Numbers 20:17

Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
pass	נַעְבְּרָה na'.be.rah-	H5674	to cross over · verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common plural
country	בְאַרְצֶ֗ךָ ve.'ar.Tze.kha	H776	the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
pass	נַעֲבֹר֙ na.'a.Vor	H5674	to cross over · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common plural
fields	בְּשָׂדֶ֣ה be.sa.Deh	H7704	a field (as flat) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
vineyards	וּבְכֶ֔רֶם u.ve.Khe.rem	H3754	a garden or vineyard · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
drink	נִשְׁתֶּ֖ה nish.Teh	H8354	to imbibe (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 2:27 Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.
Numbers 21:1 And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Isra…
Numbers 21:22-24 Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we w…
Deuteronomy 2:1-4 Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir m…
Deuteronomy 2:29 (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 20:14-21

We have here the application made by Israel to the Edomites. The nearest way to Canaan from the place where Israel now lay encamped was through the country of Edom. Now, I. Moses sends ambassadors to treat with the king of Edom for leave to pass through his country, and gives them instructions what to say, Num 20:14-17. 1. They are to claim kindred with the Edomites: Thus saith thy brother Israel. Both nations descended from Abraham and Isaac, their common ancestors; Esau and Jacob, the two fathers of their respective nations, were twin-brothers; and therefore, for relation-sake, they might reasonably expect this kindness from them; nor needed the Edomites to fear that their brother Israel h…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 20:17

we will go by the king's highway--probably Wady-el-Ghuweir [ROBERTS], through which ran one of the great lines of road, constructed for commercial caravans, as well as for the progress of armies. The engineering necessary for carrying them over marshes or mountains, and the care requisite for protecting them from the shifting sands, led to their being under the special care of the state. Hence the expression, "the king's highway," which is of great antiquity.

John Gill on Numbers 20:17

Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country,.... That being the nearest and shortest way to the land of Canaan, from the place where they now were: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards; to harm them, and injure any man in his private property, by gathering the fruit of them, if the season of the year for it, or by trampling them down: neither will we drink of the water of the wells; which private persons had dug, for the watering of their fields and vineyards, and for other uses, at least without paying for it; or only of the waters of the rivers, common to all passengers; from hence it appears, that the country of Edom was not then such a barren country as in la…

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John Calvin

The Church Fathers

So in the case of one of us, if he leans to either side, whether from vice or ignorance, no slight danger of a fall into sin from vice or ignorance, no slight danger of a fall into sin is incurred, both for himself and those who are led by him. But we must really walk in the king's highway and take care not to turn aside from it either to the right hand or to the left, as the Proverbs say. For such is the case with our passions, and such in this matter is the straight path of the good shepherd, if he is to know properly the souls of his flock, and to guide them according to the methods of a pastoral care which is right and just and be worthy of our true Shepherd.
— Gregory of Nazianzus, ORATION 2 (IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS) 34

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Edom — (1.) The name of Esau (q.v.), Gen. 25:30, “Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage [Heb. haadom, haadom, i.e., ‘the red pottage, the red pottage’] ...Therefore was his name called Edom”,…
Meribah — Quarrel or strife. (1.) One of the names given by Moses to the fountain in the desert of Sin, near Rephidim, which issued from the rock in Horeb, which he smote by the divine command, “because of the…
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · The king of Edom refuses a passage — The king of Edom refuses a passage
Edomites, The · Country of: Traversed by roads — Country of: Traversed by roads
Grape · .By the Edomites — .By the Edomites
Highways · Called the king’s highway — Called the king’s highway
Roads · Built by rulers — Built by rulers
Wells · Strangers not to draw from, without permission — Strangers not to draw from, without permission

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Numbers 20:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 20:14-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 20:17

John Gill on Numbers 20:17

John Calvin

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Numbers 20:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Numbers 20:14-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 20:17

John Gill on Numbers 20:17

John Calvin

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Numbers 20:14-17

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 20:17

Rashi on Numbers 20:17