The Wilderness Years

Y'hoshua the son of Nun, your assistant -he will go in there. So encourage him, because he will enable Isra'el to take possession of it.

Moreover, your little ones, who you said would be taken as booty, and your children who don't yet know good from bad -they will go in there; I will give it to them, and they will have possession of it.

But as for yourselves, turn around and head into the desert by the road to the Sea of Suf.'

"Then you answered me, 'We have sinned against ADONAI. Now we will go up and fight, in accordance with everything ADONAI our God ordered us.'And every man among you put on his arms, considering it an easy matter to go up into the hill-country.

But ADONAI said to me, 'Tell them, "Don't go up, and don't fight, because I am not there with you; if you do, your enemies will defeat you."'

So I told you, but you wouldn't listen. Instead, you rebelled against ADONAI's order, took matters into your own hands and went up into the hill-country;

where the Emori living in that hill-country came out against you like bees, defeated you in Se'ir and chased you back all the way to Hormah.

You returned and cried before ADONAI, but ADONAI neither listened to what you said nor paid you any attention.

This is why you had to stay in Kadesh as long as you did.

"Then we turned and began traveling into the desert along the road to the Sea of Suf, as ADONAI had said to me; and we skirted Mount Se'ir for a long time.

Finally ADONAI said to me,

'You have been going around this mountain long enough! Head north,

and give this order to the people: "You are to pass through the territory of your kinsmen the descendants of 'Esav who live in Se'ir. They will be afraid of you, so be very cautious,

and don't get into disputes with them; for I am not going to give you any of their land, no, not even enough for one foot to stand on; inasmuch as I have given Mount Se'ir to 'Esav as his possession.

Pay them money for the food you eat, and pay them money for the water you drink.

For ADONAI your God has blessed you in everything your hands have produced. He knows that you have been traveling through this vast desert; these forty years ADONAI your God has been with you; and you have lacked nothing.'

"So we went on past our kinsmen the descendants of 'Esav living in Se'ir, left the road through the 'Aravah from Eilat and 'Etzyon-Gever, and turned to pass along the road through the desert of Mo'av.

ADONAI said to me, 'Don't be hostile toward Mo'av or fight with them, because I will not give you any of their land to possess, since I have already given 'Ar to the descendants of Lot as their territory.'"

(The Emim used to live there, a great and numerous people as tall as the 'Anakim.

They are also considered Refa'im, as are the 'Anakim, but the Mo'avim call them Emim.

In Se'ir the Horim used to live, but the descendants of 'Esav dispossessed and destroyed them, settling in their place. Isra'el did similarly in the land it came to possess, which ADONAI gave to them.)

"'Now get going, and cross Vadi Zered!' "So we crossed Vadi Zered.

The time between our leaving Kadesh-Barnea and our crossing Vadi Zered was thirty-eight years - until the whole generation of men capable of bearing arms had been eliminated from the camp, as ADONAI had sworn they would be.

Moreover, ADONAI's hand was against them to root them out of the camp until the last of them was gone.

When all the men who were able to bear arms had died and were no longer part of the people,