21:6 So the Lord sent poisonous 1 snakes 2 among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died.
1 tn Heb “fiery.”
2 tn The designation of the serpents/ snakes is נְחָשִׁים (nÿkhashim), which is similar to the word for “bronze” (נְחֹשֶׁת, nÿkhoshet). This has led some scholars to describe the serpents as bronze in color. The description of them as fiery indicates they were poisonous. Perhaps the snake in question is a species of adder.