Numbers 21:18

Numbers 21:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:
• New International Version (NIV)about the well that the princes dug, that the nobles of the people sank— the nobles with scepters and staffs.” Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah,
• English Standard Version (ESV)the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs." And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah,
• New King James Version (NKJV)The well the leaders sank, Dug by the nation’s nobles, By the lawgiver, with their staves.” And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah,

Context of Numbers 21:18

16From there they went to Beer, the well the Lord told Moses about, “Gather the people so I may give them water.” 17Then Israel sang this song: Spring up, well — sing to it! The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with a scepter and with their staffs. They went from the wilderness to Mattanah, 19from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20from Bamoth to the valley in the territory of Moab near the Pisgah highlands that overlook the wasteland.

Numbers 21:18 word by word

בְּאֵ֞ר חֲפָר֣וּהָ שָׂרִ֗ים כָּר֙וּהָ֙ נְדִיבֵ֣י הָעָ֔ם בִּמְחֹקֵ֖ק בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָ֑ם וּמִמִּדְבָּ֖ר מַתָּנָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• diggedחָפַרchâphar · to searchH2658
• the wellבְּאֵרbe'êr · wellH875
• the noblesנָדִיבnâdîyb · nobleH5081
• of the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• diggedכָּרָהkârâh · to pierceH3738
• the lawgiverחָקַקchâqaq · to decreeH2710
• with their stavesמִשְׁעֶ֫נֶתmish‛ênâh mish‛eneth · staffH4938
• And from the wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• to Mattanahמַתָּנָהmattânâh · MattanahH4980

Cross-references for Numbers 21:18

• 2 Chronicles 17:7In the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat sent his officials — Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah — to teach in the cities of Judah.
• Nehemiah 3:1The high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests began rebuilding the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated it.
• 1 Timothy 6:17Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.
• Deuteronomy 5:31But you stand here with me, and I will tell you every command — the statutes and ordinances — you are to teach them, so that they may follow them in the land I am giving them to possess.’
• Deuteronomy 33:4Moses gave us instruction, a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
• Isaiah 33:22For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King. He will save us.
• John 1:17for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
• James 4:12There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
• Numbers 33:45They traveled from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad.

Commentaries on Numbers 21:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18The princes digged the well - with their staves - This is not easily understood. Who can suppose that the princes dug this well with their staves? And is there any other idea conveyed by our translation? The word חפרו chapharu, which is translated they digged, should be rendered they searched out, which is a frequent meaning of the root; and במשענתם bemishanotham, which we render with their staves, should be translated on their borders or confines, from…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-20Verses 10-20 We have here the removes of the children of Israel, till they came to the plains of Moab, from whence they passed over Jordan into Canaan. The end of their pilgrimage was near. "They set forward." It were well if we did thus; and the nearer we come to heaven, were so much the more active and abundant in the work of the Lord. The wonderful success God granted to his people, is here spoken of, and, among the rest, their actions on the river…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-20After moving north of the Arnon, the Hebrews left the wilderness on the eastern side of Moab and the newly conquered Amorite territory (see study note on 21:21–35). They turned west toward the ridgeline that rises up from the Jordan Rift valley, then traveled north to Pisgah Peak (see also 23:14; Deuteronomy 3:17, 27; 34:1, 5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-1817-18. Then Israel sang--This beautiful little song was in accordance with the wants and feelings of travelling caravans in the East, where water is an occasion both of prayer and thanksgiving. From the princes using their official rods only, and not spades, it seems probable that this well was concealed by the brushwood or the sand, as is the case with many wells in Idumea still. The discovery of it was seasonable, and owing to the special interposition…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 21:18

• Beer
• Mattanah
• Thankfulness

In the dictionaries

• Beer
• Behold
• Exodus
• Mattanah
• Spy
• Bible, the
• Genealogy
• Images
• Jephthah
• Lawgiver

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