Numbers 21:1

Victory at Hormah

21:1 ¹ When the Canaanite king of Arad ²  who lived in the Negev ³  heard that Israel was approaching along the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoner.

Numbers 21:22-24

21:22 “Let us ⁴  pass through your land; ⁵  we will not turn aside into the fields or into the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well, but we will go along the King’s Highway until we pass your borders.” 21:23 But Sihon did not permit Israel to pass through his border; he ⁶  gathered all his forces ⁷  together and went out against Israel into the wilderness. When ⁸  he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. 21:24 But the Israelites ⁹  defeated him in battle ¹⁰  and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strongly defended.

Deuteronomy 2:1-4

The Journey from Kadesh Barnea to Moab

2:1 Then we turned and set out toward the desert land on the way to the Red Sea ¹¹  just as the Lord told me to do, detouring around Mount Seir for a long time. 2:2 At this point the Lord said to me, 2:3 “You have circled around this mountain long enough; now turn north. 2:4 Instruct ¹²  these people as follows: ‘You are about to cross the border of your relatives ¹³  the descendants of Esau, ¹⁴  who inhabit Seir. They will be afraid of you, so watch yourselves carefully.

Deuteronomy 2:27

2:27 “Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the roadway. ¹⁵  I will not turn aside to the right or the left.

Deuteronomy 2:29

2:29 just as the descendants of Esau who live at Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land the Lord our God is giving us.”

[21:1]  ¹ sn This chapter has several events in it: the victory over Arad (vv. 1-3), the plague of serpents (vv. 4-9), the approach to Moab (vv. 10-20), and the victory over Sihon and Og (vv. 21-35). For information, see D. M. Gunn, “The ‘Battle Report’: Oral or Scribal Convention.” JBL 93 (1974): 513-18; and of the extensive literature on the archaeological site, see EAEHL 1:74-89.

[21:1]  ² sn The name Arad probably refers to a place a number of miles away from Tel Arad in southern Israel. The name could also refer to the whole region (like Edom).

[21:1]  ³ tn Or “the south”; “Negev” has become a technical name for the southern desert region and is still in use in modern times.

[21:22]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses the singular in these verses to match the reference to “Israel.”

[21:22]  ⁵ tc Smr has “by the King’s way I will go. I will not turn aside to the right or the left.”

[21:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “Sihon.”

[21:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “people.”

[21:23]  ⁸ tn The clause begins with a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, but may be subordinated to the next preterite as a temporal clause.

[21:24]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text has “Israel,” but the verb is plural.

[21:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “with the edge of the sword.”

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Reed Sea.” See note on the term “Red Sea” in Deut 1:40.

[2:4]  ¹² tn Heb “command” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “charge the people as follows.”

[2:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “brothers”; NAB “your kinsmen.”

[2:4]  ¹⁴ sn The descendants of Esau (Heb “sons of Esau”; the phrase also occurs in 2:8, 12, 22, 29). These are the inhabitants of the land otherwise known as Edom, south and east of the Dead Sea. Jacob’s brother Esau had settled there after his bitter strife with Jacob (Gen 36:1-8). “Edom” means “reddish,” probably because of the red sandstone of the region, but also by popular etymology because Esau, at birth, was reddish (Gen 25:25).

[2:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the way in the way” (בַּדֶּרֶךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ, baderekh baderekh). The repetition lays great stress on the idea of resolute determination to stick to the path. IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.