Chapter Twenty

The arrival of the Israelites in the wilderness of Zin. – The death of Miriam. – Lack of water. – Complaint of the people. – The miracle of water brought forth from the rock. – The intention to penetrate Canaan through Edom. – The refusal of the Edomites. – The death of Aaron.

Numbers 20:1. And the sons of Israel, the entire congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people remained at Kadesh, and Miriam died there and was buried there. Concerning the wilderness of Zin, see the note to the book Num 13:18.

Numbers 20:2. And there was no water for the congregation, and they assembled against Moses and Aaron; The lack of water at Kadesh may be explained either by a spring drought, or by the inadequacy of the amount of water for the Israeli multitudes gathered there with their livestock.

Numbers 20:7. And the Lord said to Moses, saying: Numbers 20:8. Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron, your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will give forth its water: and thus you shall bring forth water from the rock for them, and give drink to the congregation and their livestock. Numbers 20:9. And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as He had commanded him. Numbers 20:10. And Moses and Aaron gathered the people to the rock, and he said to them: Listen, you rebellious ones, shall we bring forth water for you from this rock? Numbers 20:11. And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and much water flowed forth, and the congregation and their livestock drank. Numbers 20:12. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you did not believe in Me, to sanctify Me before the eyes of the sons of Israel, you shall not bring this people into the land which I give to them. The continuous series of rebellions that had preceded this, from the ungrateful people, and chiefly the present rebellion of the young generation, standing with one foot already in the promised land, shook the steadfast spirit of Moses. At the great moment of the miraculous manifestation of God’s might and goodness, the lawgiver could not suppress within himself a flash of human irritation against the cruel and daring multitude, for which he was obliged to suffer punishment: the great leader of the Hebrews, who had brought the people to the borders of the land promised to them, was destined to die beyond it. Viewed from the perspective of the manifestation of Divine Justice, the condemnation to death of the elder Moses and Aaron may at the same time be viewed from the perspective of divine mercy: the event at Meribah showed that the influence of the mortal nature – the flesh – had already begun to gain the upper hand in Moses over his previously unbreakable spirit. The continued presence of an aging leader with a young people, full of strength and unbridled energy, might have proven beyond the capacity of the lawgiver, and not as beneficial as before for the people. The same must be said of Aaron. The elder (though pure in soul) had never been distinguished by particular firmness of spirit (Exod 32); in his declining years and without the moral support of his brother Moses, he might have become completely weak and helpless in his great and responsible position.

Numbers 20:13. This is the water of Meribah, where the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He showed them His holiness. Meribah or Meribah means: dispute, strife.

Numbers 20:14. And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: Thus speaks your brother Israel: You know all the troubles that have befallen us; Numbers 20:15. Our fathers went down into Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt for many years, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly; Numbers 20:16. And we cried to the Lord, and He heard our voice and sent an Angel and brought us out of Egypt; and behold, we are in Kadesh, a city at the very border of your territory; Numbers 20:17. Allow us to pass through your land: we will not go through the fields and vineyards and will not drink water from your wells; but we will go by the royal road, we will not turn to the right or to the left until we cross your borders. The Hebrews did not attempt to penetrate Canaan in the northern or northwestern direction, probably because they feared the power of the Philistines, who dominated the southwestern corner of Canaan. After some deliberation, a northeastern direction was chosen, through Edom. “We will not drink water from your wells” without payment (cf. Num 20:19). “We will go by the royal road,” directly: “we will not turn to the right or to the left.”

Numbers 20:19. And the sons of Israel said to him: We will go by the main road, and if I and my livestock drink your water, I will pay for it; only let me pass by on foot, which costs nothing. Numbers 20:20. But he said: You will not pass through. And Edom came out against him with many people and with a mighty hand. It may be that this refers to a second Israelite embassy to the Edomites, with more detailed assurances of safety regarding the permission sought by Israel.

Numbers 20:21. Thus Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory, and Israel turned aside from him. “And Israel turned aside from him,” avoiding acting offensively in fulfillment of the divine command: “Be on your guard against waging war with them (the sons of Esau), for I will not give you their land, not even a foot’s breadth, because I have given Mount Seir as a possession to Esau” (Deut 2:4-5). Because of the received refusal and having no intention to take by force what was requested, the Hebrews, turning north, were obliged to go around Edom from the direction of its eastern borders. During this journey, on Mount Hor, Aaron, Moses’ brother and the high priest, died.

Numbers 20:22. And the sons of Israel set out from Kadesh, and the entire congregation came to Mount Hor. According to the opinion of very many commentators, Mount Hor should be understood as the present Jebel Nebi Harun, located in the Arabah valley, near the mountainous range of Seir. Having ascended to the summit of the mountain, one finds a small depression with a solitary white cypress: this is, according to tradition, the place of Aaron’s death.

Numbers 20:29. And the entire congregation saw that Aaron had died, and all the house of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty days. Aaron died at the age of 123 years (Num 33:38).