists six places in between Ije Abarim and Moab, whereas Numbers 33 lists only three. The more complete list may be astatistic account and the smaller one a historical perspective. Fifth, the list in Numbers 33 may be the head quarters of Moses and the tabernacle. Sixth, since there were millions of people who covered a broad stretch of land, more than one city may have been occupied at the same time. Seventh, in their wandering Israel may have covered the same ground twice, first the more circuitous one and then a more direct route (cf. Num. 33:30-33 ).   

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Numbers (Book Introduction)

NUMBERS. This book is so called because it contains an account of the enumeration and arrangement of the Israelites. The early part of it, from the first through the tenth chapters, appears to be a supplement to Leviticus, being occupied with relating the appointment of the Levites to the sacred offices. The journal of the march through the wilderness is then given as far as Num 21:20; after which the early incidents of the invasion are narrated. One direct quotation only from this book (Num 16:5) is made in the New Testament (2Ti 2:19); but indirect references to it by the later sacred writers are very numerous.

JFB: Numbers (Outline)

• MOSES NUMBERING THE MEN OF WAR. (Num. 1:1-54)
• THE ORDER OF THE TRIBES IN THEIR TENTS. (Num. 2:1-34)
• THE LEVITES' SERVICE. (Num. 3:1-51)
• OF THE LEVITES' SERVICE. (Num. 4:1-49)
• THE UNCLEAN TO BE REMOVED OUT OF THE CAMP. (Num 5:1-4)
• RESTITUTION ENJOINED. (Num 5:5-10)
• THE TRIAL OF JEALOUSY. (Num. 5:11-31)
• THE LAW OF THE NAZARITE IN HIS SEPARATION. (Num. 6:1-22)
• THE FORM OF BLESSING THE PEOPLE. (Num 6:23-27)
• THE PRINCES' OFFERINGS. (Num. 7:1-89)
• HOW THE LAMPS ARE TO BE LIGHTED. (Num 8:1-4)
• THE CONSECRATION OF THE LEVITES. (Num. 8:5-22)
• THE PASSOVER ENJOINED. (Num 9:1-5)
• A SECOND PASSOVER ALLOWED. (Num 9:6-14)
• A CLOUD GUIDES THE ISRAELITES. (Num 9:15-23)
• THE USE OF THE SILVER TRUMPETS. (Num. 10:1-36)
• MANNA LOATHED. (Num. 11:1-35)
• MIRIAM'S AND AARON'S SEDITION. (Num 12:1-9)
• MIRIAM'S LEPROSY. (Num 12:10-16)
• THE NAMES OF THE MEN WHO WERE SENT TO SEARCH THE LAND. (Num. 13:1-33)
• THE PEOPLE MURMUR AT THE SPIES' REPORT. (Num. 14:1-45)
• THE LAW OF SUNDRY OFFERINGS. (Num. 15:1-41)
• THE REBELLION OF KORAH. (Num. 16:1-30)
• AARON'S ROD FLOURISHES. (Num 17:1-13)
• THE CHARGE OF THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES. (Num 18:1-7)
• THE PRIESTS' PORTION. (Num 18:8-20)
• THE LEVITES' PORTION. (Num 18:21-32)
• THE WATER OF SEPARATION. (Num. 19:1-22)
• THE DEATH OF MIRIAM. (Num. 20:1-29)
• ISRAEL ATTACKED BY THE CANAANITES. (Num. 21:1-35)
• BALAK'S FIRST MESSAGE FOR BALAAM REFUSED. (Num. 22:1-20)
• THE JOURNEY. (Num. 22:21-41)
• BALAK'S SACRIFICES. (Num. 23:1-30)
• BALAAM FORETELLS ISRAEL'S HAPPINESS. (Num. 24:1-25)
• THE ISRAELITES' WHOREDOM AND IDOLATRY WITH MOAB. (Num. 25:1-18)
• ISRAEL NUMBERED. (Num. 26:1-51)
• THE DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD ASK FOR AN INHERITANCE. (Num 27:1-11)
• MOSES BEING TOLD OF HIS APPROACHING DEATH, ASKS FOR A SUCCESSOR. (Num 27:12-17)
• JOSHUA APPOINTED TO SUCCEED HIM. (Num 27:18-23)
• OFFERINGS TO BE OBSERVED. (Num. 28:1-31)
• THE OFFERING AT THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS. (Num. 29:1-40)
• VOWS ARE NOT TO BE BROKEN. (Num. 30:1-16)
• THE MIDIANITES SPOILED AND BALAAM SLAIN. (Num. 31:1-54)
• THE REUBENITES AND GADITES ASK FOR AN INHERITANCE. (Num. 32:1-42)
• TWO AND FORTY JOURNEYS OF THE ISRAELITES--FROM EGYPT TO SINAI. (Num 33:1-15)
• THE BORDERS OF THE LAND OF CANAAN. (Num. 34:1-29)
• EIGHT AND FORTY CITIES GIVEN TO THE LEVITES. (Num 35:1-5)
• CITIES OF REFUGE. (Num 35:6-8)
• THE BLOOD AVENGER. (Num. 35:9-34)
• THE INCONVENIENCE OF THE INHERITANCE. (Num 36:1-13)

TSK: Numbers (Book Introduction)

The book of Numbers is a book containing a series of the most astonishing providences and events. Every where and in every circumstance God appears; and yet there is no circumstance or occasion which does not justify those signal displays of his grace and mercy; and in every relation we perceive the consistency of the divine intentions, and the propriety of those laws which he established.

TSK: Numbers 33 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Num 33:1, The two and forty journeys of the Israelites; Num 33:50, The Canaanites are to be destroyed.

Poole: Numbers (Book Introduction)

FOURTH BOOK OF MOSES, CALLED NUMBERS

THE ARGUMENT

This Book giveth us a history of almost forty years travel of the children of Israel through the wilderness, where we have an account of their journeys, and what happened to them therein, with their government, and how they were managed thereby; called Numbers by reason of the several numberings of the people, as at the offerings of the princes, and at their several journeys, &c. But especially two: one, Chapter 1, out of which the priests and Levites were excepted, but numbered by themselves, viz. in the second year after they were come out of Egypt, in the first month whereof the passover was instituted; with the order about the tabernacle, both of the Levites and people, and their several marches, encampings, and manner of pitching their tents, the priests’ maintenance and establishment, by the miraculous budding of Aaron’ s rod, with the several impediments in their marches, both among themselves by several murmurings, seditions, and conspiracies; and from their enemies, viz. the Edomites, Canaanites, over whom having obtained a victory, and afterwards murmuring, they were stung with fiery serpents, and cured by the brazen one; Amorites, whose kings, Sihon and Og, they overcame and slew; and Moabites, where by the allurements of Balaam, who was hired by Balak to curse Israel, they joined themselves to Baal-peor , and are plagued for it; that openly opposed them. The other chief numbering is in Chapter 26, where they are found almost as many as at the first, though among them were none of the first numbering, (according to what God had threatened, Chapter 14,) save Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, by reason of their desire to return back into Egypt upon the discouraging report often of those twelve that Moses sent to spy out the land; whereupon they were forced to wander above thirty-eight years in the wilderness; where he gave them several laws, civil, ecclesiastical, and military; as also particular directions about women’ s inheriting, occasioned by the case of Zelophehad’ s daughters, and concerning vows; and then brings them back to the borders of Canaan, where, after divers victories obtained against their enemies, they were directed how the land of Canaan was to be divided among the tribes, and what portion the Levites were to have among them, together with six cities of refuge set apart for the manslayer. At length Aaron being dead, and Eleazar placed in his stead, and Moses also having received the sentence of death, doth, by God’ s appointment, deliver up the people unto the charge and conduct of Joshua.

Poole: Numbers 33 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 33

A relation of the marches and campings of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan, Num 33:1-49 . They are commanded to drive out the Canaanites, and destroy their pictures, molten images, and high places, and to divide the land by lot, Num 33:50-54 . The Canaanites, if not dispossessed, should trouble and vex them; and God would do to them as he thought to do to the others, Num 33:55-56 .

MHCC: Numbers (Book Introduction)

This book is called NUMBERS from the several numberings of the people contained in it. It extends from the giving of the law at Sinai, till their arrival in the plains of Jordan. An account is given of their murmuring and unbelief, for which they were sentenced to wander in the wilderness nearly forty years; also some laws, both, moral and ceremonial. Their trials greatly tended to distinguish the wicked and hypocrites from the faithful and true servants of God, who served him with a pure heart.

MHCC: Numbers 33 (Chapter Introduction)

(v. 1-49) Encampments of the Israelites.

(Num 33:50-56) The Canaanites to be destroyed.

Matthew Henry: Numbers (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Fourth Book of Moses, Called Numbers

The titles of the five books of Moses, which we use in our Bibles, are all borrowed from the Greek translation of the Seventy, the most ancient version of the Old Testament that we know of. But the title of this book only we turn into English; in all the rest we retain the Greek word itself, for which difference I know no reason but that the Latin translators have generally done the same. Otherwise this book might as well have been called Arithmoi , the Greek title, as the first Genesis, and the second Exodus; or these might as well have been translated, and called, the first the Generation, or Original, the second the Out-let, or Escape, as this Numbers. - This book was thus entitled because of the numbers of the children of Israel, so often mentioned in this book, and so well worthy to give a title to it, because it was the remarkable accomplishment of God's promise to Abraham that his seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude. It also relates to two numberings of them, one at mount Sinai (ch. 1), the other in the plains of Moab, thirty-nine years after (ch. 26). And not three men the same in the last account that were in the first. The book is almost equally divided between histories and laws, intermixed.

We have here, I. The histories of the numbering and marshalling of the tribes (ch. 1-4), the dedication of the altar and Levites (ch. 7, 8), their march (ch. 9, 10), their murmuring and unbelief, for which they were sentenced to wander forty years in the wilderness (ch. 11-14), the rebellion of Korah (ch. 16, Num 17:1-13), the history of the last year of the forty (ch. 20-26), the conquest of Midian, and the settlement of the two tribes (ch. 31, 32), with an account of their journeys (ch. 33), II. Divers laws about the Nazarites, etc. (ch. 5, 6); and again about the priests' charge, etc. (ch. 18, 19), feasts (ch. 28, 29), and vows (ch. 30), and relating to their settlement in Canaan (ch. 27, 34, 35, Num 36:1-13). An abstract of much of this book we have in a few words in Psa 95:10, Forty years long was I grieved with this generation; and an application of it to ourselves in Heb 4:1, Let us fear lest we seem to come short. Many considerable nations there were now in being, that dwelt in cities and fortified towns, of which no notice is taken, no account kept, by the sacred history: but very exact records are kept of the affairs of a handful of people, that dwelt in tents, and wandered strangely in a wilderness, because they were the children of the covenant. For the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

Matthew Henry: Numbers 33 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter we have, I. A particular account of the removals and encampments of the children of Israel, from their escape out of Egypt to their entrance into Canaan, forty-two in all, with some remarkable events that happened at some of those places (v. 1-49). II. A strict command given them to drive out all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, which they were not going to conquer and take possession of (Num 33:50-56). So that the former part of the chapter looks back upon their march through the wilderness, the latter looks forward to their settlement in Canaan.

Constable: Numbers (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The title the Jews used in their Hebrew Old Testament for this book comes from the fifth word in the book in the Hebrew text, bemidbar: "in the wilderness." This is, of course, appropriate since the Israelites spent most of the time covered in the narrative of Numbers wandering in the wilderness.

The English title "Numbers" is a translation of the Greek title Arithmoi. The Septuagint translators chose this title because of the two censuses of the Israelites that Moses recorded at the beginning (chs. 1-4) and toward the end (ch. 26) of the book. These numberings of the people took place at the beginning and end of the wilderness wanderings and frame the contents of Numbers.

Date and Writer

Moses wrote Numbers (cf. Num. 1:1; 33:2; Matt. 8:4; 19:7; Luke 24:44; John 1:45; et al.). He evidently did so late in his life on the plains of Moab.¹ Moses evidently died close to 1406 B.C. since the Exodus happened about 1446 B.C., and the Israelites were in the wilderness for 40 years.

Scope and purpose

When the book opens the Israelites were in the second month of the second year after they departed from Egypt (1:1). In chapters 7-10 we read things that happened in the nation before that. These things happened when Moses finishing setting up the tabernacle, which occurred on the first day of the first month of the second year (7:1; cf. Exod. 40:17). When Numbers closes the Israelites were in the tenth month of the fortieth year (cf. Deut. 1:3). Thus the time Numbers covers is about 39 years.

Geographically the Israelites travelled from Mt. Sinai to the plains of Moab, which lay to the east of Jericho and the Jordan River. However their journey was not at all direct. They proceeded from Sinai to Kadesh Barnea on Canaan's southern border but failed to go into the Promised Land from there because of unbelief. Their failure to trust God and obey Him resulted in a period of 38 years of wandering in the wilderness. God finally brought them back to Kadesh and led them from there to the plains of Moab that lay on Canaan's eastern border.

Even though the wilderness wanderings consumed the majority of the years Numbers records, Moses passed over the events of this period of Israel's history fairly quickly. God's emphasis in this book is on His preparation of the Israelites to enter the land from Kadesh (chs. 1-14), and their preparation to enter from the plains of Moab (chs. 20-36). This indicates that the purpose of the book was primarily to show how God dealt with the Israelites as they anticipated entrance into the Promised Land. It was not to record all the events, or even most events, that took place in Israel's history. This selection of content to teach spiritual lessons is in harmony with the other books of the Pentateuch. Their concern too was more theological than historical.

"The material in Numbers cannot be understood apart from what precedes it in Exodus and Leviticus. The middle books of the Pentateuch hang closely together, with Genesis forming a prologue, and Deuteronomy the epilogue to the collection."²

The content stresses events leading to the destruction of the older generation of Israelites in the wilderness and the preparation of the new generation for entrance into the land. The census at the beginning of the book (chs. 1-4) and the one at the end (ch. 26) provide, ". . . the overarching literary and theological structure of the book of Numbers."³

"We may also venture the purpose of the book in this manner: To compel obedience to Yahweh by members of the new community by reminding them of the wrath of God on their parents because of their breach of covenant; to encourage them to trust in the ongoing promises of their Lord as they follow him into their heritage in Canaan; and to provoke them to worship of God and to the enjoyment of their salvation."⁴

"The Book of Numbers seems to be an instruction manual to post-Sinai Israel. The manual' deals with three areas: (a) how the nation was to order itself in its journeyings, (b) how the priests and Levites were to function in the condition of mobility which lay ahead, and (c) how they were to prepare themselves for the conquest of Canaan and their settled lives there. The narrative sections, of which there are many, demonstrate the successes and failures of the Lord's people as they conformed and did not conform to the requirements in the legislative, cultic, and prescriptive parts of the book."⁵

Theme

I believe the theme of the book is obedience. However others have suggested different though related themes.

"The theme of the Book of Numbers is worship."⁶

"The major theological theme of Numbers is reciprocal in nature: God has brought a people to Himself by covenant grace, but He expects of them a wholehearted devotion. Having accepted the terms of the Sinai Covenant, Israel had placed herself under obligation to obey them, a process that was to begin at once and not in some distant place and time (Exod. 19:8; 24:3)."⁷

Message⁸

To formulate a statement that summarizes the teaching of this book it will be helpful to identify some of the major revelations in Numbers. These constitute the unique values of the book.

The first major value of Numbers is that it reveals the graciousness of God to an extent not previously revealed. We see God's graciousness in His dealings with Israel throughout this book.

In the first section of Numbers (chs. 1-10) God's provision for His people stands out. We see this in the order and purity God specified for the maintenance of the Israelite camp. We see it in the worship God provided for in the camp. We also see it in the movement God prescribed for the camp. God faithfully provided for the needs of His people in these many ways as they prepared to enter the Promised Land.

In the second section of the book (chs. 11-21) God's patience with His people stands out. When the Israelites failed to obey God He did not desert them, but He disciplined them in love. God's patience in dealing with the Israelites did not result from God's weakness, but it was an evidence of His strength. God did not manifest carelessness toward the Israelites by making them wander in the wilderness for 38 years. He manifested carefulness as He used those 38 years to prepare the next generation to obey Him. God disciplined the people for their disobedience, but He always directed them toward the realization of His purpose for them as He disciplined them. The years of wilderness wandering were years of education rather than abandonment. He had similarly prepared Moses for 40 years in the wilderness before the Exodus.

In the third section (chs. 22-36) God's persistence in bringing Israel to the threshold of the land is prominent. God protected Israel from her enemies and provided for her needs. Even though Israel had been unfaithful God persisted in demonstrating faithfulness to the nation He had chosen to bless.

A second major value of this book is the revelation it contains of the gravity of unbelief. This is a revelation of man whereas the first was a revelation of God. Numbers reveals the seriousness of the sin of unbelief that manifests itself in disobedience. The Israelites struggled with unbelief throughout the book, but the most serious instance of it took place at Kadesh Barnea (chs. 13-14).

Numbers reveals the roots of unbelief. These were two causes: a mixed multitude and mixed motives.

The congregation consisted of a combination of believing Israelites and others who had for various reasons joined themselves to the people of God, a mixed multitude. These foreigners joined Israel first at the Exodus (Exod. 12:38), but we find them mixed in with the Israelites throughout Israel's subsequent history (cf. Lev. 24:10-23). This "rabble" was first to complain against God, and their murmuring spread through the camp like a plague periodically (cf. 11:4).

The second cause of unbelief was the mixed motives of the Israelites. They wanted to enjoy God's blessings and obeyed Him to a degree to obtain these. However, they also wanted things that God in His love for them did not want them to have (cf. Gen. 3). The Israelites did not fully commit themselves to God (cf. Rom. 12:1-2). They did not fully allow God to shape them into a nation to fulfill His purpose for them in the world. This too resulted in murmuring. They longed for what they had experienced in Egypt and preferred a comfortable life to the adventurous life to which God had called them. Murmuring is the telltale evidence of selfishness. It arises from a lack of singleminded dedication to God.

The message of Numbers is that everything depends on our attitude toward God. Our attitude toward our opportunities and our circumstances reveals our attitude toward God. If we are not content with what God has brought into our lives, it indicates we may want something different for ourselves than what God wants for us.

When we face a challenge to our faith we must see the difficulty overshadowed by God's presence, power, and promises.

The alternative is to allow the difficulty to block our view of God. The influences of unbelievers and our own doublemindedness will seek to make us behave as the Israelites did. At these times of testing Israel's experiences in Numbers should help us understand what is going on and trust God and obey Him more consistently.

The message of Numbers is a message of comfort on the one hand.

Numbers teaches that the failures of God's people cannot frustrate His plans. In Exodus we saw that the opposition of God's enemies cannot defeat Him. In Numbers we see that the failure of His instruments cannot defeat Him either. God's chosen instruments can postpone God's purposes, but they cannot preclude them.

In Numbers we also see that God always deals with His chosen instruments righteously. He will bless the minority who are faithful to Him even though they live among a majority who are under His discipline for being unfaithful. We see this in God's dealings with Caleb and Joshua. God honors the faithful. He will also faithfully work with those He is disciplining because of unfaithfulness. He will encourage them to experience the greatest blessing they can within the sphere of their discipline. We see this in His dealings with the rebellious generation. Furthermore God will not overlook those who have disobeyed Him because they have established a record of past obedience. He will discipline them too. We see this in God's dealings with Moses. Whereas God honors the faithful He also disciplines the unfaithful.

Numbers further teaches us that God's provisions are always adequate for His people's needs (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9). He sustained the Israelites in the wilderness. Their failures were not a result of God's inadequate provision but their own dissatisfaction with His provision. God Himself is an adequate resource for His people as we go through life (cf. Exod. 14-17).

On the other hand Numbers is also a message of warning. Every believer and every group of believers (e.g., a local church) from time to time face the same challenge to faith that the Israelites faced in the wilderness and at Kadesh. The crisis comes when faith encounters obstacles that only God's supernatural power can overcome. The believer should then proceed against these obstacles in simple confidence in God. Our response will depend on whether we are willing to act on our belief that God's presence, power, and promises can overcome them.

We can fail to realize all that God wants for us if we fail to trust Him.

By way of review Genesis expounds faith. Exodus reveals that faith manifests itself in worship and obedience. Leviticus explains worship more fully. Numbers stresses the importance of obedience.

Numbers shows the importance of obedience by revealing the roots, process, and fruits of disobedience.

Constable: Numbers (Outline)

Outline

I. Experiences of the older generation in the wilderness chs. 1-25

A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the south chs. 1-10

1. The first census and the organization of the people chs. 1-4

2. Commands and rituals to observe in preparation for entering the land chs. 5-9

3. The departure from Sinai ch. 10

B. The rebellion and judgment of the unbelieving generation chs. 11-25

1. The cycle of rebellion, atonement, and death chs. 11-20

2. The climax of rebellion, hope, and the end of dying chs. 21-25

II. Prospects of the younger generation in the land chs. 26-36

A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the east chs. 26-32

1. The second census ch. 26

2. Provisions and commands to observe in preparation for entering the land chs. 27-30

3. Reprisal against Midian and the settlement of the Transjordanian tribes chs. 31-32

B. Warning and encouragement of the younger generation chs. 33-36

1. Review of the journey from Egypt 33:1-49

2. Anticipation of the Promised Land 33:50-36:13

Constable: Numbers

Numbers

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Numbers (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION.

This fourth Book of Moses is called Numbers , because it begins with the numbering of the people. The Hebrews, from its first words, call it Vaydedabber . It contains the transactions of the Israelites, from the second month of the second year after their going out of Egypt, until the beginning of the eleventh month of the 40th year; that is, a history almost of thirty-nine years. (Challoner) --- In the nine first chapters various orders of people are described, and several laws are given or repeated. From the 10th to the 33d, the marches and history of God's people are related; (Haydock) from the 20th of the second month, in the second year after their departure out of Egypt, till the eleventh month of the 40th year, and the last of Moses: so that this Book contains the transactions of almost thirty-nine years; (Tirinus) whereas, the Book of Leviticus specified only some of the laws and occurrences of one month. Here we behold what opposition Moses experienced from Aaron and his sister, from Core, and from all the people; and yet God protected him, in the midst of all dangers, and confounded, not only their attempts, but those also of Balaam, and of all his external foes. (Haydock) --- Moses conquers the Madianites, and divides the conquered country between the tribes of Ruben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasses. In the three last chapters, he describes the land of Chanaan, orders all the inhabitants to be exterminated, assigns cities for the Levites, and for refuge; and forbids such marriages, as might cause any confusion in the distribution of the lands belonging to each tribe. Moses composed this part of the Pentateuch, as well as that of Deuteronomy, a little while before his death, out of the memoirs which he had carefully preserved. (Calmet) --- According to Usher, the people were numbered this second time, in the year of the world 2514, chap. i.; after which they leave the desert of Sinai, (chap. x. 11.) go to Cades-barne, and return thither again 2552. Soon after this, Mary and Aaron die; Moses lifts up the brazen serpent; and the Hebrews take possession of part of the promised land (2553) on the eastern banks of the Jordan. That on the western side, flowing with milk and honey, was conquered by Josue in the following years. (Haydock)

Gill: Numbers (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS

This book has its name from the account it gives of the "numbers" of the children of Israel, twice taken particularly; which name it has with this Greeks and Latins, and so with the Syriac and Arabic versions; but with the Jews it is called sometimes "Vajedabber", from the first word of it, "and the Lord spake"; and sometimes "Bemidbar", from the fifth word of the first verse, "in the wilderness", and sometimes "Sepher Pikkudim"; or, as with Origen ^a, "Ammesph‚kodim", the book of musters or surveys. That it was written by Moses is not to be doubted; and is indeed suggested by our Lord himself, Joh 5:46 compared with Num 3:14, and the references to it, in the New Testament, fully ascertain to us Christians the authenticity of it, as that of our Lord hinted at, and those of the apostle in 1Co 10:4. It contains an history of the affairs of the Israelites, and of their travel in the wilderness for the space of thirty eight years; though the principal facts it relates were done in the second year of their coming out of Egypt, and in the last of their being in the wilderness; and it is not merely historical, but gives a particular account of several laws, ceremonial and judicial, to be observed by the people of Israel, as well as has many things in it very instructive, both of a moral and evangelical nature.

Gill: Numbers 33 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 33

This chapter gives an account of the journeys of the people of Israel, from their first coming out of Egypt, to their arrival in the plains of Moab by Jordan, and the names of the various stations where they rested are given, Num 33:1 and they are ordered, when they passed over Jordan, to drive out the Canaanites, destroy their idols, and divide the land among their families in their several tribes, Num 33:50 or otherwise it is threatened the Canaanites should be troublesome and vexatious to them, even those that remained; and it might be expected God would do to the Israelites as he thought to do to those nations, Num 33:55.