Numbers 21:14

_WHEREFORE IT IS SAID IN THE BOOK OF THE WARS OF THE LORD, WHAT HE DID IN THE RED SEA, AND IN THE BROOKS OF ARNON,_ Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord. A fragment or passage is here quoted from a historical poem, descriptive of the wars of the Israelites, principally with a view to decide the position of Arnon. Various opinions have been advanced respecting this book. Le Clerc, Grotius, and Dr. Patrick, instead of "book," render the original word, 'writing,' 'narrative;' so that, according to them, the passage should stand thus: 'Wherefore in the narration of the wars of the Lord,' etc. Lightfoot supposes "the book of the wars of the Lord" to be that record which, on the defeat of the Amalekites, Moses was commanded to make as a memorial of it, and to rehearse it in the ears of Joshua (Exodus 17:14), with continuations for Joshua's private instru

10-20 We have here the removes of the children of Israel, till they came to the plains of Moab, from whence they passed over Jordan into Canaan. The end of their pilgrimage was near. "They set forward." It were well if we did thus; and the nearer we come to heaven, were so much the more active and abundant in the work of the Lord. The wonderful success God granted to his people, is here spoken of, and, among the rest, their actions on the river Arnon, at Vaheb in Suphah, and other places on that river. In every stage of our lives, nay, in every step, we should notice what God has wrought for us; what he did at such a time, and what in such a place, ought to be distinctly remembered. God blessed his people with a supply of water. When we come to heaven, we shall remove to the well of life, the fountain of living waters. They received it with joy and thankfulness, which made the mercy dou...

Verse Numbers 21:14. _THE BOOK OF THE WARS OF THE LORD_] There are endless conjectures about this book, both among ancients and moderns. Dr. Lightfoot's opinion is the most simple, and to me bears the greatest appearance of being the true one. "This book seems to have been some book of _remembrances_ and _directions_, written by Moses for Joshua's private instruction for the management of the wars after him. See Exodus 17:14-2. It may be that this was the same book which is called the _book of Jasher_, i. e., the _book_ of _the upright_, or a directory for Joshua, from Moses, what to do and what to expect in his wars; and in this book it seems as if Moses directed the setting up of _archery_, see...

Of “the book of the wars of the Lord” nothing is known except what may be gathered from the passage before us. It was apparently a collection of sacred odes commemorative of that triumphant progress of God’s people which this chapter records. From it is taken the ensuing fragment of ancient poetry relating to the passage of the Arnon River, and probably also the Song of the Well, and the Ode on the Conquest of the Kingdom of Sihon Numbers 21:17, Numbers 21:27. WHAT HE DID ... - The words which follow to the end of the next verse are a reference rather than a quotation. Contemporaries who had “the Book” at hand, could supply the context. We can only conjecture the sense of the words; which in the original are grammatically incomplete.

EXPOSITION THE END OF JOURNEYS, THE BEGINNING OF VICTORIES (Numbers 21:10 Numbers 22:1). NUMBERS 21:10 THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SET FORWARD, and pitched in Oboth. In the list of Numbers 33:1, there occur two other stations, Zahnonah and Phunon, between Mount Hor and Oboth. Phunon may be the Pinou of Genesis 36:41, but it is a mere conjecture. All we

WHEREFORE IT IS SAID IN THE BOOK OF THE WARS OF THE LORD,.... A history of wars in former times, which the Lord had suffered to be in the world; and which, as Aben Ezra thinks, reached from the times of Abraham and so might begin with the battle of the kings in his time, and take in others in later times, and particularly those of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and his conquests of some parts of Moab; and to this book, which might be written by some one of those nations, Moses refers in proof of what he here says: WHAT HE DID IN THE RED SEA; that is, what Sihon king of the Amorites did, or the Lord by him, "at Vaheb in Suphah", as the words may be rendered; either against a king, or rather city, of Moab, whose name was Vaheb, in the borders of the land of Moab, or how he destroyed that city Vaheb with a storm or terrible assault l: AND IN THE BROOKS OF ARNON: some places situated on the...

CHAPTER 21 Murmuring and Conquest _ 1. Opposition of King Arad (Numbers 21:1)_ 2. Murmuring and the fiery serpents (Numbers 21:4) 3. The serpent of brass (Numbers 21:8) 4. Journeying and singing again (Numbers 21:10) 5. Sihon and Og (Numbers 21:21) The first victory is here recorded. The Lord delivered Canaanites into the hands of Israel, and according to their vow they utterly destroyed them and their cities. But in spite of this victory the people became again discouraged because of the w

AN ITINERARY. This continues Numbers 21:4 (and they journeyed from Mount Hor), but the immediate place of departure in Numbers 21:10 is omitted. In Numbers 33:42 f. two stations are inserted between Hor and Oboth. NUMBERS 21:10 F. OBOTH. IYE-ABARIM: both unknown. BEFORE MOAB: _i.e._ E. of Moab. Numbers 21:12. the valley of Zered: probably the Wâ dy el Ahsa at the SE. angle of the Dead Sea. Numbers 21:13. the other s

OF THE WARS OF THE LORD. This may _commence_ the quotation, thus: "the wars of Jehovah [were with] Eth-Vaheb by the Red sea (or with. whirlwind. Hebrew. _Supha._ Compare Amos 1:14.Isaiah 66:15.Nahum 1:3.Jeremiah 4:13; Jeremiah 4:13) and by the brooks of Arnon". Eth-Vaheb may be the proper name of the king of the Amorites, who took Heshbon, as in Numbers 21:26. THE RED SEA. Hebrew. _Suphah,_. city situated as described here, and in...

Numbers 21:12. J E The Israelites arrived at a spot on the S.E. border of Moab, and then, having travelled northwards along its eastern boundary, penetrated westward till they reached the cliffs which fall to the Dead Sea. Notice that the formula used in the itinerary has changed; in Numbers 21:10 it is -and they journeyed from and encamped in," as throughout ch. 33; but here it is -from thence they journeyed, and encamped in," or some shorter expression. On the whole of this section see G. A. Smith, _Hist. Geogr._557 66, and his article -Moab" in _Enc. Bibl.[Note: nc. Bibl. Encyclopaedia Biblica.]_ __...