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 21:29

21:29 Woe to you, Moab.

You are ruined, O people of Chemosh! ⁴ 

He has made his sons fugitives,

and his daughters the prisoners of King Sihon of the Amorites.

Numbers 31:26

31:26 “You and Eleazar the priest, and all the family leaders of the community, take the sum ⁵  of the plunder that was captured, both people and animals.

[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.

[21:29]  ⁴ sn The note of holy war emerges here as the victory is a victory over the local gods as well as over the people.

[31:26]  ⁷ tn The idiom here is “take up the head,” meaning take a census, or count the totals.