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Numbers 33

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The Command to Record the Journeys 1–2

1
These are the journeys of the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron.
2
And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD: and these are their journeys according to their goings out. ​

From Egypt to Mount Sinai 3–15

3
And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.
4
For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments. ​
5
And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth.
6
And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness.
7
And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pihahiroth, which is before Baalzephon: and they pitched before Migdol.
8
And they departed from before Pihahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah. ​
9
And they removed from Marah, and came unto Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they pitched there. ​
10
And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea.
11
And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.
12
And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah.
13
And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush.
14
And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink.
15
And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai. ​

The Thirty-Eight Years of Wandering 16–36

16
And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibrothhattaavah. ​
17
And they departed from Kibrothhattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth.
18
And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah.
19
And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmonparez.
20
And they departed from Rimmonparez, and pitched in Libnah.
21
And they removed from Libnah, and pitched at Rissah.
22
And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelathah.
23
And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher.
24
And they removed from mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah.
25
And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth.
26
And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath.
27
And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah.
28
And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah.
29
And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah.
30
And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth.
31
And they departed from Moseroth, and pitched in Benejaakan.
32
And they removed from Benejaakan, and encamped at Horhagidgad.
33
And they went from Horhagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah.
34
And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah.
35
And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Eziongaber.
36
And they removed from Eziongaber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. ​

The Death of Aaron at Mount Hor 37–40

37
And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom. ​
38
And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. ​
39
And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor.
40
And king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel. ​

From Mount Hor to the Plains of Moab 41–49

41
And they departed from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah.
42
And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon.
43
And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth.
44
And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ijeabarim, in the border of Moab.
45
And they departed from Iim, and pitched in Dibongad.
46
And they removed from Dibongad, and encamped in Almondiblathaim.
47
And they removed from Almondiblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.
48
And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. ​
49
And they pitched by Jordan, from Bethjesimoth even unto Abelshittim in the plains of Moab. ​

Instructions for the Conquest of Canaan 50–56

50
And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, ​
51
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
52
Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: ​
53
And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.
54
And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man's inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit. ​
55
But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. ​
56
Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Numbers 33

Verse 2

Moses wrote their goings out — He wrote the stages 'by the commandment of the LORD', literally 'at the mouth' (peh) of the LORD, the same word as in 9:18: 'At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched'. The record answers Deut 8:2: 'thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee'.

Verse 4

upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments — The verse looks back to Exod 12:12: 'against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment'. Shephet, 'judgment', is the word of both verses. The 'great cry in Egypt' (Exod 12:30) is behind the burying of the firstborn, while Israel went out 'with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians' (v.3).

Verse 8

passed through the midst of the sea — Exod 14:22 describes it: 'the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground'. The three days' journey 'in the wilderness of Etham' are the three days 'in the wilderness' of Shur (Exod 15:22), and they ended at Marah, whose waters 'were bitter' (Exod 15:23). Heb 11:29: 'By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land'.

Verse 9

twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees — Elim means 'palm trees', and tamar is the word for the trees named here. 'Fountains' is ayin, literally eyes, the word rendered 'wells' in Exod 15:27, which gives the same count. Elim follows Marah, where the waters were bitter, and the people 'encamped there by the waters'.

Verse 15

the wilderness of Sinai — Israel came to Sinai in the third month, having 'departed from Rephidim' (Exod 19:1–2). The cloud was taken up from the tabernacle only 'on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year' (Num 10:11). Between those dates fall the law, the tabernacle and the census; this list, which records only the camps, passes over them in a single line.

Verse 16

Kibrothhattaavah — The name comes from a burial: 'because there they buried the people that lusted' (Num 11:34). Ps 106:14 recalls it, 'lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert', and Paul draws on it in 1 Cor 10:6: 'these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted'.

Verse 36

the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh — Qadesh means 'sanctuary'. Num 20:1 gives an arrival 'in the first month': 'the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there'. Of the failure here the LORD says, 'ye trespassed against me… at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin' (Deut 32:51).

Verse 37

mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom — 'Edge' is qatseh, the end or border. The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron 'in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom' (Num 20:23). Edom 'refused to give Israel passage through his border' (20:21), and Israel set out from Hor 'to compass the land of Edom' (21:4).

Verse 38

went up into mount Hor… and died there — 'At the commandment of the LORD' is the same 'mouth of the LORD' (peh) as in v.2. The reason is given in Num 20:24: 'he shall not enter into the land… because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah'. Moses 'stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son' (20:28); v.39 gives Aaron's age as 123.

Verse 40

king Arad the Canaanite — Negeb, 'south', is the parched country of the Canaanite's dwelling. The verse repeats Num 21:1, where Arad 'fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners'; Israel vowed, the LORD 'delivered up the Canaanites', and the place was called Hormah (21:2–3; Judg 1:17). It stands after the death of Aaron, as Num 21:1 follows 20:28.

Verse 48

the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho — 'Plains' is arabah, an arid plain. This is the camp of the book's last commands (Num 26:3; 35:1; 36:13), and of Deuteronomy, where 'began Moses to declare this law' (Deut 1:5). From the mountains of Abarim Moses was told to 'see the land which I have given' (Num 27:12); he went up to Nebo (Deut 34:1).

Verse 49

Bethjesimoth even unto Abelshittim — The camp lay along the Jordan between these two places. At Shittim 'the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab' (Num 25:1). Joshua afterward 'sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly' (Josh 2:1) and 'they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan' (Josh 3:1).

Verse 50

the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab — The words open 35:1 again, and the place-name ends the book at 36:13. Here the speech turns from the journeys to the land: drive out, destroy, divide (vv.51–56); chapter 34 gives its borders, and chapter 35 the cities of the Levites.

Verse 52

drive out all the inhabitants — 'Drive out' and 'possess' (v.53) are one verb, yarash, to take possession by displacing the former occupants. 'Pictures' is maskith, a figured stone, the 'image of stone' of Lev 26:1. The command follows Exod 23:24, 'quite break down their images', and Deut 12:2–3, which names the altars, pillars and graven images.

Verse 54

divide the land by lot — Goral, the lot, fixed the place; the size followed the number: 'To many thou shalt give the more inheritance' (26:54). 'The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD' (Prov 16:33). The inheritance was to stay with its tribe: it was not to 'remove from tribe to tribe' (36:7).

Verse 55

pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides — Sek is a brier and tsanin a thorn; 'vex' is tsarar, to press tightly. The words return in Judg 2:3, 'they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you', and in Josh 23:13. Ps 106:34–36 records the outcome: 'they served their idols: which were a snare unto them'.

Verse 56

as I thought to do unto them — 'Thought' is damah, to liken or devise. The LORD states the same principle in Lev 18:28: 'That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you'. Deut 28:63 warns, 'ye shall be plucked from off the land', and 2 Chr 36:17–20 records the king of the Chaldees, and the carrying away to Babylon.