Numbers 22:1

1 The Israelites moved on and set up camp in the plains of Moab east of the Jordan and opposite Jericho.

Numbers 22:1 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 22:1

And the children of Israel set forward
From the country of Bashan, where we read of them last, after they had conquered Og the king of it, and also Sihon king of the Amorites, and settled some of their tribes in both kingdoms; the particular place from whence they came hither, according to the account of their journeys, were the mountains of Abarim, ( Numbers 33:48 ) :

and pitched in the plains of Moab
the part of them they encamped in reached from Bethjesimoth to Abelshittim, ( Numbers 33:49 ) ,

on this side Jordan by Jericho;
or Jordan of Jericho, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; a river that flowed near to Jericho, running between the plains of Moab and the plains of Jericho; according to Josephus F21 it was sixty furlongs, or seven miles and a half from Jericho; but, according to Jerome F23, it was but five miles: or rather, as some versions render it, "over against Jericho" F24; for Jericho was on the other side of the river Jordan, and the plains of Moab, or that part of them where Israel now pitched, were right against that city; and so Josephus says F25.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 4.
F23 De locis Heb. fol. 87. G.
F24 (kata iericw) Sept. "ex opposito Heiricho", Tigurine version.
F25 Antiqu. l. 4. c. 6. sect. 1.

Numbers 22:1 In-Context

1 The Israelites moved on and set up camp in the plains of Moab east of the Jordan and opposite Jericho.
2 When the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, heard what the Israelites had done to the Amorites and how many Israelites there were,
3 he and all his people became terrified.
4 The Moabites said to the leaders of the Midianites, "This horde will soon destroy everything around us, like a bull eating the grass in a pasture." So King Balak
5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor near the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw. They brought him this message from Balak: "I want you to know that a whole nation has come from Egypt; its people are spreading out everywhere and threatening to take over our land.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.