Numbers 21:2

Numbers 21:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
• New International Version (NIV)Then Israel made this vow to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, "If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”

Context of Numbers 21:2

1When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked Israel and captured some prisoners. So Israel made a vow to the LORD: “If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction.” 3And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah. 4Then they set out from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, in order to bypass the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient on the journey

Numbers 21:2 word by word

וַיִּדַּ֨ר יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל נֶ֛דֶר לַֽיהוָ֖ה וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אִם־נָתֹ֨ן תִּתֵּ֜ן אֶת־הָעָ֤ם הַזֶּה֙ בְּיָדִ֔י וְהַֽחֲרַמְתִּ֖י אֶת־עָרֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

• So Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• madeנָדַרnâdar · to vowH5087
• a vowנֶ֫דֶרneder nêder · vowH5088
• to the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• to the LORDאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Ifאִם'im · ifH518
• You will deliverנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• thisזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• into our handsיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• we will devoteחָרַםchâram · to devote/destroyH2763
• their cities to destructionעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892

Cross-references for Numbers 21:2

• Genesis 28:20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
• Judges 11:30Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand,
• 1 Samuel 1:11And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
• 2 Samuel 15:7After four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I have made to the LORD.
• Psalms 56:12Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.
• Psalms 116:18I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people,
• Psalms 132:2how he swore an oath to the LORD, and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
• Leviticus 27:28Nothing that a man sets apart to the LORD from all he owns—whether a man, an animal, or his inherited land—can be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.
• Deuteronomy 13:15you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock.
• Joshua 6:17Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies we sent.
• 1 Corinthians 16:22If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!

Commentaries on Numbers 21:2

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3devote … to destruction: This phrase translates the Hebrew word kharam. This word means to devote something fully to God by destroying it. Israel was told to completely destroy their enemies and their property in certain cases (see Leviticus 27:28–29; Deuteronomy 7:2; 20:17; Joshua 6–7; 10:1–11:23). This battle also includes wordplay between kharam and Hormah (Hebrew khormah, Numbers 21:3). The similar sounds connect the action of destroying with the name…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord--Made to feel their own weakness, they implored the aid of Heaven, and, in anticipation of it, devoted the cities of this king to future destruction. The nature and consequence of such anathemas are described (Le 27:1-34; De 13:1-18). This vow of extermination against Arad [Nu 21:2] gave name to the place Hormah (slaughter and destruction) though it was not accomplished till after the passage of the Jordan. Others…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 21:2

• Canaanites
• Hormah
• Israel

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Anathema
• Behold
• Exodus
• Hormah
• Spy
• Wars of the Lord, The Book of the
• Arad

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