Israel Destroys Arad
1The Canaanite king of the city of Arad lived in the Negev Desert. He heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim. So he attacked the Israelites. He captured some of them. 2Then Israel made a promise to the Lord. They said, “Hand these people over to us. If you do, we will set their cities apart to you in a special way to be destroyed.” 3The Lord gave Israel what they asked for. He handed the Canaanites over to them. Israel completely destroyed them and their towns. So that place was named Hormah.
Moses Makes a Bronze Snake
4The Israelites traveled from Mount Hor along the way to the Red Sea. They wanted to go around Edom. But they grew tired on the way. 5So they spoke against God and against Moses. They said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt? Do you want us to die here in the desert? We don’t have any bread! We don’t have any water! And we hate this awful food!”
6Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the Israelites. The snakes bit them. Many of the people died. 7The others came to Moses. They said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake. Put it up on a pole. Then anyone who is bitten can look at it and remain alive.” 9So Moses made a bronze snake. He put it up on a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake remained alive.
The People Continue On to Moab
10The Israelites moved on. They camped at Oboth. 11Then they started out from Oboth. They camped in Iye Abarim. It’s in the desert on the eastern border of Moab. 12From there they moved on. They camped in the Zered Valley. 13They started out from there and camped by the Arnon River. It’s in the desert that spreads out into the territory of the Amorites. The Arnon is the border of Moab. It’s between Moab and the Amorites. 14Here is what the Book of the Wars of the Lord says about it.
“Sing about Zahab in Suphah and the valleys.
Sing about the Arnon 15and the slopes of the valleys.
They lead to the settlement called Ar.
They lie along the border of Moab.”
16From there the Israelites continued on to Beer. That was the well where the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Gather the people together. I will give them water to drink.”
17Then Israel sang a song. They said,
“Spring up, you well!
Sing about it.
18Sing about the well the princes dug.
Sing about the well the nobles of the people dug.
All their rulers were holding their scepters and walking sticks.”
Then the Israelites went from the desert to Mattanah. 19They went from Mattanah to Nahaliel. They went from Nahaliel to Bamoth. 20And they went from Bamoth to a valley in Moab. It’s the valley where the highest slopes of Pisgah look out over a dry and empty land.
Israel Wins the Battle Over Sihon and Og
21The Israelites sent messengers to speak to Sihon. He was the king of the Amorites. The messengers said to him,
22“Let us pass through your country. We won’t go off the road into any field or vineyard. We won’t drink water from any well. We’ll travel along the King’s Highway. We’ll just go straight through your territory.”
23But Sihon wouldn’t let Israel pass through his territory. He gathered his whole army together. Then he marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought against Israel. 24But Israel put him to death with their swords. They took over his land. They took everything from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. But they didn’t take over any of the land of the Ammonites. That’s because the Ammonites had built strong forts along their border. 25The Israelites captured all the cities of the Amorites. Then they settled down in them. They captured the city of Heshbon. They also captured all the settlements around it. 26Sihon, the king of the Amorites, ruled in Heshbon. He had fought against an earlier king of Moab. Sihon had taken from him all his land all the way to the Arnon River.
27That’s why the poets say,
“Come to Heshbon. Let it be built again.
Let Sihon’s city be made as good as new.
28“Fire went out from Heshbon.
A blaze went out from the city of Sihon.
It burned up Ar in Moab.
It burned up the citizens who lived on Arnon’s hills.
29Moab, how terrible it is for you!
People of Chemosh, you are destroyed!
Chemosh has deserted his sons and daughters.
His sons have run away from the battle.
His daughters have become prisoners.
He has handed all of them over to Sihon,
the king of the Amorites.
30“But we have taken them over.
Heshbon’s rule has been destroyed all the way to Dibon.
We have destroyed them as far as Nophah.
Nophah goes all the way to Medeba.”
31So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.
32Moses sent spies to the city of Jazer. The Israelites captured the settlements around it. They drove out the Amorites who were there. 33Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan. Og was the king of Bashan. He and his whole army marched out. They went to fight against Israel at Edrei.
34The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of Og. I have handed him over to you. I have given you his whole army. I have also given you his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon.”
35So the Israelites struck down Og and his sons. And they wiped out his whole army. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They took over his land for themselves.
Moses laver en kobberslange
1Da kongen af Arad i Negev hørte, at israelitterne kom op ad vejen mod Atarim, samlede han sin hær og angreb dem, og det lykkedes ham at tage en del af dem til fange. 2Da lovede Israels folk højt og helligt Herren, at hvis han ville hjælpe dem med at besejre kongen af Arad og hans hær, ville de totalt udslette alle de kana’anæiske byer i området uden at tage noget bytte til sig selv. 3Herren hørte deres bøn og gav dem sejr over kana’anæerne, så alle byerne og deres indbyggere blev udslettet. Stedet er siden kendt under navnet Horma.21,3 Det hebraiske ord betyder „udslettelse” og henviser til noget, som er overgivet til Herrens dom.
4Derfra vendte israelitterne tilbage til Hors bjerg, hvorefter de fortsatte ad vejen mod Det Røde Hav i en bue uden om Edom. Men undervejs blev de utålmodige, 5og de begyndte atter at kritisere både Gud og Moses. „Hvorfor førte du os ud af Egypten?” klagede de. „Var det for at lade os dø her i ørkenen? Her er jo hverken vand eller mad—og vi er trætte af den evindelige manna.”
6Da sendte Herren giftslanger imod dem, og mange blev bidt og døde.
7Nu kom folket til Moses og sagde: „Vi har syndet ved at gøre oprør mod dig og Herren. Bed Herren om at fjerne slangerne fra os.” Da gik Moses i forbøn for folket, 8og Herren sagde Moses: „Lav en slange af kobber21,8 Eller: „bronze”. Hebraisk brugte det samme ord for kobber og bronze. og hæng den op på en stang—så skal alle, som ser hen på den, leve, selvom de er blevet bidt af giftslangerne.”
9Så lavede Moses en kobberslange og satte den op på en stang. Og alle, som så hen på den, når de var blevet bidt af en slange, reddede livet.
Rejsen fortsætter uden om Edom gennem Moab
10Derefter rejste Israels folk videre og slog lejr ved Obot. 11Fra Obot tog de til Ijje-ha-Abarim i ørkenen umiddelbart øst for Moab, 12og videre til Zereddalen, hvor de igen slog lejr. 13Fra Zereddalen rejste de videre mod nord til det øde område på den anden side af Arnonfloden ved grænsen til amoritternes land. Arnonfloden danner grænse mellem moabitterne og amoritterne. 14„Bogen om Herrens krige” nævner byen Vaheb med dens bække i Sufaområdet i Arnonflodens kløft, 15som strækker sig langs grænsen til Moab helt til byen Ar.
16Derfra rejste israelitterne til Be’er.21,16 Det betyder: „brønd”. Det var ved dette vandsted, at Herren sagde til Moses: „Kald folket sammen, så vil jeg give dem vand.” 17-18Episoden står beskrevet i følgende sang:
„Du ældgamle brønd, hvor kilden fremsprang,
vi viser vor glæde ved at synge en sang.
Denne brønd lod stormænd grave,
fyrster med scepter og herskerstave.”
Så forlod de ørkenen og fortsatte gennem Mattana, 19Nahaliel og Bamot 20og videre gennem dalen i Moabs højland, hvorfra man kan se ørkenen og Pisgas bjergtinder længere borte.
Israelitterne besejrer kong Sihon og Kong Og
21Da sendte Israel følgende budskab til amoritterkongen Sihon: 22„Giv os tilladelse til at rejse igennem dit land. Vi lover, at vi ikke vil nedtrampe jeres marker og vingårde eller drikke jeres vand, men holde os på Kongevejen, så længe vi er i jeres land.”
23Men kong Sihon gav dem ikke lov. I stedet samlede han sin hær og rykkede ud mod israelitterne i ørkenen. Ved Jahatz mødtes de to hære, 24og Israel huggede amoritterne ned. Derefter besatte de området fra Arnonfloden i syd til Jabbokfloden mod nord og ud til ammonitternes område mod øst, men ikke længere, for ammonitternes grænse var stærkt befæstet.
25-26Israelitterne indtog således amoritternes byer, og de slog sig ned i disse byer, også i Heshbon, kong Sihons residensby, og i området op til Arnonfloden, der tidligere havde tilhørt moabitterne, men som kong Sihon havde erobret. 27-30Den gamle digter udtrykker det sådan:
„Kom til Heshbon, Sihons by
som nu bygges op på ny.
Ild fór ud fra Heshbon,
flammer skød frem fra Sihon.
Moabs byer gik op i røg,
Arnons fjelde, hver en høj.
Moabitter, nu er det forbi
med jeres Kemosh-afguderi.
Han sendte jo jer alle på flugt,
kvinder blev fanger—åh, hvor smukt!
Men vi erobred’ Heshbon,
indtog landet op til Dibon.
Vi dræbte dem helt til Nofa
som ligger tæt ved Medeba.”
31-32Mens Israels folk opholdt sig i amoritternes land, sendte Moses nogle spioner ud for at undersøge, hvordan han lettest kunne indtage byen Jazer. Derefter angreb de byen og de omkringliggende landsbyer, og amoritterne måtte flygte.
33Derefter satte de kursen nordpå mod Bashan, hvor kong Og straks mobiliserede sin hær og rykkede ud mod dem ved byen Edrei. 34Men Herren sagde til Moses: „Du skal ikke være bange. Jeg vil udlevere kongen og hans hær og hans land til dig. Du skal gøre med ham, som du gjorde med amoritternes kong Sihon af Heshbon.” 35Og ganske rigtigt: Israelitterne sejrede og dræbte kong Og, hans sønner og hans hær, så der ikke var en eneste overlevende tilbage. Således lykkedes det israelitterne at erobre hele området.