Numbers 21 Footnotes

21:4-9 The “way of the Red Sea” refers to the road from Kadesh-barnea toward Elath; here the means of avoiding the Edomites while accessing the Wadi Zered.

Reverence for serpent images abounds in the ancient literature and archaeological artifacts from the Bronze Ages; a bronze serpent was excavated in the late Bronze Age Hathor temple complex in southern Israel at Timna, some fifteen miles north of Elath. In this setting God uses a common tradition of that era in a miraculous manner to bring healing to his repentant people. Commentators unwilling to recognize God’s supernatural activity compare this account to ancient Near Eastern magical rites, attested from Assyria and Babylon, in which the deity was believed to act through magical implements to effect healing or deliverance. The Philistines’ presentation of five golden mice and five gold disease symbols to appease the wrath of the God of the Israelites (1Sm 6:1-12) is a parallel to such magical practices.

21:21-32 As with Edom, the Israelites’ attempt at diplomacy to gain safe passage to the banks of the Jordan River through the Amorite kingdom of Sihon was met with forceful opposition. In the region north of the Arnon River and south of the Jabbok, Israel defeated Sihon and took possession of it. Critics had denied the authenticity of this account since nothing from earlier than the Iron I era was uncovered in the excavation of Tel Hesban. However, as with the city of Arad in southern Judah, city names were considered to designate the capitals of local regions, and several sites such as nearby Tel el-Umeiri and Tel Jalul contain Late Bronze materials that could be associated with the Amorite kingdom of Sihon.