Reference: Numbers, The Book Of
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So called because the first three chapters contain the numbering of the Hebrews and Levites, which was performed separately, after the erection and consecration of he tabernacle. The rest of the book contains an account of the breaking up of the Israelites from Sinai, and their subsequent wanderings in the desert, until their arrival on the borders of Moab. It was written by Moses, B. C. 1451, and is the fourth book of the Pentateuch. See EXODUS.
Fausets
The book takes its name from the numberings (Numbers 1 and Numbers 26). The Hebrew name it from its first word waedaber, or its first distinctive word Bemidbar. It narrates Israel's stay in the desert from the law giving at Sinai (Le 27:34) to their mustering in Moab's plains before entering Canaan. The parts are four:
(1) Preparations for breaking up the camp at Sinai to march to Canaan (Numbers 1 - 10:10).
(2) March from Sinai to Canaan's border; repulse by the Amorites (Nu 10:11-14:45).
(3) Selected incidents and enactments during the 38 years' penal wandering (Nu 15-19).
(4) Last year in the desert, the 40th year after the Exodus (Nu 20;Nu 20:13).
Israel's first encampment near Kadesh was at Rithmah (from retem, the "broom") in midsummer, in the second year after the Exodus; there for 40 days they awaited the spies' report (Nu 13:20,25-26; 33:18-19, from verses 20 to 36 are the stages of penal wandering). On the first month of the 40th year they are at Kadesh once more. The tabernacle and Moses remained at Kadesh on the first occasion, while Israel attempted to occupy Canaan too late (Nu 14:44). For a long period ("many days") they stayed still here, after failure, in hope God would yet remit the sentence (De 1:45-46). Then they "compassed Mount Seir (the wilderness of Paran) many days," until that whole generation died (De 2:1). The 17 stations belong to that dreary period (Nu 33:19-36). The people spread about the ridges of Paran, while the tabernacle and camp moved among them from place to place. At the second encampment at Kadesh they stayed three or four months (Nu 20:1 with Nu 1:22-28; 33:38). Miriam died, and was buried there.
The people mustering all together exhausted the natural water supply; the smiting of the rock, and the sentence on Moses and Aaron followed (Nu 20:2 ff; Nu 20:12-13); from Kadesh Israel sent the message to Edom (Nu 20:14, etc.). On the messengers' return Israel left Kadesh for Mount Hor, where Aaron dies; then proceeded by the marches in Nu 33:41-49 round Edom to Moab. The camp and tabernacle, with the priests and chiefs, during the wanderings, were the nucleus and rallying point; and the encampments named in Nu 33:18-36 are those at which the tabernacle was pitched. Kehelathah ("assembling": Nu 33:22) and Makheloth ("assemblies") were probably stages at which special gatherings took place. During the year's stay at Sinai the people would disperse to seek food: so also during the 38 years' wandering. They bought provisions from neighbouring tribes (De 2:26-29). Fish at Ezion Geber (Nu 33:35) was obtainable.
Caravans passed over the desert of wandering as the regular route between the East and Egypt. The resources of the region sufficed in that day for a comparatively large population whose traces are found. The excessive hardships detailed De 1:19; 8:15, belong to the closing marches of the 40th year through the Arabah, not to the whole period (Nu 21:4). Between the limestone cliffs of the Tih on the W. and the granite range of Seir on the E. the Arabah is a mountain plain of loose sand and granite gravel, with little food or water, and troubled with sand storms from the gulf.
CHRONOLOGY. Numbers begins with the first day of the second month of the second year after they left Egypt (Nu 1:1). Aaron's death occurred in the first day of the fifth month of the 40th year (Nu 33:38), the first encampment in the final march to Canaan (Nu 20:22). Between these two points intervene 38 years and three months of wandering (De 2:14; Nu 14:27-35). Moses recapitulated the law after Sihon's and Og's defeat in the beginning of the eleventh month of the 40th year (De 1:3-4). Thus six months intervene between Aaron's death and Deuteronomy; in them the events of the fourth part of the Book of Numbers (Nu 20:1 to the end) occurred, excepting Arad's defeat. The first month mourning for Aaron occupies, Nu 20:29; part of the host in this month avenged Arad's attack during Israel's journey from Kadesh to Mount Hor.
Arad's attack would be while Israel was near, nor would be wait until Israel withdrew 60 miles S. to Mount Hor (Nu 20:23,25). His attack was evidently when the camp moved from Kadesh, which was immediately S. of Arad. He feared their invasion would be "by way of the spies," namely, from the same quarter as before (Nu 14:40-45; 21:1), so he took the offensive. The war with Arad precedes in time Numbers 20, Aaron's burial at Mount Hor, and is the first of the series of victories under Moses narrated from this point. (See HORMAH.) Next, from Mount Hor Israel compassed Edom by way of the Red Sea (Nu 21:4), a 220-mile journey, about four weeks, to the brook Zered (Nu 21:12), the first westward flowing brook they met, marking therefore an epoch in their march. Then follows Sihon's and Og's overthrow at Jahaz and Edrei, about the middle of the third of the six months.
Their defeat caused Balak to summon Balaam to curse Israel from "Pethor, which was on the river (Euphrates) in his native land" (so, Nu 22:5), at least 350 miles distant. Two months suffice for his ambassadors to go and return twice, and for Balaam's prophesying (Numbers 22-24). Israel probably was meanwhile securing and completing the conquest of Gilead and Bashan. Six weeks thus remain for Midian's seduction of Israel, the plague (Numbers 25), the second numbering on the plains of Moab (Numbers 26), and the attack on Midian (Numbers 31), God retributively scourging the tempters by their own victims: "beside those (kings) that fell in the battle they put to death the kings of Midian (five, namely) Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba" (Nu 31:8), "Balaam also they slew" judicially, not in battle. So Moses' death is foreannounced as to follow the vengeance upon Midian (Nu 31:2). Deuteronomy is his last testimony, just after the war, and before his death in the eleventh month of the 40th year.
AUTHOR AND DATE. The catalog of stages from Egypt to Moab (Nu 33:2) is expressly attributed to Moses. The living connection of special enactments with incidents which occasioned them proves that this characteristic mixture of narrative and legislation comes from a contemporary annalist. Leviticus completed the Sinai legislation, but the stay in tents in the wilderness required supplementary directions not originally provided, as Nu 19:14, also Numbers 5; Nu 9:6-14; Numbers 19 (Nu 19:11 the plague after Korah's rebellion necessitating ordinances concerning defilement by contact with the dead), Numbers 30; Numbers 36, the law of heiresses marrying in their tribe, being at the suit of the Machirite chiefs, as the law of their inheriting was issued on the suit of Zelophehad's daughters (Numbers 27), and that was due to Jehovah's command to divide the land according to the number of names, by lot (Nu 26:52-56). So the ordinances Nu 15:4, etc., Nu 15:22,24,32.
The author's intimate knowledge of Egypt appears in the trial of jealousy (Nu 5:11), the purifications of the priests (Nu 8:7, etc.), the ashes of the red heifer (Numbers 19); all having an affinity to, though certainly not borrowed from, Egyptian rites. So the people refer to their former Egyptian foods (Nu 11:5-6). The building of Hebron seven years before Zoan (Tanis: probably connected here because both had the scale builder, one of the Hyksos, shepherd kings of Egypt, who originally perhaps came from the region of the Anakim), the N.E. frontier town of Egypt (Nu 13:22). References to the Exodus from Egypt (Nu 3:13; 14:19; 15:41). The regulations for encamping and marching (Numbers 2; Nu 9:16; etc., Nu 10:1-28), and Moses' invocation (Nu 10:35-36).
The directions for removing the tabernacle (Numbers 3 and Numbers 4). The very inconsistency seeming between Nu 4:3,23,30, fixing the Levites' limit of age to 30, and Nu 8:24 appointing the age 25 (the reason being, the 30 was temporary, the number of able-bodied Levites between 30 and 50 sufficing for the conveyance of the tabernacle in the wilderness; but, when Israel was in Canaan, the larger number afforded by the earlier limit 25 to 50 was required: David enlarged the number, as the needs of the sanctuary service required, by reducing the age for entrance to 20 (1Ch 23:24-28), younger men b
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Every male among you, from one generation to another, is to undergo circumcision when he is eight days old, with every servant whose birth takes place in your house, or for whom you gave money to someone of another country, and not of your seed. He who comes to birth in your house and he who is made yours for a price, all are to undergo circumcision; so that my agreement may be marked in your flesh, an agreement for all time.
So now, give the man back his wife, for he is a prophet, and let him say a prayer for you, so your life may be safe: but if you do not give her back, be certain that death will come to you and all your house.
Now on the journey, at the night's resting-place, the Lord came in his way and would have put him to death.
And the Lord said to Moses, See I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet.
And if the lamb is more than enough for the family, let that family and its nearest neighbour have a lamb between them, taking into account the number of persons and how much food is needed for every man.
And a mixed band of people went with them; and flocks and herds in great numbers.
And the Lord said to Moses, Make a record of this in a book, so that it may be kept in memory, and say it again in the ears of Joshua: that all memory of Amalek is to be completely uprooted from the earth.
For he said, The Lord has taken his oath that there will be war with Amalek from generation to generation.
So you are to keep the Sabbath as a holy day; and anyone not honouring it will certainly be put to death: whoever does any work on that day will be cut off from his people.
These are the orders which the Lord gave to Moses for the children of Israel in Mount Sinai.
And the Lord said to Moses in the waste land of Sinai, in the Tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they came out of the land of Egypt,
And the Lord said to Moses in the waste land of Sinai, in the Tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they came out of the land of Egypt,
The generations of the sons of Simeon were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over, who was able to go to war; Fifty-nine thousand, three hundred of the tribe of Simeon were numbered. read more. The generations of the sons of Gad were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Forty-five thousand, six hundred and fifty of the tribe of Gad were numbered. The generations of the sons of Judah were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war; Seventy-four thousand, six hundred of the tribe of Judah were numbered. The generations of the sons of Issachar were numbered by their families and their fathers' houses, every male of twenty years old and over who was able to go to war;
For all the first sons are mine; on the day when I put to death all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I took for myself every first male birth of man and beast. They are mine; I am the Lord.
Every first son from a month old and over was numbered by name, and the number came to twenty-two thousand, two hundred and seventy-three.
All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
Every one from thirty to fifty years old who is able to do the work of the Tent of meeting.
And this is how you are to make them clean: let the holy water which takes away sin be put on them, and let the hair all over their bodies be cut off with a sharp blade, and let their clothing be washed and their bodies made clean.
This is the rule for the Levites: those of twenty-five years old and over are to go in and do the work of the Tent of meeting;
And the Lord said to Moses, in the waste land of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt,
In the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you are to keep it at the regular time, and in the way ordered in the law.
And there were certain men who were unclean because of a dead body, so that they were not able to keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: And these men said to him, We have been made unclean by the dead body of a man; why may we not make the offering of the Lord at the regular time among the children of Israel? read more. And Moses said to them, Do nothing till the Lord gives me directions about you. And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel, If any one of you or of your families is unclean because of a dead body, or is on a journey far away, still he is to keep the Passover to the Lord: In the second month, on the fourteenth day, in the evening, they are to keep it, taking it with unleavened bread and bitter-tasting plants;
In the second month, on the fourteenth day, in the evening, they are to keep it, taking it with unleavened bread and bitter-tasting plants; Nothing of it is to be kept till the morning, and no bone of it is to be broken: they are to keep it by the rules of the Passover.
Nothing of it is to be kept till the morning, and no bone of it is to be broken: they are to keep it by the rules of the Passover. But the man who, not being unclean or on a journey, does not keep the Passover, will be cut off from his people: because he did not make the offering of the Lord at the regular time, his sin will be on him. read more. And if a man from another country is among you and has a desire to keep the Passover to the Lord, let him do as is ordered in the law of the Passover: there is to be the same rule for the man from another nation and for him who had his birth in the land.
And so it was at all times: it was covered by the cloud, and by a light as of fire by night.
And the Lord said to Moses, Make two silver horns of hammered work, to be used for getting the people together and to give the sign for the moving of the tents. read more. When they are sounded, all the people are to come together to you at the door of the Tent of meeting. If only one of them is sounded, then the chiefs, the heads of the thousands of Israel, are to come to you. When a loud note is sounded, the tents placed on the east side are to go forward. At the sound of a second loud note, the tents on the south side are to go forward: the loud note will be the sign to go forward. But when all the people are to come together, the horn is to be sounded but not loudly. The horns are to be sounded by the sons of Aaron, the priests; this is to be a law for you for ever, from generation to generation. And if you go to war in your land against any who do you wrong, then let the loud note of the horn be sounded; and the Lord your God will keep you in mind and give you salvation from those who are against you. And on days of joy and on your regular feasts and on the first day of every month, let the horns be sounded over your burned offerings and your peace-offerings; and they will put the Lord in mind of you: I am the Lord your God. Now in the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud was taken up from over the Tent of witness.
Now in the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud was taken up from over the Tent of witness. And the children of Israel went on their journey out of the waste land of Sinai; and the cloud came to rest in the waste land of Paran.
And the children of Israel went on their journey out of the waste land of Sinai; and the cloud came to rest in the waste land of Paran. They went forward for the first time on their journey as the Lord had given orders by the hand of Moses.
They went forward for the first time on their journey as the Lord had given orders by the hand of Moses. First the flag of the children of Judah went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.
First the flag of the children of Judah went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. And at the head of the army of the children of Issachar was Nethanel, the son of Zuar. read more. And at the head of the army of the children of Zebulun was Eliab, the son of Helon. Then the House was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were responsible for moving the House, went forward. Then the flag of the children of Reuben went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Elizur, the son of Shedeur. And at the head of the army of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. At the head of the army of the children of Gad was Eliasaph, the son of Reuel. Then the Kohathites went forward with the holy place; the others put up the House ready for their coming. Then the flag of the children of Ephraim went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Elishama, the son of Ammihud. At the head of the army of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. At the head of the army of the children of Benjamin was Abidan, the son of Gideoni. And the flag of the children of Dan, whose tents were moved last of all, went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. At the head of the army of the children of Asher was Pagiel, the son of Ochran. And at the head of the army of the children of Naphtali was Ahira, the son of Enan. This was the order in which the children of Israel were journeying by armies; so they went forward.
And when the ark went forward Moses said, Come up, O Lord, and let the armies of those who are against you be broken, and let your haters go in flight before you. And when it came to rest, he said, Take rest, O Lord, and give a blessing to the families of Israel.
And the mixed band of people who went with them were overcome by desire: and the children of Israel, weeping again, said, Who will give us flesh for our food? Sweet is the memory of the fish we had in Egypt for nothing, and the fruit and green plants of every sort, sharp and pleasing to the taste: read more. But now our soul is wasted away; there is nothing at all: we have nothing but this manna before our eyes.
And I will come down and have talk with you there: and I will take some of the spirit which is on you and put it on them, and they will take part of the weight of the people off you, so that you do not have to take it by yourself.
And Moses said to him, Are you moved by envy on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord might put his spirit on them!
Now the man Moses was more gentle than any other man on earth.
And he said, Now give ear to my words: if there is a prophet among you I will give him knowledge of myself in a vision and will let my words come to him in a dream.
Send men to get knowledge about the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from every tribe of their fathers you are to send a man, every one a chief among them.
Of the tribe of Joseph, that is of the family of Manasseh, Gaddi, the son of Susi. Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel, the son of Gemalli.
And if the land is fertile or poor, and if there is wood in it or not. And be of good heart, and come back with some of the produce of the land. Now it was the time when the first grapes were ready.
They went up into the South and came to Hebron; and Ahiman and Sheshai and Talmai, the children of Anak, were living there. (Now the building of Hebron took place seven years before that of Zoan in Egypt.)
At the end of forty days they came back from viewing the land. And they came back to Moses and Aaron and all the children of Israel, to Kadesh in the waste land of Paran; and gave an account to them and to all the people and let them see the produce of the land.
Then Caleb made signs to the people to keep quiet, and said to Moses, Let us go up straight away and take this land; for we are well able to overcome it.
And the Lord said to Moses, How long will this people have no respect for me? how long will they be without faith, in the face of all the signs I have done among them?
And the Lord said to Moses, How long will this people have no respect for me? how long will they be without faith, in the face of all the signs I have done among them? I will send disease on them for their destruction, and take away their heritage, and I will make of you a nation greater and stronger than they.
I will send disease on them for their destruction, and take away their heritage, and I will make of you a nation greater and stronger than they. And Moses said to the Lord, Then it will come to the ears of the Egyptians; for by your power you took this people out from among them;
And Moses said to the Lord, Then it will come to the ears of the Egyptians; for by your power you took this people out from among them; And they will give the news to the people of this land: they have had word that you, Lord, are present with this people, letting yourself be seen face to face, and that your cloud is resting over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
And they will give the news to the people of this land: they have had word that you, Lord, are present with this people, letting yourself be seen face to face, and that your cloud is resting over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you put to death all this people as one man, then the nations who have had word of your glory will say,
Now if you put to death all this people as one man, then the nations who have had word of your glory will say, Because the Lord was not able to take this people into the land which he made an oath to give them, he sent destruction on them in the waste land.
Because the Lord was not able to take this people into the land which he made an oath to give them, he sent destruction on them in the waste land. So now, may my prayer come before you, and let the power of the Lord be great, as you said: read more. The Lord is slow to wrath and great in mercy, overlooking wrongdoing and evil, and will not let wrongdoers go free; sending punishment on children for the sins of their fathers, to the third and fourth generation. May the sin of this people have forgiveness, in the measure of your great mercy, as you have had mercy on them from Egypt up till now.
May the sin of this people have forgiveness, in the measure of your great mercy, as you have had mercy on them from Egypt up till now. And the Lord said, I have had mercy, as you say: read more. But truly, as I am living, and as all the earth will be full of the glory of the Lord; Because all these men, having seen my glory and the signs which I have done in Egypt and in the waste land, still have put me to the test ten times, and have not given ear to my voice; They will not see the land about which I made an oath to their fathers; not one of these by whom I have not been honoured will see it. But my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit in him, and has been true to me with all his heart, him I will take into that land into which he went, and his seed will have it for their heritage. Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites are in the valley; tomorrow, turning round, go into the waste land by the way to the Red Sea.
How long am I to put up with this evil people and their outcries against me? The words which they say against me have come to my ears. Say to them, By my life, says the Lord, as certainly as your words have come to my ears, so certainly will I do this to you: read more. Your dead bodies will be stretched out in this waste land; and of all your number, all those of twenty years old and over who have been crying out against me, Not one will come into the land which I gave my word you would have for your resting-place, but only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. And your little ones, whom you said would come into strange hands, I will take in, and they will see the land which you would not have. But as for you, your dead bodies will be stretched in this waste land. And your children will be wanderers in the waste land for forty years, undergoing punishment for your false ways, till your bodies become dust in the waste land. And as you went through the land viewing it for forty days, so for forty years, a year for every day, you will undergo punishment for your wrongdoing, and you will see that I am against you. I the Lord have said it, and this I will certainly do to all this evil people who have come together against me: in this waste land destruction will come on them, and death will be their fate.
But Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, of those who went to see the land, were not touched by disease. And when Moses put these words before the children of Israel, the people were full of grief. read more. And early in the morning they got up and went to the top of the mountain, saying, We are here and we will go up to the place which the Lord said he would give us: for we have done wrong. And Moses said, Why are you now acting against the Lord's order, seeing that no good will come of it? Go not up, for the Lord is not with you, and you will be overcome by those who are fighting against you. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you will be put to death by their swords: because you have gone back from the way of the Lord, the Lord will not be with you. But they gave no attention to his words and went to the top of the mountain, though Moses and the ark of the Lord's agreement did not go out of the tent-circle.
But they gave no attention to his words and went to the top of the mountain, though Moses and the ark of the Lord's agreement did not go out of the tent-circle. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites who were living in the hill-country, and overcame them completely, driving them back as far as Hormah.
Say to the children of Israel, When you have come into the land which I am giving to you for your resting-place,
Then let him who is making his offering, give to the Lord a meal offering of a tenth part of a measure of the best meal mixed with a fourth part of a hin of oil:
And if in error you go against any of these laws which the Lord has given to Moses,
Then, if the wrong is done in error, without the knowledge of the meeting of the people, let all the meeting give a young ox as a burned offering, a sweet smell to the Lord, with its meal offering and its drink offering, as is ordered in the law, together with a he-goat for a sin-offering.
Now while the children of Israel were in the waste land, they saw a man who was getting sticks on the Sabbath day.
Now while the children of Israel were in the waste land, they saw a man who was getting sticks on the Sabbath day.
I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, so that I might be your God: I am the Lord your God.
Anyone touching a dead body will be unclean for seven days:
This is the law when death comes to a man in his tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, will be unclean for seven days.
In the first month all the children of Israel came into the waste land of Zin, and put up their tents in Kadesh; there death came to Miriam, and they put her body to rest in the earth.
In the first month all the children of Israel came into the waste land of Zin, and put up their tents in Kadesh; there death came to Miriam, and they put her body to rest in the earth. And there was no water for the people: and they came together against Moses and against Aaron.
Then Moses and Aaron made the people come together in front of the rock, and he said to them, Give ear now, you people whose hearts are turned from the Lord; are we to get water for you out of the rock? And lifting up his hand, Moses gave the rock two blows with his rod: and water came streaming out, and the people and their cattle had drink enough. read more. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you had not enough faith in me to keep my name holy before the children of Israel, you will not take this people into the land which I have given them.
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you had not enough faith in me to keep my name holy before the children of Israel, you will not take this people into the land which I have given them. These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel went against the Lord, and they saw that he was holy among them.
These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel went against the Lord, and they saw that he was holy among them. Then Moses sent men from Kadesh to the king of Edom to say to him, Your brother Israel says, You have knowledge of all the things we have been through;
And they went on from Kadesh, and came, with all their people, to Mount Hor. And at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
And when the people saw that Aaron was dead, all the children of Israel gave themselves up to weeping for him for thirty days.
And it came to the ears of the Canaanite, the king of Arad, living in the South, that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, and he came out against them and took some of them prisoners.
Then they went on from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, going round the land of Edom: and the spirit of the people was overcome with weariness on the way.
Then they went on from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, going round the land of Edom: and the spirit of the people was overcome with weariness on the way.
And moving on from there, they put up their tents in the valley of Zered. From there they went on and put up their tents on the other side of the Arnon, which is on the waste land at the edge of the land of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the line of division between Moab and the Amorites: read more. As it says in the book of the Wars of the Lord, Vaheb in Suphah, and the valley of the Amon;
As it says in the book of the Wars of the Lord, Vaheb in Suphah, and the valley of the Amon;
Then Israel gave voice to this song: Come up, O water-spring, let us make a song to it:
So the makers of wise sayings say, Come to Heshbon, building up the town of Sihon and making it strong: For a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the town of Sihon: for the destruction of Ar in Moab, and the lords of the high places of the Arnon. read more. Sorrow is yours, O Moab! Destruction is your fate, O people of Chemosh: his sons have gone in flight, and his daughters are prisoners, in the hands of Sihon, king of the Amorites. They are wounded with our arrows; destruction has come on Heshbon, even to Dibon; and we have made the land waste as far as Nophah, stretching out to Medeba.
So he sent men to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor by the River in the land of the children of his people, saying to him, See, a people has come out of Egypt, covering all the face of the earth, and they have put up their tents opposite to me:
Then one of the children of Israel came to his brothers, taking with him a woman of Midian, before the eyes of Moses and all the meeting of the people, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of meeting.
Now the man of Israel who was put to death with the woman of Midian was Zimri, the son of Salu, a chief of one of the families of the Simeonites.
And the Lord said to Moses, Let there be a division of the land among these, for their heritage, in relation to the number of names. read more. To those families who are more in number, give a greater heritage; to those who are less in number, a smaller part: to every one let the heritage be given in relation to the number in his family. But let the distribution of the land be made by the decision of the Lord: by the names of the tribes of their fathers let their heritage be given them. As it is ordered by the decision of the Lord, let distribution be made between those who are more in number and those who are less.
Give the Midianites punishment for the wrong they did to the children of Israel: and after that you will go to rest with your people.
They put the kings of Midian to death with the rest, Evi and Reken and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian: and Balaam, the son of Beor, they put to death with the sword.
They put the kings of Midian to death with the rest, Evi and Reken and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian: and Balaam, the son of Beor, they put to death with the sword.
And the stages of their journey on their way out were put down in writing by Moses at the order of the Lord: these are the stages of their journey and the way they went.
And they went on from Hazeroth, and put up their tents in Rithmah. And they went on from Rithmah, and put up their tents in Rimmon-perez.
And they went on from Rithmah, and put up their tents in Rimmon-perez. And they went on from Rimmon-perez, and put up their tents in Libnah.
And they went on from Rimmon-perez, and put up their tents in Libnah. And they went on from Libnah, and put up their tents in Rissah.
And they went on from Libnah, and put up their tents in Rissah. And they went on from Rissah, and put up their tents in Kehelathah.
And they went on from Rissah, and put up their tents in Kehelathah. And they went on from Kehelathah, and put up their tents in Mount Shepher.
And they went on from Kehelathah, and put up their tents in Mount Shepher. And they went on from Mount Shepher, and put up their tents in Haradah.
And they went on from Mount Shepher, and put up their tents in Haradah. And they went on from Haradah, and put up their tents in Makheloth.
And they went on from Haradah, and put up their tents in Makheloth. And they went on from Makheloth, and put up their tents in Tahath.
And they went on from Makheloth, and put up their tents in Tahath. And they went on from Tahath, and put up their tents in Terah.
And they went on from Tahath, and put up their tents in Terah. And they went on from Terah, and put up their tents in Mithkah.
And they went on from Terah, and put up their tents in Mithkah. And they went on from Mithkah, and put up their tents in Hashmonah.
And they went on from Mithkah, and put up their tents in Hashmonah. And they went on from Hashmonah, and put up their tents in Moseroth.
And they went on from Hashmonah, and put up their tents in Moseroth. And they went on from Moseroth, and put up their tents in Bene-jaakan.
And they went on from Moseroth, and put up their tents in Bene-jaakan. And they went on from Bene-jaakan, and put up their tents in Hor-haggidgad.
And they went on from Bene-jaakan, and put up their tents in Hor-haggidgad. And they went on from Hor-haggidgad, and put up their tents in Jotbathah.
And they went on from Hor-haggidgad, and put up their tents in Jotbathah. And they went on from Jotbathah, and put up their tents in Abronah.
And they went on from Jotbathah, and put up their tents in Abronah. And they went on from Abronah, and put up their tents in Ezion-geber.
And they went on from Abronah, and put up their tents in Ezion-geber. And they went on from Ezion-geber, and put up their tents in the waste land of Zin (which is Kadesh).
And they went on from Ezion-geber, and put up their tents in the waste land of Zin (which is Kadesh).
And Aaron the priest went up into the mountain at the order of the Lord, and came to his death there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month.
And Aaron the priest went up into the mountain at the order of the Lord, and came to his death there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month.
And from Mount Hor they went on, and put up their tents in Zalmonah. And they went on from Zalmonah, and put up their tents in Punon. read more. And they went on from Punon, and put up their tents in Oboth. And they went on from Oboth, and put up their tents in Iye-abarim at the edge of Moab. And they went on from Iyim, and put up their tents in Dibon-gad. And from Dibon-gad they went on, and put up their tents in Almon-diblathaim. And from Almon-diblathaim they went on, and put up their tents in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. And they went on from the mountains of Abarim, and put up their tents in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho; Planting their tents by the side of Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the lowlands of Moab.
Now in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses gave to the children of Israel all the orders which the Lord had given him for them; After he had overcome Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruling in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, ruling in Ashtaroth, at Edrei:
Then we went on from Horeb, through all that great and cruel waste which you saw, on our way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as the Lord gave us orders; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.
And, in addition, the Lord was angry with me because of you, saying, You yourself will not go into it:
And you came back, weeping before the Lord; but the Lord gave no attention to your cries and did not give ear to you. So you were kept waiting in Kadesh for a long time.
Then we went back, journeying into the waste land by the way to the Red Sea, as the Lord had said to me: and we were a long time going round Mount Seir.
Thirty-eight years had gone by from the time when we came away from Kadesh-barnea till we went over the stream Zered; by that time all the generation of the men of war among us were dead, as the Lord had said.
Then from the waste land of Kedemoth I sent representatives to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, Let me go through your land: I will keep to the highway, not turning to the right or to the left; read more. Let me have food, at a price, for my needs, and water for drinking: only let me go through on foot; As the children of Esau did for me in Seir and the Moabites in Ar; till I have gone over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God is giving us.
Who was your guide through that great and cruel waste, where there were poison-snakes and scorpions and a dry land without water; who made water come out of the hard rock for you;
But have no hate for an Edomite, because he is your brother, or for an Egyptian, for you were living in his land. Their children in the third generation may come into the meeting of the Lord's people.
From Aroer, on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the town in the middle of the valley, and all the table-land from Medeba to Dibon; And all the towns of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who was ruling in Heshbon, to the limits of the children of Ammon; read more. And Gilead, and the land of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah; All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who was ruling in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he was one of the last of the Rephaim); these did Moses overcome, driving them out of their country. However, the people of Israel did not send out the Geshurites, or the Maacathites: but Geshur and Maacath are living among Israel to this day. Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no heritage; the offerings of the Lord, the God of Israel, made by fire are his heritage, as he said to him. And Moses gave their heritage to the tribe of Reuben by their families.
Heshbon and all her towns in the table-land; Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon;
Now the young Samuel was the servant of the Lord before Eli. In those days the Lord kept his word secret from men; there was no open vision.
(In the past in Israel, when a man went to get directions from God, he said, Come let us go to the Seer, for he who now is named Prophet was in those days given the name of Seer.)
The king said further to Zadok the priest, See, you and Abiathar are to go back to the town in peace, with your two sons, Ahimaaz, your son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar.
Now Sheshan had no sons, but only daughters. And Sheshan had an Egyptian servant, whose name was Jarha. And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha, his servant, as a wife; and she had Attai by him.
These were the sons of Levi, grouped by families, the heads of the families of those who were numbered by name, by heads, all those of twenty years old and over who did the work of the house of the Lord. For David said, The Lord, the God of Israel, has given his people rest, and he has made his resting-place in Jerusalem for ever; read more. And from now, there will be no need for the House of the Lord, and the vessels used in it, to be moved about by the Levites. So among the last acts of David was the numbering of the sons of Levi, from twenty years old and over. Their place was by the side of the sons of Aaron in all the work of the house of the Lord, in the open spaces and in the rooms, in the making clean of all the holy things, in doing all the work of the house of the Lord,
How frequently are they as dry stems before the wind, or as grass taken away by the storm-wind?
Take my yoke on you and become like me, for I am gentle and without pride, and you will have rest for your souls;