Numbers 20

This chapter belongs to the latter part of Numbers and narrates events from the period when the wilderness journey was drawing to a close. Following the purification regulations of Numbers 19, the book returns to narrative, recounting the deaths of two of the three siblings who led the Exodus and the incident that kept Moses from entering the Promised Land.

Outline

• Verse 1 In the first month the congregation arrives at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. Miriam dies and is buried there.
• Verses 2–5 Because there is no water, the people contend with Moses and Aaron, demanding to know why they brought them up out of Egypt to this evil place.
• Verses 6–8 The two men fall on their faces at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. The LORD tells Moses to take the rod and speak to the rock before the congregation so that it will give forth water.
• Verses 9–11 Moses says, "Hear now, ye rebels," and strikes the rock twice with his rod. Water comes out abundantly.
• Verses 12–13 The LORD declares that Moses and Aaron will not bring the congregation into the land He has promised. This water is called the water of Meribah.
• Verses 14–21 Moses asks the king of Edom to let Israel pass through, keeping only to the king's highway. The king of Edom comes out with an army to block the way, and Israel turns away.
• Verses 22–29 On Mount Hor, Aaron's garments are put on his son Eleazar, and Aaron dies on the top of the mountain. The whole congregation mourns for thirty days.

Key Verses

• Numbers 20:12 "Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me …": These words give the reason Moses and Aaron would not enter Canaan.
• Numbers 20:28 "And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son": This scene marks the passing of the high priesthood to the next generation.

People and Places

• Moses, Aaron, and Miriam: The three siblings who led the Exodus. Miriam and Aaron die in this chapter.
• Eleazar: Aaron's son, who is clothed in his father's garments and becomes high priest.
• The king of Edom: He is not named in the text. Israel calls Edom, the descendants of Esau, its "brother."
• Kadesh: A place in the wilderness of Zin (the wilderness on the southern border of Canaan). It is commonly identified with Kadesh-barnea.
• Meribah: The name means "strife" and was given because the people strove with the LORD.
• Mount Hor: A mountain on the border of the land of Edom. Its exact location is uncertain.

Points for Reflection

• Moses' offense: The text says only "ye believed me not," so interpretations differ as to what the offense was. Suggestions include striking the rock instead of speaking to it as commanded, striking it twice, putting himself forward by saying "must we fetch you water," and acting in anger. Psalm 106 recalls that Moses "spake unadvisedly with his lips."
• Two rock incidents: Exodus 17 also contains a Meribah account in which water comes from a struck rock. Traditionally the two are read as separate events, while some critical scholarship regards them as two versions of the same tradition.
• Chronology: The text does not specify the year in which this first month fell. However, because Numbers 33 dates Aaron's death to the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Exodus, when he was 123 years old, the events of this chapter are commonly placed in the fortieth year.
• Later traditions: According to one story, a well followed Israel through the wilderness for Miriam's sake and dried up when she died. This story comes from Jewish rabbinic tradition and is not found in the biblical text.
• Connections with the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 10:4 identifies the spiritual Rock that followed Israel in the wilderness as Christ. On this basis, some interpreters read the rock as a type (a foreshadowing figure) of Christ. Hebrews 7 contrasts the Levitical priesthood, which had to be passed on because of death, with the priesthood of Christ, who continues forever.