Berean Standard Bible
Numbers 21:6
6So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.
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 along the route to the Red Sea, in order to bypass the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient on the journey 5and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died. 7Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses interceded for the people. 8Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.”
Read all of Numbers 21Numbers 21:6 word by word
וַיְשַׁלַּ֨ח יְהוָ֜ה בָּעָ֗ם אֵ֚ת הַנְּחָשִׁ֣ים הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים וַֽיְנַשְּׁכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיָּ֥מָת עַם־רָ֖ב מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
- So the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- venomousשָׂרָףώârâph · serpentH8314
- snakesנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175
- amongעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
- and manyרַבrab · manyH7227
- of the Israelitesיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- were bittenנָשַׁךְnâshak · to biteH5391
- and diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
Cross-references for Numbers 21:6
- Genesis 3:14So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.
- Deuteronomy 8:15He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.
- Isaiah 14:29Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.
- Isaiah 30:6This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.
- Jeremiah 8:17“For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.
- Amos 9:3Though they hide themselves atop Carmel, there I will track them and seize them; and though they hide from Me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.
- 1 Corinthians 10:9We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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