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.[1]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 kobber[2] 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.[3] 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 Bamot20og 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.
1When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. (4.Mos 13,17; 4.Mos 33,40; Dom 1,16)2And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.”[1] (1.Mos 28,20; Dom 11,30)3And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah.[2] (4.Mos 14,45; 5.Mos 1,44; Josva 19,4; Dom 1,17)
The Bronze Serpent
4From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. (4.Mos 20,22; 4.Mos 33,41; Dom 11,18)5And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” (2.Mos 16,3; 2.Mos 17,3; 4.Mos 11,6; Salm 78,19)6Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. (5.Mos 8,15; Es 14,29; Es 30,6; Jer 8,17; 1.Kor 10,9)7And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. (2.Mos 8,8; 2.Mos 8,28; 4.Mos 11,2; 1.Sam 12,19; 1.Kong 13,6; Salm 78,34; Ap G 8,24)8And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”9So Moses made a bronze[3] serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (2.Kong 18,4; Joh 3,14)
The Song of the Well
10And the people of Israel set out and camped in Oboth. (4.Mos 33,43)11And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. (4.Mos 21,10)12From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. (5.Mos 2,13)13From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. (4.Mos 22,36; Dom 11,18)14Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord, “Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,15and the slope of the valleys that extends to the seat of Ar, and leans to the border of Moab.” (4.Mos 21,28; 5.Mos 2,9; 5.Mos 2,18; 5.Mos 2,29; Es 15,1)16And from there they continued to Beer;[4] that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” (2.Mos 17,6; 4.Mos 20,8; 2.Sam 20,14)17Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—18the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.” And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, (1.Mos 49,10)19and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,20and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that looks down on the desert.[5] (4.Mos 23,28)
King Sihon Defeated
21Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, (5.Mos 2,26; Dom 11,19)22“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” (4.Mos 20,17)23But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. (5.Mos 2,32; 5.Mos 29,7; Dom 11,20)24And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. (1.Mos 32,22; 5.Mos 2,33; Josva 12,1; Josva 24,8; Neh 9,22; Salm 135,11; Salm 136,19; Amos 2,9)25And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.26For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon.27Therefore the ballad singers say, “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established. (4.Mos 23,7; 4.Mos 32,37)28For fire came out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon. It devoured Ar of Moab, and swallowed[6] the heights of the Arnon. (4.Mos 21,15; 4.Mos 21,27; Jer 48,45)29Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters captives, to an Amorite king, Sihon. (4.Mos 21,28; Dom 11,24; 1.Kong 11,7; 2.Kong 23,13; Jer 48,7)30So we overthrew them; Heshbon, as far as Dibon, perished; and we laid waste as far as Nophah; fire spread as far as Medeba.”[7] (4.Mos 32,3; 4.Mos 33,45; Josva 13,17; 1.Krøn 19,7; Es 15,2; Jer 48,18)
King Og Defeated
31Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.32And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. (4.Mos 32,1; Josva 13,25; 2.Sam 24,5; Jer 48,32)33Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. (5.Mos 1,4; 5.Mos 3,1; Josva 13,12)34But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” (4.Mos 21,24; 5.Mos 3,2)35So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.