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Numbers 21

KJV · Chapter 21/36

1And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.

2And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.

3And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.

4And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

5And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

6And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

7Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

8And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

9And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

10And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth.

11And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ije–abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising.

12From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared.

13From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, 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.

14Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,

15And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab.

16And 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.

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

18The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:

19And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth:

20And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon.

21And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,

22Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king’s high way, until we be past thy borders.

23And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

24And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.

25And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof.

26For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.

27Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:

28For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.

29Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.

30We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.

31Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.

32And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.

33And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.

34And the Lord said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.

35So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Israel defeats the king of Arad (Hormah), but complains again along the way, and is punished with venomous serpents. God tells Moses to raise a bronze serpent for healing, and afterward Israel defeats kings Sihon (the Amorites) and Og (Bashan), advancing its territory.

Explanation

The bronze serpent is one of the most theologically rich symbols in the Old Testament: instead of simply removing the serpents, God provides a means of healing that required faith and a simple action (looking at the raised symbol), showing that God's salvation often comes in a way that defies our logic about merit and effort. The military victories over Sihon and Og, two powerful kings, begin to shift Israel's narrative from constant defeat to effective conquest, showing that the 40 years of discipline did not mean abandonment — God kept fighting for His people. This chapter is a visible turning point: Israel finally begins to take possession of territories that will become part of the promised land.

Fun facts

  • Jesus makes direct reference to this episode in John 3:14-15, comparing His own crucifixion ('lifted up') to the bronze serpent raised by Moses, as a source of healing and life for whoever looks in faith.
  • Centuries later, King Hezekiah destroyed this same bronze serpent (2 Kings 18:4) because the people had begun worshiping it as an idol (calling it Nehushtan) — showing how even a genuine symbol of divine healing can be corrupted into idolatry when the object itself comes to be venerated in place of God.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Numbers 21:1The Canaanite king of Arad, hearing that Israel was approaching, attacks the people and even manages to take some of them prisoner.
  2. Numbers 21:2In response, Israel makes a vow to the LORD: if He would hand that people over to them, they would utterly destroy the enemy cities.
  3. Numbers 21:3The LORD grants the request, hands the Canaanites over to Israel, and the people destroy everything completely, giving the place the name Hormah.
  4. Numbers 21:4The caravan sets out from Mount Hor toward the Red Sea, going around the territory of Edom, and the people begin to lose patience with the long journey.
  5. Numbers 21:5Once again the people complain against God and Moses, repeating the same old question — why bring them out of Egypt only to die in the wilderness — and now they are also sick of the manna, called here worthless food.
  6. Numbers 21:6After yet another complaint from the people about the food and the journey, God sends venomous serpents into the camp, and several people die from the bites. It is one more episode in the string of rebellions that mark this generation in the wilderness.
  7. Numbers 21:7Repentant, the people acknowledge the sin of speaking against God and Moses, ask for the serpents to be taken away, and Moses intercedes in prayer for them.
  8. Numbers 21:8The LORD responds with an unusual solution: make a serpent and set it on a pole, so that whoever was bitten and looked at it would survive.
  9. Numbers 21:9To heal whoever had been bitten, God tells Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a raised pole; whoever looked at it after being bitten survived. It was not the serpent itself that healed, but the act of obeying and looking at the sign God had given.
  10. Numbers 21:10This stop comes right after the episode of the bronze serpent. Oboth already marks the final stretch of the journey, approaching the land of Moab, going around the territory of Edom.
  11. Numbers 21:11From Oboth they move on to the hills of Abarim, in the wilderness facing Moab, toward the sunrise.
  12. Numbers 21:12The Zered brook marks Israel’s final departure from the territory of Edom, already on the last leg toward Moab — the same closing stretch that appears summarized, under other names, in the list in Numbers 33.
  13. Numbers 21:13Next they camp on the other side of the Arnon, right on the natural border between the territory of Moab and that of the Amorites.
  14. Numbers 21:14Here appears a citation from “the book of the wars of the Lord,” a work that did not survive to this day and about which nothing else is known beyond this mention. It shows that the Bible, at some points, cites external sources from that era that have been lost over time — the biblical text does not claim to be the only thing ever written about these events.
  15. Numbers 21:15The text also describes the terrain of the region: the slope of the valleys that stretches out toward Ar, right on the border of Moab.
  16. Numbers 21:16From there they move on to Beer, the specific well where the LORD had promised Moses He would gather the people there to give them water.
  17. Numbers 21:17At this point, Israel sings a song celebrating the well, inviting everyone to sing to it.
  18. Numbers 21:18The song recalls that this well was dug by the people’s own leaders, using their staffs of authority — and from there they move on to Mattanah.
  19. Numbers 21:19From Mattanah they go to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, continuing the journey recorded place by place.
  20. Numbers 21:20From Bamoth they reach a valley in the territory of Moab, at the top of Mount Pisgah, from where the wilderness ahead could already be seen.
  21. Numbers 21:21Israel sends messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, repeating the same diplomatic request already made to Edom.
  22. Numbers 21:22The request was to pass through the land without touching any crops or wells, staying only on the main road until they crossed the territory.
  23. Numbers 21:23Sihon, unlike Edom, does not just refuse — he gathers his army and goes out to meet Israel at Jahaz, heading into battle.
  24. Numbers 21:24Israel wins and takes possession of Sihon’s land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok, stopping at the border of the Ammonites, which was heavily fortified.
  25. Numbers 21:25Israel then occupies all the conquered Amorite cities, including Heshbon and its surrounding villages.
  26. Numbers 21:26Heshbon had in fact been Sihon’s capital, after he had already taken that land from the former king of Moab.
  27. Numbers 21:27Because of this conquest, the popular poets of the time sang about the rebuilding and strengthening of Heshbon, Sihon’s city.
  28. Numbers 21:28An ancient poem, quoted here, describes how Heshbon’s power had devastated Ar of Moab and the lords of the heights of the Arnon.
  29. Numbers 21:29The same poem laments the fall of Moab and its god Chemosh, whose people had been handed over as captives to Sihon.
  30. Numbers 21:30The poem goes on to describe the extent of Moab’s defeat, from Heshbon to Dibon, reaching all the way to Nophah and Medeba.
  31. Numbers 21:31After this victory, Israel begins to actually live in the land that had once belonged to the Amorites.
  32. Numbers 21:32Moses also sends spies to Jaazer, and the people take its villages, driving out the Amorites who lived there.
  33. Numbers 21:33Next, Israel heads toward Bashan, where Og, the local king, comes out to face them in battle at the city of Edrei.
  34. Numbers 21:34The LORD reassures Moses, telling him not to be afraid, because He had already handed Og, his people, and his land over to Israel, just as had happened with Sihon.
  35. Numbers 21:35Israel defeats Og completely, along with his sons and all his people, leaving no survivors, and takes possession of his land.

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