Numbers 20:22-23

Aaron’s Death

20:22 So the entire company of Israelites ¹  traveled from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. ²  20:23 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom. He said:

Numbers 21:4

Fiery Serpents

21:4 Then they traveled from Mount Hor by the road to the Red Sea, ³  to go around the land of Edom, but the people ⁴  became impatient along the way.

[20:22]  ¹ tn Again the passage uses apposition: “the Israelites, the whole community.”

[20:22]  ² sn The traditional location for this is near Petra (Josephus, Ant. 4.4.7). There is serious doubt about this location since it is well inside Edomite territory, and since it is very inaccessible for the transfer of the office. Another view places it not too far from Kadesh Barnea, about 15 miles (25 km) northeast at Jebel Madurah, on the northwest edge of Edom and so a suitable point of departure for approaching Canaan from the south (see J. L. Mihelec, IDB 2:644; and J. de Vaulx, Les Nombres [SB], 231). Others suggest it was at the foot of Mount Hor and not actually up in the mountains (see Deut 10:6).

[21:4]  ³ tn The “Red Sea” is the general designation for the bodies of water on either side of the Sinai peninsula, even though they are technically gulfs from the Red Sea.

[21:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “the soul of the people,” expressing the innermost being of the people as they became frustrated.