Numbers 21:14-21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
14 Hence it is said in the “Book of the Wars of the Lord”:[a]
“Waheb in Suphah and the wadies,
15 Arnon and the wadi gorges
That reach back toward the site of Ar[b]
and lean against the border of Moab.”
16 From there they went to Beer,[c] which is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, Gather the people together so that I may give them water. 17 Then Israel sang this song:
Spring up, O well!—so sing to it—
18 The well that the princes sank,
that the nobles of the people dug,
With their scepters and their staffs—
from the wilderness, a gift.
19 From Beer to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 from Bamoth to the valley in the country of Moab at the headland of Pisgah that overlooks Jeshimon.[d]
Victory over Sihon. 21 Now Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, with the message,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 21:14 The “Book of the Wars of the Lord”: an ancient collection of Israelite songs, now lost. Waheb in Suphah: since neither place is mentioned elsewhere, it is uncertain whether these Hebrew words are to be considered as place names; some Hebrew words, now lost, must have preceded this phrase.
- 21:15 Ar: a city or district in Moab, located on the Arnon; see v. 28; Dt 2:18.
- 21:16 Beer: “a well,” here used as a place name.
- 21:20 Jeshimon: “the wasteland”; in 1 Sm 23:19, 24 and 26:1, 3, this is the wilderness of Judah on the western side of the Dead Sea, but here and in Nm 23:28, it seems to refer to the southern end of the Jordan valley where Beth-jeshimoth was situated.
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