Numbers 21:18

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹⁰Then the Israelites set out and camped at Oboth. ¹¹They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the wilderness opposite Moab to the east. ¹²From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. ¹³From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory. Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. ¹⁴Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: "Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon, ¹⁵even the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab." ¹⁶From there they went on to Beer, the well where the LORD said to Moses, "Gather the people so that I may give them water." ¹⁷Then Israel sang this song: "Spring up, O well, all of you sing to it! ¹⁸The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with their scepters and with their staffs." From the wilderness the Israelites went on to Mattanah,¹⁹and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

princes: 2 Chronicles 17:7-9, Nehemiah 3:1, Nehemiah 3:5, 1 Timothy 6:17, 1 Timothy 6:18

the lawgiver: Deuteronomy 5:31, Deuteronomy 33:4, Isaiah 33:22, John 1:17, James 4:12

And from: Numbers 33:45-47

Reciprocal: Genesis 49:10 - lawgiver Exodus 24:11 - nobles Numbers 20:8 - the rod

Cross-References

Genesis 16:10
Then the Angel added, "I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count."

Genesis 17:20
As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.

Genesis 21:12
But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to everything that Sarah tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.

Genesis 21:13
But I will also make a nation of the slave woman's son, because he is your offspring."

Genesis 21:18
Arise, lift up the boy and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."

Genesis 21:29
and Abimelech asked him, "Why have you set apart these seven ewe lambs?"

Genesis 21:31
So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The princes digged the well,.... The princes and heads of the several tribes:

the nobles of the people digged it; the seventy elders, according to the Targum of Jonathan:

by the direction of the lawgiver; either the Lord himself, the lawgiver of his people, who pointed out the spot, and directed the princes where to dig, that is, be did this by Moses; and who, as Jarchi thinks, is the lawgiver, and not amiss: the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem render the word by Scribes, in the plural number, and interpret them of Moses and Aaron: and this the princes and nobles "dug with their staves"; either their walking sticks, or their rods, the ensigns of their authority; with these they smote the ground, or stuck them in a soft and sandy place, upon which the waters bubbled up and flowed out. Dr. Shaw n chooses to render the words, "with their united applause", or "clapping of hands", as the word שען in Chaldee signifies; or it may be expressed, as by Dr. Hunt, quoted by him, "by describing" or "marking out" the figure or fashion of the well "with staves". Mr. Ainsworth thinks that this well signified Christ, the fountain of gardens, and well of living waters; and the waters of it the Spirit and his graces, which are a well of living water springing up unto everlasting life; the means of which are the labours of the governors of the church, the ministers of Christ,

by preaching the word, and opening the Scriptures; and such grace is worthy of a song, and to be had with joy out of the wells of salvation,

Isaiah 12:3:

and from the wilderness they went to Mattanah; from the wilderness near Arnon, which came out of the coasts of the Amorites, Numbers 21:13 to a place which signifies a gift. The Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem render it,

"and from the wilderness it was given to them for a gift''

that is, the well; and so the people of God, that are called out of the wilderness of this world, and come up from it, are called to partake of the gifts and blessings of grace, which are freely given unto them of God.

n Travels, p. 67. Ed. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This song, recognized by all authorities as dating from the earliest times, and suggested apparently by the fact that God in this place gave the people water not from the rock, but by commanding Moses to cause a well to be dug, bespeaks the glad zeal, the joyful faith, and the hearty cooperation among all ranks, which possessed the people. In after time it may well have been the water-drawing song of the maidens of Israel.

Numbers 21:18

By the direction of the lawgiver - Some render, with the lawgiver’s scepter; i. e. under the direction and with the authority of Moses; compare Genesis 49:10, and note.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 21:18. The princes digged the well - with their staves. — This is not easily understood. Who can suppose that the princes dug this well with their staves? And is there any other idea conveyed by our translation? The word חפרו chapharu, which is translated they digged, should be rendered they searched out, which is a frequent meaning of the root; and במשענתם bemishanotham, which we render with their staves, should be translated on their borders or confines, from the root שען shaan, to lie along. With these corrections the whole song may be read thus: -

Spring up, O well! Answer ye to it.	i.e. Repeat the other part of the song.
The well, the princes searched it out.	This is the answer.
The nobles of the people have digged it. By a decree, upon their own borders.	This was the chorus.

This is the whole of the quotation from what is called the book of the wars of the Lord. But see Dr. Kennicott's remarks at the end of this chapter.