Old Testament · Law

Numbers chapter 21

When the king of Arad, who lived in the , heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked them and captured some of them.So Israel made a to Yahweh: “If you hand these people over to us, we will their cities.”Yahweh listened to Israel’s plea and handed over the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed them and their cities. So that place was named .They set out from Mount Hor along the road toward the , going around the land of . But the people grew impatient along the way,and the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There’s no food, there’s no water, and we’re disgusted with this !”So Yahweh sent among the people, and they bit the people. Many Israelites died.The people came to Moses and said, “We to speak against Yahweh and against you. Plead with Yahweh to take the snakes away from us.” So Moses on behalf of the people.Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a and mount it on a . Anyone who has been bitten can look at it and live.”So Moses made a and mounted it on a pole. And whenever someone was bitten by a snake, they would look at the bronze snake and survive.The Israelites moved on and camped at .They moved on from Oboth and camped at , in the wilderness east of , toward the sunrise.From there they moved on and camped in the .From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the , in the wilderness that extends from Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border between Moab and the .That is why the says: “...Waheb in Suphah, and the ravines of the Arnon, and the slope of the ravines that stretches toward the settlement of , leaning against the border of Moab...”From there they went on to — that’s the well where Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”That’s when Israel : “Spring up, well! Sing to it! The well that dug, that the nobles of the people sank — with the , with their staffs.” From the wilderness they went on to ,from Mattanah to , from Nahaliel to ,and from Bamoth to the valley in Moabite territory near the top of , which overlooks the .Israel sent messengers to , king of the Amorites, saying,“Let us pass through your land. We won’t turn off into fields or vineyards. We won’t drink water from any well. We’ll stay on the until we’ve passed through your territory.”But Sihon refused to let Israel pass through his territory. He assembled his entire army and marched out into the wilderness to confront Israel. When he reached , he attacked Israel.But Israel cut him down with the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the — but only up to the border, because the Ammonite border was fortified.Israel captured all these cities. Then Israel settled in all the Amorite cities — in and all its surrounding villages.Heshbon had been the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon.That’s why the say: “Come to Heshbon! Let it be rebuilt! Let the city of Sihon be restored! For poured out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It devoured Ar of Moab, the lords of Arnon’s heights. What a disaster for you, Moab! You are finished, people of ! He turned his sons into and his daughters into captives of the Amorite king, Sihon. But now we have cut them down! Heshbon is destroyed all the way to . We laid waste as far as Nophah, fire spreading all the way to .”So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.Moses sent men to scout out . They captured its surrounding villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.Then they turned and headed up the road toward . , king of Bashan, marched out with his entire army to meet them in battle at .Yahweh said to Moses, “ of him. I’ve handed him over to you — him and his entire army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.”So they struck him down, along with his sons and his entire army, until there was no one left alive. And they of his land.