Tree of Life Version
Numbers 21:6
6So Adonai sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people and many of the people of Israel 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
4They travelled from Mount Hor along the route to the Sea of Reeds in order to go around the land of Edom. The spirit of the people became impatient along the way. 5The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you brought us from Egypt to die in the wilderness, because there is no bread, no water, and our very spirits detest the despicable food? So Adonai sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people and many of the people of Israel died. 7The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against Adonai and you! Pray to Adonai for us, that He may take away the snakes!” So Moses prayed for the people. 8Adonai said to Moses, “Make yourself a fiery snake and put it on a pole. Whenever anyone who has been bitten will look 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- fieryשָׂרָףώârâph · serpentH8314
- serpentsנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175
- among the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- and they bitנָשַׁךְnâshak · to biteH5391
- and muchרַבrab · manyH7227
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
Cross-references for Numbers 21:6
- Genesis 3:14Adonai Elohim said to the serpent, “Because you did this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and above every animal of the field. On your belly will you go, and dust will you eat all the days of your life.
- Deuteronomy 8:15He led you through the great and terrible wilderness—fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where there was no water. He brought forth water for you from the flinty rock.
- Isaiah 14:29Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, that the rod that struck you is broken. For from the serpent’s root comes a viper and its fruit will be a flying serpent.
- Isaiah 30:6The burden concerning the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of trouble and anguish, in which are lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent, they are carrying their riches on the backs of young donkeys, their treasures on camel humps, to a people who cannot profit them.
- Jeremiah 8:17“For I am about to send serpents on you, vipers for which there is no charm, and they will bite you.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
- Amos 9:3If they should hide themselves at the top of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there. If they hide themselves from My eyes at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the sea serpent to bite them.
- 1 Corinthians 10:9And let’s not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were destroyed by serpents.
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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