1And the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there. 2And there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3And the people strove with Moses and spoke, saying: If only we had died when our brethren died before Jehovah! 4Why have you brought up the assembly of Jehovah into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die here? 5And why have you brought us up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of sowing or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink. 6And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tent of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of Jehovah appeared to them. 7And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 8Take the staff; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it shall produce water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their cattle. 9And Moses took the staff from before Jehovah as He had commanded him. 10And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, Hear now, you rebels! Shall we bring water for you out of this rock? 11And Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their cattle drank. 12And Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given to them. 13These were the waters of Meribah, because the children of Israel strove with Jehovah, and He was sanctified among them. 14And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt many days, and the Egyptians did evil to us and our fathers. 16And when we cried out unto Jehovah, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. 17Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King's Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory. 18And Edom said to him, You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword. 19And the children of Israel said to him, We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, without a word. 20And he said, You shall not pass through. And Edom came out against them with many people and with a strong hand. 21Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him. 22And the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. 23And Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: 24Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My mouth at the waters of Meribah. 25Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there. 27And Moses did as Jehovah commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor before the eyes of all the congregation. 28Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE DEATH OF MIRIAM. (Num. 20:1-29)
Then came the children of Israel . . . into the desert of Zin in the first month--that is, of the fortieth year (compare
Num 20:22-
Num 20:23, with
Num 33:38). In this history only the principal and most important incidents are recorded, those confined chiefly to the first or second and the last years of the journeyings in the wilderness, thence called Et-Tih. Between
Num 19:22 and
Num 20:1 there is a long and undescribed interval of thirty-seven years.
the people abode in Kadesh--supposed to be what is now known as Ain-el-Weibeh, three springs surrounded by palms. (See on
Num 13:26). It was their second arrival after an interval of thirty-eight years (
Deut 2:14). The old generation had nearly all died, and the new one encamped in it with the view of entering the promised land, not, however, as formerly on the south, but by crossing the Edomite region on the east.
Miriam died there--four months before Aaron [
Num 33:38].
2 there was no water for the congregation--There was at Kadesh a fountain, En-Mishpat (
Gen 14:7), and at the first encampment of the Israelites there was no want of water. It was then either partially dried up by the heat of the season, or had been exhausted by the demands of so vast a multitude.
6 Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly--Here is a fresh ebullition of the untamed and discontented spirit of the people. The leaders fled to the precincts of the sanctuary, both as an asylum from the increasing fury of the highly excited rabble, and as their usual refuge in seasons of perplexity and danger, to implore the direction and aid of God.
8 Take the rod--which had been deposited in the tabernacle (
Num 17:10), the wonder-working rod by which so many miracles had been performed, sometimes called "the rod of God" (
Exod 4:20), sometimes Moses' (
Num 20:11) or Aaron's rod (
Exod 7:12).
10 [Moses] said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?--The conduct of the great leader on this occasion was hasty and passionate (
Ps 106:33). He had been directed to speak to the rock [
Num 20:8], but he smote it twice [
Num 20:11] in his impetuosity, thus endangering the blossoms of the rod, and, instead of speaking to the rock, he spoke to the people in a fury.
11 the congregation drank, and their beasts--Physically the water afforded the same kind of needful refreshment to both. But from a religious point of view, this, which was only a common element to the cattle, was a sacrament to the people (
1Cor 10:3-4) --It possessed a relative sanctity imparted to it by its divine origin and use.
12 The Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, &c.--The act of Moses in smiting twice betrayed a doubt, not of the power, but of the will of God to gratify such a rebellious people, and his exclamation seems to have emanated from a spirit of incredulity akin to Sarai's (
Gen 18:13). These circumstances indicate the influence of unbelief, and there might have been others unrecorded which led to so severe a chastisement.
13 This is the water of Meribah--The word "Kadesh" is added to it [
Deut 32:51] to distinguish it from another Meribah (
Exod 17:7).
14 Moses sent messengers . . . to the king of Edom--The encampment at Kadesh was on the confines of the Edomite territory, through which the Israelites would have had an easy passage across the Arabah by Wady-el-Ghuweir, so that they could have continued their course around Moab, and approached Palestine from the east [ROBERTS]. The Edomites, being the descendants of Esau and tracing their line of descent from Abraham as their common stock, were recognized by the Israelites as brethren, and a very brotherly message was sent to them.
17 we will go by the king's highway--probably Wady-el-Ghuweir [ROBERTS], through which ran one of the great lines of road, constructed for commercial caravans, as well as for the progress of armies. The engineering necessary for carrying them over marshes or mountains, and the care requisite for protecting them from the shifting sands, led to their being under the special care of the state. Hence the expression, "the king's highway," which is of great antiquity.
19 if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it--From the scarcity of water in the warm climates of the East, the practice of levying a tax for the use of the wells is universal; and the jealousy of the natives, in guarding the collected treasures of rain, is often so great that water cannot be procured for money.
21 Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border, &c.--A churlish refusal obliged them to take another route. (See on
Num 21:4;
Deut 2:4; and
Judg 11:18; see also
1Sam 14:47;
2Sam 8:14, which describe the retribution that was taken.)
22 the children of Israel . . . came unto mount Hor--now Gebel Haroun, the most striking and lofty elevation in the Seir range, called emphatically "the mount" [
Num 20:28]. It is conspicuous by its double top.
24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people--In accordance with his recent doom, he, attired in the high priest's costume, was commanded to ascend that mountain and die. But although the time of his death was hastened by the divine displeasure as a punishment for his sins, the manner of his death was arranged in tenderness of love, and to do him honor at the close of his earthly service. His ascent of the mount was to afford him a last look of the camp and a distant prospect of the promised land. The simple narrative of the solemn and impressive scene implies, though it does not describe, the pious resignation, settled faith, and inward peace of the aged pontiff.
26 strip Aaron of his garments--that is, his pontifical robes, in token of his resignation. (See
Isa 22:20-
Isa 22:25).
put them on his son--as the inauguration into his high office. Having been formerly anointed with the sacred oil, that ceremony was not repeated, or, as some think, it was done on his return to the camp.
28 Aaron died there in the top of the mount--(See on
Deut 10:6). A tomb has been erected upon or close by the spot where he was buried.
29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead--Moses and Eleazar were the sole witnesses of his departure (
Num 20:28). According to the established law, the new high priest could not have been present at the funeral of his father without contracting ceremonial defilement (
Lev 21:11). But that law was dispensed with in the extraordinary circumstances. The people learned the event not only from the recital of the two witnesses, but from their visible signs of grief and change; and this event betokened the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood (
Heb 7:12).
they mourned for Aaron thirty days--the usual period of public and solemn mourning. (See on
Deut 34:8).