Kenaanite defeated at Hormah
21:1 And [when] melek Arad the Kenaanite, which dwelt in the negev, heard tell that Yisrael came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Yisrael, and took [some] of them prisoners.
21:2 And Yisrael nadar a neder (vow) unto YHWH (יהוה), and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
21:3 And YHWH (יהוה) hearkened to the voice of Yisrael, and delivered up the Kenaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.
21:4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Yam Suf, to compass the eretz of Edom: and the nefesh of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
21:5 And the people spake against Elohim (אלהים), and against Mosheh, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Mitzrayim to die in the midbar? for [there is] no lechem, neither [is there any] mayim; and our nefesh loatheth this light lechem.
21:6 (LY:vi)
Vayeshalakh YEHOVAH baam et ha nekhashim haserafim vayenashkhu et-haam vayamat am-rav miYisrael:
And YHWH (יהוה) sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Yisrael died.
21:7 Therefore the people came to Mosheh, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against YHWH (יהוה), and against thee; pray unto YHWH (יהוה), that he take away the serpents from us. And Mosheh prayed for the people.
21:8 And YHWH (יהוה) said unto Mosheh:
Vayomer YEHOVAH el-Mosheh aseh lekha saraf vesim oto al-nes vehaya kol-hanashukh veraah oto vakhai:
Make thee a fiery serpents, and set it upon a signal staff : and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Vayaas Mosheh nekhash nekhoshet vayesimehu al-hanes vehaya im-nashakh hanakhash et-ish vehibit el-nekhash hanekhoshet vakhai:
And Mosheh made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a signal-staff, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
Yisrael moves to the east of the Yarden
from Mount Hor to Moav
21:10 And the benai Yisrael set forward, and pitched in O Vot.
21:11 And they journeyed from O Vot, and pitched at Iyei-HaAvarim (עיּי העברים), in the midbar which [is] before Moav, toward the sunrising.
21:12 From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared.
21:13 From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which [is] in the midbar that cometh out of the coasts of the Emorites: for Arnon [is] the border of Mo'av, between Moav and the Emorites.
21:14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of YHWH (יהוה), What he did in the Yam Suf, and in the brooks of Arnon,
21:15 And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moav.
21:16 And from thence [they went] to Beer: that [is] the well whereof YHWH (יהוה) spake unto Mosheh, Gather the people together, and I will give them mayim.
21:17 Then Yisrael sang this sirah (song),
Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:
21:18 The sarim digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by [the direction of] the chakak (lawgiver, scepter), with their staves. And from the midbar [they went] to Mattanah:
21:19 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel (torrent of El): and from Nahaliel to Bamot (high places):
21:20 And from Bamot [in] the valley, that [is] in the country of Moav (of his father), to the top of Pisgah (Cleft), which looketh toward Yeshimon(Desolate place).
And Yisrael sent messengers unto Sihon melek the Emorites, saying,
21:22 Let me pass through thy eretz: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink [of] the mayim of the well: [but] we will go along by the king's [high] way, until we be past thy borders.
21:23 And Sihon would not suffer Yisrael to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Yisrael into the midbar: and he came to Yahaz, and fought against Yisrael.
21:24 And Yisrael smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his eretz from Arnon unto Yabbok, even unto the benai Ammon: for the border of the benai Ammon [was] strong.
21:25 And Yisrael took all these cities: and Yisrael dwelt in all the cities of the Emorites, in Heshvon, and in all the villages thereof.
21:26 For Heshvon [was] the city of Sihon the melek the Emorites, who had fought against the former melek Moav, and taken all his eretz out of his hand, even unto Arnon.
Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say:
Come into Heshvon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:
For there is a fire gone out of Heshvon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moav, [and] the lords of the high places of Arnon.
Woe to thee, Moav! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his banim that escaped, and his banot, into captivity unto Sihon melek the Emorites.
We have shot at them; Heshvonis perished even unto Divon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which [reacheth] unto Medeva.
21:31 Thus Yisrael dwelt in the eretz of the Emorites.
21:32 And Mosheh sent to spy out Yaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Emorites that [were] there.
21:33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the melek Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.
21:34 (LY:Maftir)
And YHWH (יהוה) said unto Mosheh, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his eretz; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon melek the Emorites, which dwelt at Heshvon.
21:35 So they smote him, and his banim, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his eretz.
21:8 - In Septuagint as signal Staff, Pole, Nes, standard, signal staff - It refers to a symbol or sign representing a cause, a person, Elohim: a standard, a representation of YHWH (Shemot 17:15); and the Name of an altar dedicated to YHWH. It indicates a pole on which to display something (Bamidbar 21:8-9). It signifies a sign representing Tzyon (Yeshayahu 31:9; Yemiryahu 4:6); or a tragedy that could serve as a nes, a warning or a sign (Bamidbar 26:10). It indicates a flag or a symbol to rally around (Shemot 17:15; Yeshayahu 18:3). The Root of Yishai will stand as an ensign, a signal for the people (Yeshayahu 11:10).
Mattanah - mat'-a-na (mattanah; Codex Vaticanus, Manthanaein; Codex Alexandrinus, Manthanein): A station of the Israelites which seems to have lain between Beer and Nahaliel (vs 21:18 f). The name means "gift," and might not inappropriately be applied to a well in the wilderness (Budde translates "Out of the desert a gift"; see The Expository Times, VI, 482). Some would therefore identify it with Beer. This is improbable. There is now no clue to the place, but it must have lain Southwest of the Dead Sea.
see Archeology Map of Exodus Route
This song begins with a recital of the earlier victory of Emorites over the people of Moav and their god chemosh. After defeating Sihon and Emorites, Yisrael became a formidable threat to Moav
