1A ka rongo a Kingi Arara, te Kanaani, i noho nei ki te taha ki te tonga, e haere ana a Iharaira na te ara o Atarimi; na ka tatau ia ki a Iharaira, a whakaraua ana etahi o ratou e ia. 2Na ka puta te ki taurangi a Iharaira ki a Ihowa, ka mea, Ki te tukua mai e koe tenei iwi ki toku ringa ka tino whakangaromia e ahau o ratou pa. 3A i whakarongo a Ihowa ki te reo o Iharaira, a homai ana e ia nga Kanaani; a tino whakangaromia ana ratou me o ratou pa e ratou: a huaina iho te ingoa o taua wahi ko Horema. 4Na, ka turia atu e ratou i Maunga Horo na te ara o te Moana Whero ki te taiawhio i te whenua o Eroma: a pouri noa iho te wairua o te iwi i te ara. 5A ka whakahe te iwi i te Atua, i a Mohi hoki, He aha i kawea mai ai matou ki runga nei i Ihipa kia mate ki te koraha? kahore nei hoki he taro, kahore he wai; a e whakarihariha ana to matou wairua ki tenei taro mama. 6Na ka tukua mai e Ihowa he nakahi tu a ahi ki te iwi, a ka ngaua te iwi; a he tokomaha o Iharaira i mate. 7Na ka haere te iwi ki a Mohi, ka mea, Kua hara matou i a matou i whakahe i a Ihowa, i a koe hoki; inoi ki a Ihowa kia tangohia atu e ia nga nakahi i a matou. Na ka inoi a Mohi mo te iwi. 8Na ka mea a Ihowa ki a Mohi, Hanga tetahi nakahi tu a ahi mau, ka whakanoho ki te pou: na, mehemea kua ngaua tetahi, a ka titiro atu ia ki reira, ka ora. 9Na hanga ana e Mohi te nakahi ki te parahi, a whakanohoia ana ki te pou; na, mehemea kua ngaua tetahi e te nakahi, ka titiro ia ki te nakahi parahi, kua ora. 10Na ka turia atu e nga tama a Iharaira, a noho ana i Opoto. 11A ka turia atu i Opoto, a noho ana i Iteaparimi, i te koraha i te ritenga atu o Moapa, whaka te rawhiti. 12A ka haere atu ratou i reira, a noho ana i te raorao i Terete. 13Na ka turia atu i reira, a noho ana i tera taha o Aronona, o tera i te koraha e puta mai ana i nga wahi o nga Amori: ko Aronona hoki te rohe ki a Moapa, kei waenganui o Moapa, o nga Amori. 14Koia i korerotia ai i te pukapuka o nga whawhai a Ihowa, Ko tana i mea ai ki te Moana Whero, ki nga awa hoki o Aronona, 15Ki nga hurihanga wai ano hoki, e anga ana ki te nohoanga i Ara, e piri nei ki te rohe o Moapa. 16A i haere atu ratou i reira ki Peere: ko te puna ia i korero ai a Ihowa ki a Mohi, Huihuia te iwi, a maku e hoatu he wai ki a ratou. 17Na ka waiatatia tenei waiata e Iharaira, Pupuke ake, e te puna; waiatatia: 18Te puna i keria e nga rangatira, i keria e nga ariki o te iwi, ki te hepeta, a ki a ratou tokotoko. Na ka turia atu e ratou tokotoko. Na ka turia atu e ratou i te koraha ki Matana: 19I Matana hoki ki Nahariere; a ia Nahariere ki Pamoto: 20A i Pamoto ki te raorao i te whenua o Moapa, ki te tihi o Pihika, e titiro iho ana ki te koraha. 21Na ka unga tangata a Iharaira ki a Hihona kingi o nga Amori, hei mea, 22Tukua atu ahau na tou whenua; e kore matou e peka ki nga mara, ki nga mara waina ranei; e kore matou e inu i te wai o nga puna: ka haere matou na te huanui o te kingi, kia pahemo ra ano ou rohe i a matou. 23Otiia kihai a Hihona i tuku i a Iharaira kia tika na tona wahi; na huihuia ana e Hihona tona iwi katoa, a puta mai ana ki te tu i a Iharaira ki te koraha, na ka haere ia ki Iahata: a ka tatau ia i a Iharaira. 24A patua iho ia e Iharaira ki te mata o te hoari, tangohia ana e ratou tona whenua, o Aranona atu a tae noa ki Iapoko, ki nga tama ra ano a Amona: he rohe hoki e kore e taea to nga tama a Amona. 25A riro ana i a Iharaira enei pa katoa: a nohoia ana e Iharaira nga pa katoa o nga Amori, a Hehepona, me ona pa ririki. 26He pa hoki a Hehepona no Hihona kingi o nga Amori; i whawhai hoki ia ki to mua kingi o Moapa, a tangohia ana e ia tona whenua katoa i tona ringa a tae noa ki Aronona. 27Koia te hunga korero whakatauki ka mea ai, Haere mai ki Hehepona, kia hanga, kia whakaungia te pa o Hihoma: 28Kua puta atu hoki he ahi i Hehepona, he mura i te pa o Hihona: a pau ake a Ara o Moapa, me nga ariki o nga wahi tiketike o Aranona. 29Aue te mate mou, e Moapa! ka ngaro koe, e te iwi o Kemoho: kua hoatu e ia ana tama i rere morehu, me ana tamahine, hei pononga ma Hihona, ma te kingi o nga Amori. 30I kopere atu matou ki a ratou; kua ngaro a Hehepona, tae noa ki Ripono, kua huna e matou tae noa ki Nopa e totoro atu nei ki Merepa. 31Na ka noho a Iharaira ki te whenua o nga Amori. 32A ka tono tangata a Mohi ki te tutei i Iatere, a ka riro i a ratou nga pa o reira, i pana hoki nga Amori e noho ana i reira. 33Na ka tahuri ratou, a ka haere ki runga na te ara o Pahana: na ko te putanga mai o Oka kingi o Pahana, ki te whakatutaki i a ratou, a ia, me tona iwi katoa ki te whawhai ki Eterei. 34A ka mea a Ihowa ki a Mohi, Kei wehi i a ia; kua hoatu hoki ia e ahau ki tou ringa, me tona iwi katoa, me tona whenua; a ka rite tau e mea ai ki a ia ki tau i mea ai ki a Hihona kingi o nga Amori i noho ra i Hehepona. 35Na patua iho ia e ratou, me ana tama, me tona iwi katoa, a kore noa e toe tetahi morehu ona: a tangohia ana e ratou tona whenua.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 ISRAEL ATTACKED BY THE CANAANITES. (Num. 21:1-35)
King Arad the Canaanite--rather, "the Canaanite king of Arad"--an ancient town on the southernmost borders of Palestine, not far from Kadesh. A hill called Tell Arad marks the spot.
heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies--in the way or manner of spies, stealthily, or from spies sent by himself to ascertain the designs and motions of the Israelites. The Septuagint and others consider the Hebrew word "spies" a proper name, and render it: "Came by the way of Atharim towards Arad" [KENNICOTT].
he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners--This discomfiture was permitted to teach them to expect the conquest of Canaan not from their own wisdom and valor, but solely from the favor and help of God (
Deut 9:4;
Ps 44:3-
Ps 44:4).
2 Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord--Made to feel their own weakness, they implored the aid of Heaven, and, in anticipation of it, devoted the cities of this king to future destruction. The nature and consequence of such anathemas are described (Lev. 27:1-34; Deu. 13:1-18). This vow of extermination against Arad [
Num 21:2] gave name to the place Hormah (slaughter and destruction) though it was not accomplished till after the passage of the Jordan. Others think Hormah the name of a town mentioned (
Josh 12:14).
4 they journeyed from mount Hor--On being refused the passage requested, they returned through the Arabah, "the way of the Red Sea," to Elath, at the head of the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, and thence passed up through the mountains to the eastern desert, so as to make the circuit of the land of Edom (
Num 33:41-
Num 33:42).
the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way--Disappointment on finding themselves so near the confines of the promised land without entering it; vexation at the refusal of a passage through Edom and the absence of any divine interposition in their favor; and above all, the necessity of a retrograde journey by a long and circuitous route through the worst parts of a sandy desert and the dread of being plunged into new and unknown difficulties--all this produced a deep depression of spirits. But it was followed, as usually, by a gross outburst of murmuring at the scarcity of water, and of expressions of disgust at the manna.
5 our soul loatheth this light bread--that is, bread without substance or nutritious quality. The refutation of this calumny appears in the fact, that on the strength of this food they performed for forty years so many and toilsome journeys. But they had been indulging a hope of the better and more varied fare enjoyed by a settled people; and disappointment, always the more bitter as the hope of enjoyment seems near, drove them to speak against God and against Moses (
1Cor 10:9).
6 The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people--That part of the desert where the Israelites now were--near the head of the gulf of Akaba--is greatly infested with venomous reptiles, of various kinds, particularly lizards, which raise themselves in the air and swing themselves from branches; and scorpions, which, being in the habit of lying in long grass, are particularly dangerous to the barelegged, sandaled people of the East. The only known remedy consists in sucking the wound, or, in the case of cattle, in the application of ammonia. The exact species of serpents that caused so great mortality among the Israelites cannot be ascertained. They are said to have been "fiery," an epithet applied to them either from their bright, vivid color, or the violent inflammation their bite occasioned.
7 the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned--The severity of the scourge and the appalling extent of mortality brought them to a sense of sin, and through the intercessions of Moses, which they implored, they were miraculously healed. He was directed to make the figure of a serpent in brass, to be elevated on a pole or standard, that it might be seen at the extremities of the camp and that every bitten Israelite who looked to it might be healed. This peculiar method of cure was designed, in the first instance, to show that it was the efficacy of God's power and grace, not the effect of nature or art, and also that it might be a type of the power of faith in Christ to heal all who look to Him because of their sins (
John 3:14-
John 3:15; see also on
2Kgs 18:4).
10 the children of Israel set forward--along the eastern frontier of the Edomites, encamping in various stations.
12 pitched in the valley--literally, the "woody brook-valley" of Zared (
Deut 2:13;
Isa 15:7;
Amos 6:14). This torrent rises among the mountains to the east of Moab, and flowing west, empties itself into the Dead Sea. Ije-Abarim is supposed to have been its ford [CALMET].
13 pitched on the other side of Arnon--now El-Mojib, a deep, broad, and rapid stream, dividing the dominions of the Moabites and Amorites.
14 book of the wars of the Lord--A fragment or passage is here quoted from a poem or history of the wars of the Israelites, principally with a view to decide the position of Arnon.
15 Ar--the capital of Moab.
16 from thence they went to Beer--that is, a "well." The name was probably given to it afterwards [see
Judg 9:21], as it is not mentioned (Num. 33:1-56).
17 Then Israel sang--This beautiful little song was in accordance with the wants and feelings of travelling caravans in the East, where water is an occasion both of prayer and thanksgiving. From the princes using their official rods only, and not spades, it seems probable that this well was concealed by the brushwood or the sand, as is the case with many wells in Idumea still. The discovery of it was seasonable, and owing to the special interposition of God.
21 Israel sent messengers unto Sihon--The rejection of their respectful and pacific message was resented--Sihon was discomfited in battle--and Israel obtained by right of conquest the whole of the Amorite dominions.
24 from Arnon unto Jabbok--now the Zurka. These rivers formed the southern and northern boundaries of his usurped territory.
for the border of . . . Ammon was strong--a reason stated for Sihon not being able to push his invasion further.
25 Israel dwelt in all the cities--after exterminating the inhabitants who had been previously doomed (
Deut 2:34).
26 Heshbon-- (
Song 7:4) --situated sixteen English miles north of the Arnon, and from its ruins it appears to have been a large city.
27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs--Here is given an extract from an Amorite song exultingly anticipating an extension of their conquests to Arnon. The quotation from the poem of the Amorite bard ends at
Num 21:28. The two following verses appear to be the strains in which the Israelites expose the impotence of the usurpers.
29 people of Chemosh--the name of the Moabite idol (1Ki. 11:7-33;
2Kgs 23:13;
Jer 48:46).
he--that is, their god, hath surrendered his worshippers to the victorious arms of Sihon.
33 they turned and went up by the way of Bashan--a name given to that district from the richness of the soil--now Batanea or El-Bottein--a hilly region east of the Jordan lying between the mountains of Hermon on the north and those of Gilead on the south.
Og--a giant, an Amoritish prince, who, having opposed the progress of the Israelites, was defeated.
34 The Lord said unto Moses, Fear him not--a necessary encouragement, for Og's gigantic stature (
Deut 3:11) was calculated to inspire terror. He and all his were put to the sword.