The cloudy pillar led the Israelites, but apparently Moses had reason to believe that God was directing them eastward into the territory of Edom and from there north to Transjordan. Consequently he sent messengers to the King of Edom requesting permission to pass through his land (v. 14).
The Edomites were Israel's "brother"(v. 14) in that they were the descendants of Esau.
The "king's highway"(vv. 17, 19) was a broad major thoroughfare through Edom that caravans and armies as well as private citizens travelled. It was part of a trade route connecting Damascus and Arabia.174The Israelites did not take this route.
Moses took an irenic approach in dealing with the Edomites because they were the Israelites' relatives. They were not Canaanites that God had commanded His people to attack and destroy.
The Edomites refused to let Israel pass. This antagonistic attitude characterized Edom's approach to Israel throughout the history of these two nations and finally drew God's judgment upon Edom (cf. Obad. 10-14).
The Israelites remained in the area west of Edom temporarily and then proceeded to circle around Edom taking a generally southeasterly course toward the Gulf of Aqabah (cf. 21:4).
"A close reading of these narratives shows that the pattern in the account of Israel's failure to believe (Nu 14) is repeated in this account of Moses' unbelief. The complaints of the people (14:1-4; 20:2-5) lead the Lord to conclude that Israel (14:11) and Moses (20:12) are lacking in faith. Moreover, both narratives are followed by an account of Israel's aborted attempt to gain immediate entrance into the Promised Land. In chapter 14, it was Israel's defeat by the Amalekites (14:40-45), and in the present passage it is Edom's refusal to let Israel pass through their land (20:14-21). In these various ways, the author seems intent on showing the similarities between Israel's failure of faith and that of Moses. Both failed to believe God and hence could not go into the land."175
