Revised Version 1895
Numbers 21:18
18The well, which the princes digged, Which the nobles of the people delved, With the sceptre, and with their staves. And from the wilderness they journeyed to Mattanah:
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
16And from thence they journeyed to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD said unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. 17Then sang Israel this song: Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it: The well, which the princes digged, Which the nobles of the people delved, With the sceptre, and with their staves. And from the wilderness they journeyed to Mattanah: 19and from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth: 20and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh down upon the desert.
Read all of Numbers 21Numbers 21:18 word by word
בְּאֵ֞ר חֲפָר֣וּהָ שָׂרִ֗ים כָּר֙וּהָ֙ נְדִיבֵ֣י הָעָ֔ם בִּמְחֹקֵ֖ק בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָ֑ם וּמִמִּדְבָּ֖ר מַתָּנָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Numbers 21:18
- 2 Chronicles 17:7Also in the third year of his reign he sent his princes, even Ben-hail, and Obadiah, and Zechariah, and Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah;
- Nehemiah 3:1Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Hammeah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananel.
- 1 Timothy 6:17Charge them that are rich in this present world, that they be not highminded, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
- Deuteronomy 5:31But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandment, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.
- Deuteronomy 33:4Moses commanded us a law, An inheritance 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 by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
- James 4:12One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbour?
- Numbers 33:45And they journeyed from Iyim, and pitched in 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
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
Revised Version 1895 — 1895 — Public Domain
Commentaries