Numbers 20:8-22

The Water of Meribah

8 "Take 1the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink."
9 So Moses took the rod 2from before * the LORD, just as He had commanded him;
10 and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before * the rock. And he said to them, "3Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?"
11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and 4water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank.
12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "5Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."
13 Those were the waters of 6Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the LORD, and He proved Himself holy among them.
14 From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to 7the king of Edom: "Thus your brother Israel has said, 'You 8know all the hardship that has befallen us;
15 that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly.
16 'But 9when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent 10an angel and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.
17 'Please 11let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king's highway, not turning to the right or left, until * we pass through your territory.' "
18 12Edom, however, said to him, "You shall not pass through us, or I will come out with the sword against you."
19 Again, the sons of Israel said to him, "We will go up by the highway, and if I and 13my livestock do drink any of your water, 14then I will pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, nothing * else."
20 But he said, "15You shall not pass through." And Edom came out against him with a heavy force and with a strong hand.
21 16Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; 17so Israel turned away from him.
22 Now when they set out from 18Kadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

Cross References 18

  • 1. Exodus 4:17, 20; Exodus 17:5, 6
  • 2. Numbers 17:10
  • 3. Psalms 106:33
  • 4. Psalms 78:16; Isaiah 48:21; 1 Corinthians 10:4
  • 5. Numbers 20:24; Numbers 27:14; Deuteronomy 1:37; Deuteronomy 3:26, 27
  • 6. Exodus 17:7; Psalms 95:8
  • 7. Genesis 36:31-39; Deuteronomy 2:4
  • 8. Joshua 2:9, 10; Joshua 9:9, 10, 24
  • 9. Exodus 2:23; Exodus 3:7
  • 10. Exodus 14:19
  • 11. Numbers 21:22
  • 12. Numbers 24:18
  • 13. Exodus 12:38
  • 14. Deuteronomy 2:6, 28
  • 15. Judges 11:17
  • 16. Judges 11:17
  • 17. Deuteronomy 2:8
  • 18. Numbers 20:1, 14

Footnotes 6

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