Numbers 14:45

Num 14:45 Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, [even] unto Hormah.

Ver. 45. And smote them.] To be out of God’s precincts, is to be out of his protection.

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.

Num 14:45. The Canaanites — Largely so called, but strictly the Amorites. Hormah — A place so called afterward, (Num 21:3,) from the slaughter or destruction of the Israelites at this time.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14:45 Hormah means “destruction” in Hebrew (see 21:1-3).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

even unto Hormah--The name was afterwards given to that place in memory of the immense slaughter of the Israelites on this occasion.

Next: Numbers Chapter 15

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(45) Then the Amalekites came down . . . —The words “which dwelt in that hill” may refer to the Canaanites only, or to the Amalekites and the Canaanites, and may denote either permanent residence or temporary occupation. If the reference is, as seems most natural, to a permanent abode, it will follow Num_14:25, for the latter verse cannot be intended to describe the geographical position of the Canaanites.

Even unto Horman.—Or, the place of the ban. The definite article is used in this place, the Hormah. If the Hormah which is here mentioned is identical with the Hormah of Num_21:3, where the definite article is not used, and with the Hormah of Jdg_1:17, we must conclude that the name is used proleptically, as is not unfrequently the case in Scripture. It is probable, however, that in each case a different place is denoted by a common name. The cognate verb is employed in Deu_20:17, where the command is given to devote the Canaanitish nations to utter destruction, i.e., to a state of hormah.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

45. which dwelt in that hill country] See on Num_14:25.

Hormah] lit. ‘the Hormah’; but it occurs here only with the article. A town or district in the south of Palestine whose site is unknown. In Num_21:3 an explanation of the name is given: see notes there.

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.

Unto Hormah - literally, “the Hormah:” i. e. “the banning,” or “ban-place.” Compare Num 21:3; Jos 12:14. According to the view taken of Kadesh (see Num 13:26), Hormah is identified, through its earlier name, Zephath Jdg 1:17, with es-Safah on the southeastern frontier of Canaan, by which the Israelites quitted the Arabah for the higher ground, (or with Sebaita, which lies further to the west, about 25 miles north of Ain Gadis).

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Canaanite; largely so called, but strictly the Arnorite, as appears from Deu 1:44.

Which dwelt; so they were a part and branch of those that dwelt in the valley, Num 14:25. Or, sat, i.e. placed themselves, lay in ambush, expecting your coming.

Hormah; a place so called afterwards Num 21:3, from the great slaughter or destruction of the Israelites at this time.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

45. Discomfited — Literally, pounded into pieces. “Chased you, as bees do,” Deu_1:44, that is, with great ferocity when exasperated.

Hormah — This was the key point from which the roads across the desert, after having been all united, again diverge toward Gaza and Hebron; and its site is still marked by the ruins of a square tower of hewn stones, on the top of a hill which rises a thousand feet above the wady on the edge of which it stands. See Num_21:3, 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 Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites. See on Deu_1:44. They came down from the summit of the mountain country, and drove the Israelites off the saddle, or lower level, to which they had ascended. Discomfited them. Septuagint, katekoqan autouv , "cut them up." Unto Hormah. This mention of Hormah is extremely perplexing, especially when we find from Deu_1:44 that it was "in Serf" (ryiceB), which is the ordinary name for the territory of the Edomites. The name Hormah meets us again in Num_21:3 (see the notes there), as having been bestowed by the Israelites upon the place where they destroyed the people of King Arad. If this be the same Hormah, it must be so named here by anticipation. It is, however, quite possible that it is another place altogether. Again, if the Seir of Deu_1:44 be the country usually so called, we must suppose that the Edomites had at this time occupied a part of the Azazimeh, contiguous to the Wady Murreh, and westwards of the Arabah. We should then represent the Israelites to ourselves as being driven off the mountain, and across the Wady Murreh, and cut down in the mountains beyond, as far as a place called Hormah, perhaps from this very slaughter. Others have found Hormah (or Zephath, Jud_1:17) and Seir among the multitudinous names of past or present habitation in the south of Palestine; the perplexing resemblances of which, coupled with the vagueness of the sacred narrative, lead to the rise of as many different theories as there are commentators. It must, however, be erroneous to represent this hasty incursion of the Israelites, without their leaders, and without their daily food from heaven, as a campaign in which they advanced for a considerable distance, and were only partially expelled at last. It is clear from this passage, and still more from the parallel passage in Deuteronomy 1, that the expedition was swiftly and ignominiously repelled and avenged. Compare the expression, "chased you as bees do."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Canaanites - Largely so called, but strictly the Amorites. Hormah - A place so called afterwards, ver. 3, from the slaughter or destruction of the lsraelites at this time.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ויכתום AND COMPLETELY DISCOMFITED THEM — This word is the same in meaning as (Deuteronomy 9:21) “and I pounded it (ואכות) and ground it very thin”. The text implies: blow upon blow.

ער החרמה EVEN UNTO HORMAH — The place was so called (חרמה doom, destruction) on account of what happened there.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.