Numbers 21:6

Numbers 21:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
• New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

Context of Numbers 21:6

4Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the [branch of the] Red Sea [called the Gulf of Aqabah], to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient, because [of the challenges] of the journey. 5So the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, nor is there any water, and we loathe this miserable food.” Then the Lord sent fiery (burning) serpents among the people; and they bit the people, and many Israelites died. 7So the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord, so that He will remove the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten will live when he looks at it.”

Numbers 21:6 word by word

וַיְשַׁלַּ֨ח יְהוָ֜ה בָּעָ֗ם אֵ֚ת הַנְּחָשִׁ֣ים הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים וַֽיְנַשְּׁכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיָּ֥מָת עַם־רָ֖ב מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• fieryשָׂרָףώârâph · serpentH8314
• serpentsנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175
• among the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• and they bitנָשַׁךְnâshak · to biteH5391
• and muchרַבrab · manyH7227
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for Numbers 21:6

• Genesis 3:14The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all the cattle, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat All the days of your life.
• Deuteronomy 8:15He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; it was He who brought water for you out of the flinty rock.
• Isaiah 14:29“Do not rejoice, O Philistia, any of you, Because the rod [of Judah] that struck you is broken; For out of the serpent’s root will come a viper [King Hezekiah of Judah], And its offspring will be a flying serpent.
• Isaiah 30:6A [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the beasts of the Negev (the South): Through a land of trouble and anguish, From where come lioness and lion, viper and [fiery] flying serpent, They carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeys And their treasures on the humps of camels, To a people (Egyptians) who cannot benefit them.
• Jeremiah 8:17“For behold, I am sending serpents among you, Vipers which cannot be charmed, And they will bite you,” says the Lord.
• Amos 9:3Though they hide on the summit of [Mount] Carmel, I will track them down and take them from there; And though they hide from My sight on the floor of the sea, From there I shall command the serpent and it will bite them.
• 1 Corinthians 10:9We must not tempt the Lord [that is, test His patience, question His purpose or exploit His goodness], as some of them did—and they were killed by serpents.

Commentaries on Numbers 21:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Fiery serpents - השרפים הנחשים hannechashim hasseraphim . I have observed before, on Gen. iii., that it is difficult to assign a name to the creature termed in Hebrew nachash ; it has different significations, but its meaning here and in Gen. iii. is most difficult to be ascertained. Seraphim is one of the orders of angelic beings, Isaiah 6:2, Isaiah 6:6; but as it comes from the root שרף saraph, which signifies to burn, it has been translated fiery in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Fiery serpents - The epithet Deuteronomy 8:15; Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 30:6 denotes the inflammatory effect of their bite. The peninsula of Sinai, and not least, the Arabah, abounds in mottled snakes of large size, marked with fiery red spots and wavy stripes, which belong to the most poisonous species, as the formation of the teeth clearly show.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-9Verses 4-9 The children of Israel were wearied by a long march round the land of Edom. They speak discontentedly of what God had done for them, and distrustfully of what he would do. What will they be pleased with, whom manna will not please? Let not the contempt which some cast on the word of God, make us value it less. It is the bread of life, substantial bread, and will nourish those who by faith feed upon it, to eternal life, whoever may call it light…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6This entire region has been, and still is, home to very venomous snakes (compare Isaiah 30:6).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people--That part of the desert where the Israelites now were--near the head of the gulf of Akaba--is greatly infested with venomous reptiles, of various kinds, particularly lizards, which raise themselves in the air and swing themselves from branches; and scorpions, which, being in the habit of lying in long grass, are particularly dangerous to the barelegged, sandaled people of the East. The only known remedy…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 21:6

• Animals
• Blasphemy
• Intercession
• Israel
• Judgments
• Miracles
• Moses
• Murmuring
• Plague
• Repentance
• Salvation
• Serpent

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Behold
• Brass
• Exodus
• Murmuring
• Seraphim
• Serpent, Fiery
• Spy

Commentaries on Numbers 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings