Numbers 20:21

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: why Israel turned away from him.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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וַיְמָאֵ֣ן

mâʼên

H3985

“and · to refuse”

Conjunction + Verb, Piel, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular

Appears 41× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 37:35

Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root

TWOT: 1138

(Piel) to refuse

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

10: words
9: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Shared distinctive vocabulary

וַיְמָאֵ֣ן to refuse H3985 occurs in 39 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

4 verbs
4 nouns
1 preposition
1 particle

Verb forms

וַיְמָאֵ֣ן Piel · Sequential Imperfect
נְתֹן֙ Qal · Infinitive Construct
עֲבֹ֖ר Qal · Infinitive Construct
וַיֵּ֥ט Qal · Sequential Imperfect

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל Israel H3478 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 16 words from the Hebrew and 17 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 10 Hebrew tokens and 17 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Numbers 20:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Judges 11:18 Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they didn't come within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
Deuteronomy 2:29 as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me; until I shall pass over the Jordan into the land which Yahweh our God gives us.
Deuteronomy 2:4–8 Command you the people, saying, You are to pass through the border of your brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you: take good heed to yourselves therefore;
Deuteronomy 2:27 Let me pass through your land: I will go along by the highway, I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left.
Deuteronomy 23:7 You shall not abhor an Edomite; for he is your brother: you shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.
Judges 11:24 Won't you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whoever Yahweh our God has dispossessed from before us, them will we possess.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Numbers 20:21 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וַיְמָאֵ֣ן אֱד֗וֹם נְתֹן֙ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל עֲבֹ֖ר בִּגְבֻל֑וֹ וַיֵּ֥ט יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵעָלָֽיו

Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: why Israel turned away from him.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 20:21 Septuagint · lemma form

καί οὐ θέλω εδωμ δίδωμι ὁ ἰσραήλ παραἔρχομαι διά ὁ ὅριον αὐτός καί ἐκκλίνω ἰσραήλ ἀπό αὐτός

So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his borders, and Israel turned away from him.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וְסָרֵיב אֱדוֹמָאָה לְמִשְׁבַּק יָת יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמֶעֱבַר בִּתְחוּמֵיהּ וּסְטָּא יִשְׂרָאֵל מִלְוָתֵיהּ

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וְסָרֵיב אֱדוֹמָאָה לְמִשְׁבּוֹק יַת יִשְרָאֵל לִמְעִבַּר בִּתְחוּמֵיהּ וּסְטָא יִשְרָאֵל מִלְוָותֵיהּ דַהֲווֹ מַפְקְדִין מִן קֳדָם מֵימְרָא דִשְׁמַיָא דְלָא לִמְסַדְרָא עִמְהוֹן סִדְרֵי קְרָבָא מְטוֹל דְעַד כְּדוֹן לָא מָטָא זִמְנָא לְמִתְיַהֲבָא נִקְמָתָא דֶאֱדוֹם בִּידֵיהוֹן

So Edomea would not suffer Israel to pass through his coast; and Israel turned away from him, because it was commanded from before the Word of the Heavens that they should not set battle in array against them, forasmuch as the time was not yet come when the punishment of Edom should be given into their hands.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Numbers 20:21 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

To pass by another way.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown

Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border, &c.--A churlish refusal obliged them to take another route. (See on Num 21:4; Deu 2:4; and Jdg 11:18; see also Sa1 14:47; Sa2 8:14, which describe the retribution that was taken.)

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 21. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border] Though every king has a right to refuse passage through his territories to any strangers; yet in a case like this, and in a time also in which emigrations were frequent and universally allowed, it was both cruelty and oppression in Edom to refuse a passage to a comparatively unarmed and inoffensive multitude, who were all their own near kinsmen. It appears however that it was only the Edomites of Kadesh that were thus unfriendly and cruel; for from De 2:29 we learn that the Edomites who dwelt in Mount Seir treated them in a hospitable manner. This cruelty in the Edomites of Kadesh is strongly reprehended, and threatened by the Prophet Obadiah, Ob 1:10, &c.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh,.... Not directly, but after they had continued there some time, and had furnished themselves with provisions for their journey, which they bought of the Edomites, see Jdg 11:17, "the whole congregation" is observed to Journey from hence, not one of them being lost by the king of Edom's coming out against them; these went out complete and perfect, safe and sound:

and came unto Mount Hor; which, according to Bunting (f), was forty eight miles from Kadesh; this had not its name from the Horim or Horites, nor they from that, their name being written with a different letter, but from Harar, a mountain, for the word itself signifies a mountain; wherefore it may be rendered, "a mountain of the mountain", which Jarchi interprets a mountain on the top of a mountain. Josephus (g) says, that here stood a city, formerly called Arce, since Petra, surrounded with an high mountain, where Aaron went and died; and Pliny says (h) of Petra, that it is encompassed with inaccessible mountains.

(f) Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 83. (g) Antiqu. l. 4. c. 4. sect. 7. (h) Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Through his border, but permitted them to go by their border, Deu 2:4,8; Jdg 11:18, and furnished them with victuals for their money, Deu 2:29.

Israel turned away, according to God’s command, Deu 2:5.

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

Ramban (Nachmanides)

Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban / Nachmanides)

AND ISRAEL TURNED AWAY FROM HIM. Scripture here shortened [the account, omitting to say] that it was by word of the Almighty that they were commanded, Take ye good heed unto yourselves; contend not with them, as Moses explained to them. Thus they turned away from Edom by Divine command, since they could not do anything else because Edom did not let them pass through [his border].

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Numbers, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 10 words (9 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is mâʼên (“to refuse”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

What does “to refuse” (mâʼên) contribute to the verse as a whole?
How does Genesis 37:35, which shares the word «to refuse», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “Israel” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
«וַיְמָאֵ֣ן» is a Piel Sequential Imperfect verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how Geneva Bible (1599) and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

This verse counts 10 Hebrew ↔ 17 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 10 words in this verse.
“Israel” occurs 2× in this single verse.
9 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 10 words in this verse.