Numbers 20:14-19

Rejection by the Edomites

20:14 ¹ Moses ²  sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: ³  “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardships we have experienced, ⁴  20:15 how our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time, ⁵  and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors badly. ⁶  20:16 So when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent a messenger, ⁷  and has brought us up out of Egypt. Now ⁸  we are here in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your country. ⁹  20:17 Please let us pass through ¹⁰  your country. We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well. We will go by the King’s Highway; ¹¹  we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region.’” ¹² 

20:18 But Edom said to him, “You will not pass through me, ¹³  or I will come out against ¹⁴  you with the sword.” 20:19 Then the Israelites said to him, “We will go along the highway, and if we ¹⁵  or our cattle drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We will only pass through on our feet, without doing anything else.”

[20:14]  ¹ sn For this particular section, see W. F. Albright, “From the Patriarchs to Moses: 2. Moses out of Egypt,” BA 36 (1973): 57-58; J. R. Bartlett, “The Land of Seir and the Brotherhood of Edom,” JTS 20 (1969): 1-20, and “The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Edom,” PEQ 104 (1972): 22-37, and “The Brotherhood of Edom,” JSOT 4 (1977): 2-7.

[20:14]  ² tn Heb “And Moses sent.”

[20:14]  ³ sn Some modern biblical scholars are convinced, largely through arguments from silence, that there were no unified kingdoms in Edom until the 9th century, and no settlements there before the 12th century, and so the story must be late and largely fabricated. The evidence is beginning to point to the contrary. But the cities and residents of the region would largely be Bedouin, and so leave no real remains.

[20:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “found.”

[20:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “many days.”

[20:15]  ⁶ tn The verb רָעַע (ra’a’) means “to act or do evil.” Evil here is in the sense of causing pain or trouble. So the causative stem in our passage means “to treat wickedly.”

[20:16]  ⁷ tn The word could be rendered “angel” or “messenger.” Some ambiguity may be intended in this report.

[20:16]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) to emphasize the “here and now” aspect of the report to Edom.

[20:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “your border.”

[20:17]  ¹⁰ tn The request is expressed by the use of the cohortative, “let us pass through.” It is the proper way to seek permission.

[20:17]  ¹¹ sn This a main highway running from Damascus in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba, along the ridge of the land. Some scholars suggest that the name may have been given by the later Assyrians (see B. Obed, “Observations on Methods of Assyrian Rule in Transjordan after the Palestinian Campaign of Tiglathpileser III,” JNES 29 [1970]: 177-86). Bronze Age fortresses have been discovered along this highway, attesting to its existence in the time of Moses. The original name came from the king who developed the highway, probably as a trading road (see S. Cohen, IDB 3:35-36).

[20:17]  ¹² tn Heb “borders.”

[20:18]  ¹³ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of prohibition.

[20:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to meet.”

[20:19]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text uses singular pronouns, “I” and “my,” but it is the people of Israel that are intended, and so it may be rendered in the plural. Similarly, Edom speaks in the first person, probably from the king. But it too could be rendered “we.”