18Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you.”
19The children of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway; and if we drink your water, I and my livestock, then I will give its price. Only let me, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet.”
20He said, “You shall not pass through.” Edom came out against him with many people, and with a strong hand.21Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border, so Israel turned away from him.
18 Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you.”
19 The children of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway; and if we drink your water, I and my livestock, then I will give its price. Only let me, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet.”
20 He said, “You shall not pass through.” Edom came out against him with many people, and with a strong hand.
21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border, so Israel turned away from him.
KJVKing James Version
18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
19 And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet.
20 And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.
21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.
Show all 3 translations
JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
18 And Edom said unto him: 'Thou shalt not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against thee.'
19 And the children of Israel said unto him: 'We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then will I give the price thereof; let me only pass through on my feet; there is no hurt.'
20 And he said: 'Thou shalt not pass through.' And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.
21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; wherefore Israel turned away from him.
Deuteronomy 2:28(v19)You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink. Just let me pass through on my feet,
Deuteronomy 2:6(v19)You shall purchase food from them for money, that you may eat. You shall also buy water from them for money, that you may drink.’ ”
Judges 11:17(v20)then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let me pass through your land;’ but the king of Edom didn’t listen. In the…
Amos 1:11(v20)Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the…
Judges 11:18(v21)Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of…
Show all 18 cross-references
Deuteronomy 2:29(v21)as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me; until I pass over the Jordan into the land which…
Genesis 27:41(v20)Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are…
Genesis 32:6(v20)The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
Exodus 12:38(v19)A mixed multitude went up also with them, with flocks, herds, and even very much livestock.
Numbers 20:18(v20)Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you.”
Deuteronomy 2:4-8(v21)Command the people, saying, ‘You are to pass through the border of your brothers, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be…
Deuteronomy 2:27(v21)“Let me pass through your land. I will go along by the highway. I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left.
Deuteronomy 23:7(v21)You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.
Judges 11:20(v20)But Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought…
Judges 11:24(v21)Won’t you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whoever Yahweh our God has dispossessed from before us, them will we…
Psalms 120:7(v20)I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.
Ezekiel 35:5-11(v20)“ ‘ “Because you have had a perpetual hostility, and have given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their…
Obadiah 1:10-15(v20)For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever. In the day that you stood on the other…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv18, 20, 21Or, come not.
Or, come not.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn v18Num 20:18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt…
Num 20:18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
Ver. 18. Thou shalt not pass.] As fearing what so great an army once got in might do; they are not usually so easily removed. It was therefore great injustice in Pope Julius, to excommunicate and depose John, king of Navarre, as a heretic, and public enemy to the see apostolic, because being himself a peer of the realm of France, and having a great part of his patrimony in that country, he would not suffer the Spaniard, the Pope’s champion, to lead an army through his country against the French, his liege lord, and deliver to him three of the strongest castles he had in his kingdom. {a}
Read full note →
{a} Guicciard., lib. ii.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv18, 19, 21i.e. Through my country, as thou desirest; I will…
i.e. Through my country, as thou desirest; I will not suffer time to do so: which was an act of common policy to secure themselves from so numerous a host.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv18–21And the children of Israel said unto him,.... The…
And the children of Israel said unto him,.... The messengers sent by the children of Israel made answer to the king of Edom:
we will go by the highway; we desire no other favour but that of the public road; we propose not to go through any part of the country that is enclosed and cultivated, to do any damage to it:
Read full note →
if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it; as it was usual, and still is, to buy water in those countries near the Red sea, where it is scarce. We are told (d), that at Suess, a city on the extremity of the Red sea, there is no water nearer than six or seven hours journey towards the north east, which is brought from thence on camels; and a small vessel of it is sold for three or four medinas, and a larger vessel for eight or ten, according to the demand for it; a medina is an Egyptian piece of money, worth about three halfpence of our English money:
I will only (without doing anything else) go through on my feet; as fast as I can, without saying anything to the inhabitants to terrify and distress them, and without doing them any injury. Some render it, I will only go "with my footmen" (e); foot soldiers, an army on foot, as Israel were.
(d) See a Journal from Cairo to Mount Sinai, p. 10, 11. Ed. 2. (e) "cum meo exercitu pedestri"; so some in Fagius & Vatablus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv18–19By me - Through my country: I will not…
By me - Through my country: I will not suffer thee to do so: which was an act of policy, to secure themselves from so numerous an host.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn v21Verse 21. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage…
Verse 21. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border] Though every king has a right to refuse passage through his territories to any strangers; yet in a case like this, and in a time also in which emigrations were frequent and universally allowed, it was both cruelty and oppression in Edom to refuse a passage to a comparatively unarmed and inoffensive multitude, who were all their own near kinsmen. It appears however that it was only the Edomites of Kadesh that were thus unfriendly and cruel; for from De 2:29 we learn that the Edomites who dwelt in Mount Seir treated them in a hospitable manner. This cruelty in the Edomites of Kadesh is strongly reprehended, and threatened by the Prophet Obadiah, Ob 1:10, &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v18Num 20:18-19. By me — Through my country: I…
Num 20:18-19. By me — Through my country: I will not suffer thee to do so; which was an act of policy, to secure themselves from so numerous a host. Said — That is, their messengers replied what here follows.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn v20The Israelites, without awaiting at Kadesh the return of…
The Israelites, without awaiting at Kadesh the return of their ambassador, commenced their eastward march. At the tidings of their approach the Edomites mustered their forces to oppose them; and on crossing the Arabah they found their ascent through the mountains barred. The notice of this is inserted here to complete the narrative; but in order of time it comes after the march described in Num 20:22.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv18–19Edom, the people who dwelt near Mount Hor. Those…
Edom, the people who dwelt near Mount Hor. Those of Seir, lying more to the west, (Du Hamel) granted them leave to pass, and to buy food, Deuteronomy ii. 28, 29. Grotius maintains, that the Hebrews might justly have forced a passage upon this refusal; as St. Augustine (q. 44,) says, that they might lawfully have waged war upon the Amorrhites, on the like occasion; and the holy wars have been defended on the same plea, because the Saracens would not suffer the Christians to go in pilgrimage to the holy land. See Mare, lib. i. 1. But Selden (Mare. claus. 20) asserts, that princes have a right ot hinder others from passing through their territories; and St. Augustine only excepts one case, when they are sure the strangers can or will do no harm. But how can they obtain this assurance? Calmet answers, the long continuance of the Hebrews near the confines of Seir, without offering any molestation, and their being conducted by so holy a general, might give the people of Hor sufficient security. But at any rate the Israelites could not wage war upon them for refusing a passage, since they were expressly forbidden by God: Stir not against them, (Deuteronomy ii. 5,) the people of Seir, nor against any of the Idumeans, the children of Esau, who had taken possession of the country of Horrhites, Genesis xiv. 6. The Hebrews seem to have been convinced of this, otherwise they would not have feared their multitudes, nor taken such a circuitous road. The angel in the cloud directed them to proceed, without molesting their territory. They went, therefore, towards the south, round the land of the Idumeans, who dwelt near the Dead Sea. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv19, 21if I and my cattle drink of thy water,…
if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it--From the scarcity of water in the warm climates of the East, the practice of levying a tax for the use of the wells is universal; and the jealousy of the natives, in guarding the collected treasures of rain, is often so great that water cannot be procured for money.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv18–2018. Thou shalt not pass by me — Literally,…
18. Thou shalt not pass by me — Literally, in me. This refusal was dictated partly by the hereditary grudge cherished by Esau against Jacob, (Gen_27:41,) and partly by fear of so great a multitude passing through his country. Exo_17:8-16. In consequence of this refusal, Israel, instead of marching through some pass in Mount Seir, was obliged to make a detour southward around Edom. The only alternative was an aggression upon the country of Edom and a fratricidal war which was against the divine will. Deu_2:5; see Num_21:4, note.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn v1919. without doing anything else] lit. ‘it is not…
19. without doing anything else] lit. ‘it is not a matter’; i.e. it is not a matter that can cause you any injury or annoyance; it is a mere nothing that we ask.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn v19(19) I will only, without doing anything else .…
(19) I will only, without doing anything else . . . —Literally, Only—it is nothing—let me pass through on my feet.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv18–19And Edom said... Thou shalt not pass by me.…
And Edom said... Thou shalt not pass by me. This was the first of a series of hostile acts, prompted by vindictive jealousy, which brought down the wrath of God upon Edom (compare the prophecy of Obadiah). See, however, on Deu_2:29.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv18, 20You may not pass ... to attack you
You may not pass ... to attack you
Here "you" is singular and refers to Moses, who represents the people of Israel. AT: "Your people may not pass ... to attack them" (See: Forms of You and Synecdoche)
Read full note →
I will come with the sword
Here the sword represents the king's army. AT: "I will send my army" (See: Metonymy)
the people of Israel
This phrase refers to the Israelite messengers.
walk through on foot
This idiom means that they would simply travel through the area by walking. They would not come in chariots to attack the people of Edom. (See: Idiom)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v1820:18-21 Stay out of my land: As their ancestor…
20:18-21 Stay out of my land: As their ancestor Esau had distrusted Jacob (Gen 27:36), the Edomites now distrusted Jacob’s descendants. So Israel was forced to turn around and find another way to approach Canaan (cp. Deut 2:4-6).
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21 Or, come not.
Or, come not.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v18 Num 20:18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt…
Num 20:18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
Ver. 18. Thou shalt not pass.] As fearing what so great an army once got in might do; they are not usually so easily removed. It was therefore great injustice in Pope Julius, to excommunicate and depose John, king of Navarre, as a heretic, and public enemy to the see apostolic, because being himself a peer of the realm of France, and having a great part of his patrimony in that country, he would not suffer the Spaniard, the Pope’s champion, to lead an army through his country against the French, his liege lord, and deliver to him three of the strongest castles he had in his kingdom. {a}
Read full note →
{a} Guicciard., lib. ii.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 21 i.e. Through my country, as thou desirest; I will…
i.e. Through my country, as thou desirest; I will not suffer time to do so: which was an act of common policy to secure themselves from so numerous a host.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv18–21 And the children of Israel said unto him,.... The…
And the children of Israel said unto him,.... The messengers sent by the children of Israel made answer to the king of Edom:
we will go by the highway; we desire no other favour but that of the public road; we propose not to go through any part of the country that is enclosed and cultivated, to do any damage to it:
Read full note →
if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it; as it was usual, and still is, to buy water in those countries near the Red sea, where it is scarce. We are told (d), that at Suess, a city on the extremity of the Red sea, there is no water nearer than six or seven hours journey towards the north east, which is brought from thence on camels; and a small vessel of it is sold for three or four medinas, and a larger vessel for eight or ten, according to the demand for it; a medina is an Egyptian piece of money, worth about three halfpence of our English money:
I will only (without doing anything else) go through on my feet; as fast as I can, without saying anything to the inhabitants to terrify and distress them, and without doing them any injury. Some render it, I will only go "with my footmen" (e); foot soldiers, an army on foot, as Israel were.
(d) See a Journal from Cairo to Mount Sinai, p. 10, 11. Ed. 2. (e) "cum meo exercitu pedestri"; so some in Fagius & Vatablus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv18–19 By me - Through my country: I will not…
By me - Through my country: I will not suffer thee to do so: which was an act of policy, to secure themselves from so numerous an host.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v21 Verse 21. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage…
Verse 21. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border] Though every king has a right to refuse passage through his territories to any strangers; yet in a case like this, and in a time also in which emigrations were frequent and universally allowed, it was both cruelty and oppression in Edom to refuse a passage to a comparatively unarmed and inoffensive multitude, who were all their own near kinsmen. It appears however that it was only the Edomites of Kadesh that were thus unfriendly and cruel; for from De 2:29 we learn that the Edomites who dwelt in Mount Seir treated them in a hospitable manner. This cruelty in the Edomites of Kadesh is strongly reprehended, and threatened by the Prophet Obadiah, Ob 1:10, &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v18 Num 20:18-19. By me — Through my country: I…
Num 20:18-19. By me — Through my country: I will not suffer thee to do so; which was an act of policy, to secure themselves from so numerous a host. Said — That is, their messengers replied what here follows.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v20 The Israelites, without awaiting at Kadesh the return of…
The Israelites, without awaiting at Kadesh the return of their ambassador, commenced their eastward march. At the tidings of their approach the Edomites mustered their forces to oppose them; and on crossing the Arabah they found their ascent through the mountains barred. The notice of this is inserted here to complete the narrative; but in order of time it comes after the march described in Num 20:22.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv18–19 Edom, the people who dwelt near Mount Hor. Those…
Edom, the people who dwelt near Mount Hor. Those of Seir, lying more to the west, (Du Hamel) granted them leave to pass, and to buy food, Deuteronomy ii. 28, 29. Grotius maintains, that the Hebrews might justly have forced a passage upon this refusal; as St. Augustine (q. 44,) says, that they might lawfully have waged war upon the Amorrhites, on the like occasion; and the holy wars have been defended on the same plea, because the Saracens would not suffer the Christians to go in pilgrimage to the holy land. See Mare, lib. i. 1. But Selden (Mare. claus. 20) asserts, that princes have a right ot hinder others from passing through their territories; and St. Augustine only excepts one case, when they are sure the strangers can or will do no harm. But how can they obtain this assurance? Calmet answers, the long continuance of the Hebrews near the confines of Seir, without offering any molestation, and their being conducted by so holy a general, might give the people of Hor sufficient security. But at any rate the Israelites could not wage war upon them for refusing a passage, since they were expressly forbidden by God: Stir not against them, (Deuteronomy ii. 5,) the people of Seir, nor against any of the Idumeans, the children of Esau, who had taken possession of the country of Horrhites, Genesis xiv. 6. The Hebrews seem to have been convinced of this, otherwise they would not have feared their multitudes, nor taken such a circuitous road. The angel in the cloud directed them to proceed, without molesting their territory. They went, therefore, towards the south, round the land of the Idumeans, who dwelt near the Dead Sea. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv19, 21 if I and my cattle drink of thy water,…
if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it--From the scarcity of water in the warm climates of the East, the practice of levying a tax for the use of the wells is universal; and the jealousy of the natives, in guarding the collected treasures of rain, is often so great that water cannot be procured for money.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv18–20 18. Thou shalt not pass by me — Literally,…
18. Thou shalt not pass by me — Literally, in me. This refusal was dictated partly by the hereditary grudge cherished by Esau against Jacob, (Gen_27:41,) and partly by fear of so great a multitude passing through his country. Exo_17:8-16. In consequence of this refusal, Israel, instead of marching through some pass in Mount Seir, was obliged to make a detour southward around Edom. The only alternative was an aggression upon the country of Edom and a fratricidal war which was against the divine will. Deu_2:5; see Num_21:4, note.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v19 19. without doing anything else] lit. ‘it is not…
19. without doing anything else] lit. ‘it is not a matter’; i.e. it is not a matter that can cause you any injury or annoyance; it is a mere nothing that we ask.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v19 (19) I will only, without doing anything else .…
(19) I will only, without doing anything else . . . —Literally, Only—it is nothing—let me pass through on my feet.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv18–19 And Edom said... Thou shalt not pass by me.…
And Edom said... Thou shalt not pass by me. This was the first of a series of hostile acts, prompted by vindictive jealousy, which brought down the wrath of God upon Edom (compare the prophecy of Obadiah). See, however, on Deu_2:29.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv18, 20 You may not pass ... to attack you
You may not pass ... to attack you
Here "you" is singular and refers to Moses, who represents the people of Israel. AT: "Your people may not pass ... to attack them" (See: Forms of You and Synecdoche)
Read full note →
I will come with the sword
Here the sword represents the king's army. AT: "I will send my army" (See: Metonymy)
the people of Israel
This phrase refers to the Israelite messengers.
walk through on foot
This idiom means that they would simply travel through the area by walking. They would not come in chariots to attack the people of Edom. (See: Idiom)
translationWords
sword
livestock
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v18 20:18-21 Stay out of my land: As their ancestor…
20:18-21 Stay out of my land: As their ancestor Esau had distrusted Jacob (Gen 27:36), the Edomites now distrusted Jacob’s descendants. So Israel was forced to turn around and find another way to approach Canaan (cp. Deut 2:4-6).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.