Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Numbers 21:10 - 21:20

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Numbers 21:10 - 21:20


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:



From Oboth to Jeshimon

v. 10. And the children of Israel set forward and pitched in Oboth,
somewhere on the eastern side of the Land of Seir.

v. 11. And they journeyed from Oboth and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sun rising,
on the eastern boundary of the land of Moab.

v. 12. From thence they removed and pitched in the Valley of Zared,
a small river which flows into the southeastern corner of the Dead Sea.

v. 13. From thence they removed and pitched on the other side of Arnon,
a small river which flows into the Dead Sea from the east, midway between its northern and southern extremities, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites; for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. Their camp here was beyond, that is, on the south side of, the river Arnon, and east of the territory of Moab.

v. 14. Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord,
probably a collection of epics dealing with the adventures of the children of Israel during their desert journey and until they gained possession of the Land of Promise, What He did in the Red Sea and in the brooks of Arnon, the various tributaries which unite to form the Arnon,

v. 15. and at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar and lieth upon the border of Moab.
The quotation offers some difficulties, since it is taken out of its connection, but may probably be rendered as follows: And onward (Jehovah led them) unto the Red Sea, and to the brooks of Arnon, and to the slope of the brooks which extends to the dwelling of Ar and flanks the boundary of Moab. The words reflect, in a measure, the heroic mood which possessed the children of Israel as they came near the end of their journey.

v. 16. And from thence they went to Beer; that is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.
The people, having dug a well under the direction of Moses, by the command of God, found excellent water, and therefore praised the Lord in a song of thanksgiving.

v. 17. Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it.

v. 18. The princes digged the well,
or, well dug for the princes, the nobles of the people digged it, hollowed it out, by the direction of the lawgiver, that is, with their scepters, as the symbols of their authority, with their staves, since they directed the work. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah,

v. 19. and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,


v. 20. and from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon.
So they reached the wide valley which is in the fields of Moab, a plateau which on the one side overlooks the desert on the other slopes down to the Dead Sea. While the location of these camps, for the most part, is a matter of conjecture, the text plainly shows that the army of Israel, having marched around the Land of Seir and skirted the extreme edge of the land of the Moabites, pretty well out in the Arabian Desert, now turned westward, along the southern banks of the tributaries of the Arnon, until the host reached the more thickly settled portions of the lands under Moabitish dominion. So God had made good His promise to the people and led them safely and well to the very boundaries of Canaan, although they were still on the eastern side of the Dead Sea and the river Jordan.