Numbers 21
Deuteronomy 21 gathers laws for difficult situations within the Israelite community: an unsolved killing, marriage involving a captive woman, the rights of the firstborn, a persistently rebellious son, and the burial of a person hanged on a tree. These laws aim to address guilt, family order, social responsibility, and the sanctity of the land.
1verseThe Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the South, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim. He fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.
2verseIsrael vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”
3verseThe LORD listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. The name of the place was called Hormah.
4verseThey traveled from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. The soul of the people was very discouraged because of the journey.
5verseThe people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, there is no water, and our soul loathes this disgusting food!”
6verseThe LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died.
7verseThe people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” Moses prayed for the people.
8verseThe LORD said to Moses, “Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole. It shall happen that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”
9verseMoses made a serpent of bronze, and set it on the pole. If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of bronze, he lived.
10verseThe children of Israel traveled, and encamped in Oboth.
11verseThey traveled from Oboth, and encamped at Iyeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrise.
12verseFrom there they traveled, and encamped in the valley of Zered.
13verseFrom there they traveled, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that comes out of the border of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
14verseTherefore it is said in The Book of the Wars of the LORD, “Vaheb in Suphah, the valleys of the Arnon,
15versethe slope of the valleys that incline toward the dwelling of Ar, leans on the border of Moab.”
16verseFrom there they traveled to Beer; that is the well of which the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
17verseThen Israel sang this song: “Spring up, well! Sing to it,
18versethe well, which the princes dug, which the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter, and with their poles.” From the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah;
19verseand from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth;
20verseand from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks down on the desert.
21verseIsrael sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,
22verse“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn away into field or vineyard. We will not drink of the water of the wells. We will go by the king’s highway, until we have passed your border.”
23verseSihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border, but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz. He fought against Israel.
24verseIsrael struck him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, even to the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was fortified.
25verseIsrael took all these cities. Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.
26verseFor 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 to the Arnon.
27verseTherefore those who speak in proverbs say, “Come to Heshbon. Let the city of Sihon be built and established;
28versefor a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon. It has devoured Ar of Moab, The lords of the high places of the Arnon.
29verseWoe to you, Moab! You are undone, people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon king of the Amorites.
30verseWe have shot at them. Heshbon has perished even to Dibon. We have laid waste even to Nophah, Which reaches to Medeba.”
31verseThus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.
32verseMoses sent to spy out Jazer. They took its villages, and drove out the Amorites who were there.
33verseThey turned and went up by the way of Bashan. Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
34verseThe LORD said to Moses, “Don’t fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people, and his land. You shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”
35verseSo they struck him, with his sons and all his people, until there were no survivors; and they possessed his land.
Explanation of the Main Contents
- Verses 1–9: When a slain person is found and the killer is unknown, the elders of the nearest town perform a rite that acknowledges communal responsibility and seeks removal of bloodguilt.
- Verses 10–14: A captive woman taken as a wife is given time to mourn, and if the man later does not continue the marriage, she must be released rather than sold or treated as property.
- Verses 15–17: The rights of the firstborn are protected even when the father favors another wife’s son.
- Verses 18–21: A persistently rebellious son is brought before the elders, reflecting the seriousness with which family and community order are treated in this ancient legal context.
- Verses 22–23: A person executed and hanged on a tree must not remain there overnight, so that the land is not defiled.
Interpretive Note
Several laws in this chapter are difficult for modern readers. A careful reading should neither ignore their ancient setting nor soften their severity into something they do not say. The passage is best approached by observing its concerns within that setting: public responsibility for bloodshed, limits on exploitation, protection of inheritance rights, communal order, and respect for the land.
Points for Meditation
- How does the text connect private actions with communal responsibility?
- Where does the chapter place limits on power, favoritism, and humiliation?
- How can difficult legal texts be read with honesty and care?
Try Applying It to Yourself
- Do not treat harm around you as automatically unrelated to you; consider what responsibility is appropriate.
- Guard against favoritism in family, work, and community decisions.
- When reading difficult passages, practice careful interpretation before drawing conclusions.
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