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

1And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. And Israel vowed a vow unto Yhwh, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 3And Yhwh hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah. 4And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

Numbers 21:2 word by word

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

• And Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• vowedנָדַרnâdar · to vowH5087
• a vowנֶ֫דֶרneder nêder · vowH5088
• unto Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• If thou wilt indeedנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• this peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• into my handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• then I will utterly destroyחָרַםchâram · to devote/destroyH2763
• their citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892

Cross-references for Numbers 21:2

• Genesis 28:20And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
• Judges 11:30And Jephthah vowed a vow unto Yhwh, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
• 1 Samuel 1:11And she vowed a vow, and said, O Yhwh of Armies, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto Yhwh all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
• 2 Samuel 15:7And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto Yhwh, in Hebron.
• Psalms 56:12Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.
• Psalms 116:18I will pay my vows unto Yhwh now in the presence of all his people,
• Psalms 132:2How he sware unto Yhwh, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;
• Leviticus 27:28Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto Yhwh of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto Yhwh.
• Deuteronomy 13:15Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.
• Joshua 6:17And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to Yhwh: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
• 1 Corinthians 16:22If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. Maranatha.

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