Ver. 6 Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat That is, if they would, as Aben Ezra observes; for though they had manna daily, yet if they would they might buy other food when they had an opportunity, as they would now have of Edom; but then they were not to take it by force or stealth, but pay for it, which they were able to do. The same writer observes, that some read the words with an interrogation, "shall ye buy meat?" no, there is no need of it; for the Lord had blessed them with a sufficiency of it:
and ye shall also buy water of them for money; that ye may drink; which was usual in those hot countries; (See Gill on Numbers 20:19) or dig water
FOOTNOTES:
F25 that is, pay for digging of wells for water, or buy water out of wells dug in the land of Edom. Jarchi says in maritime places they express buying by this word, and so it is used in the Arabic language; (See Gill on Hosea 3:2).
4
and give the people this command: 'You will soon go through the land that belongs to your relatives, the descendants of Esau who live in Edom. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful.
5
Do not go to war against them. I will not give you any of their land -- not even a foot of it, because I have given the mountains of Edom to Esau as his own.
6
You must pay them in silver for any food you eat or water you drink.'"
7
The Lord your God has blessed everything you have done; he has protected you while you traveled through this great desert. The Lord your God has been with you for the past forty years, and you have had everything you needed.
8
So we passed by our relatives, the descendants of Esau who lived in Edom. We turned off the Jordan Valley road that comes from the towns of Elath and Ezion Geber and traveled along the desert road to Moab.