Numbers 20:2

Numbers 20:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
• New International Version (NIV)Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron.

Context of Numbers 20:2

1In the first month of the year, the whole community of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin and camped at Kadesh. While they were there, Miriam died and was buried. There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron. 3The people blamed Moses and said, “If only we had died in the Lord’s presence with our brothers! 4Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord’s people into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock?

Numbers 20:2 word by word

וְלֹא־הָ֥יָה מַ֖יִם לָעֵדָ֑ה וַיִּקָּ֣הֲל֔וּ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֖ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And there was no waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• for the congregationעֵדָה‛êdâh · congregationH5712
• and they gatheredקָהַלqâhal · to gatherH6950
• themselves together against Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• and against Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175

Cross-references for Numbers 20:2

• Exodus 16:23He told them, “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”
• Exodus 17:1At the Lord’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink.
• Numbers 11:1Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.
• Numbers 16:3They united against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the Lord, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the Lord’s people?”
• Numbers 21:5and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”
• Exodus 16:2There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.
• 1 Corinthians 10:10And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death.

Commentaries on Numbers 20:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2And there was no water for the congregation - The same occurrence took place to the children of Israel at Kadesh, as did formerly to their fathers at Rephidim, see Exodus 17:1; and as the fathers murmured, so also did the children.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2-6Verses 2-6 The language of the murmurers is noteworthy. It has the air of a traditional remonstrance handed down from the last generation. Compare marginal references.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2there was no water: Most of the year, Sinai and the Negev are very hot and dry.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-132-13. there was no water for the congregation--There was at Kadesh a fountain, En-Mishpat (Ge 14:7), and at the first encampment of the Israelites there was no want of water. It was then either partially dried up by the heat of the season, or had been exhausted by the demands of so vast a multitude.Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 20:2

• Aaron
• Israel
• Moses
• Murmuring
• Trouble

In the dictionaries

• Aaron
• Moses
• Exodus
• Meribah
• Refuse
• Agrapha
• Chronicles, Books of
• Chronology of the Old Testament
• Criticism
• Genealogy

Commentaries on Numbers 20

• 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