🔢WEB · Numbers 21:4
What does Numbers 21:4 mean?
"They traveled from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom The soul of the people was very discouraged because of the journey."
— Numbers 21:4 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the South, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim. He fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.
Israel vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”
Yahweh listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. The name of the place was called Hormah.
They traveled from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom The soul of the people was very discouraged because of the journey.
The people spoke against God, and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this disgusting bread.”
Yahweh sent venomous snakes among the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died.
The people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh, and against you. Pray to Yahweh, that he take away the serpents from us.” Moses prayed for the people.
Explanation
Numbers 21:4 comes at a pivotal turning point in Israel's wilderness wandering. In plain terms, the verse says that the Israelites left Mount Hor and set out on a route toward the Red Sea, taking a long detour around the territory of Edom rather than passing directly through it. As they traveled this indirect and difficult path, the people became deeply discouraged and impatient with the journey.
The context helps explain why. Just before this, in Numbers 20, Israel had asked the king of Edom for permission to pass through his land on their way toward Canaan, but Edom refused and even met them with an armed show of force. Rather than fight their kinsmen (Edom descended from Esau, Jacob's brother), Israel was forced to turn away and travel around Edom's border, adding significant time and hardship to their trek through the harsh desert terrain. This happened not long after Aaron's death on Mount Hor, so the community was already grieving and weary. Numbers as a whole was traditionally attributed to Moses, written to record Israel's forty years of wilderness experience and to teach the covenant community—and later generations reading it—lessons about faith, obedience, and God's provision despite human failure.
Theologically, this verse sets the stage for the rebellion that follows in the very next verses, where the people complain against God and Moses, provoking judgment through the plague of fiery serpents. The discouragement mentioned here isn't just physical tiredness; it reveals a recurring pattern in Israel's story—when the path God leads them on becomes long, inconv
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