Numbers 21:1
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelled in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelled in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And it came to the ears of the Canaanite, the king of Arad, living in the South, that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, and he came out against them and took some of them prisoners.
Webster's Revision
And when king Arad the Canaanite, who dwelt in the south, heard that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
World English Bible
The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.
English Revised Version (ERV)
And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, which dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.
Definitions for Numbers 21:1
Clarke's Numbers 21:1 Bible Commentary
The way of the spies - אתרים atharim. Some think that this signifies the way that the spies took when they went to search the land. But this is impossible, as Dr. Kennicott justly remarks, because Israel had now marched from Meribah-Kadesh to Mount Hor, beyond Ezion-Gaber, and were turning round Edom to the south-east; and therefore the word is to be understood here as the name of a place.
Barnes's Numbers 21:1 Bible Commentary
King Arad the Canaanite - Rather, "the Canaanite, the king of Arad." Arad stood on a small hill, now called Tel-Arad, 20 miles south of Hebron.
In the south - See Numbers 13:17, Numbers 13:22.
By the way of the spies - i. e. through the desert of Zin, the route which the spies sent out by Moses 38 years before had adopted (compare Numbers 13:21).
He fought against Israel - This attack (compare Numbers 20:1 and note), can hardly have taken place after the death of Aaron. It was most probably made just when the camp broke up from Kadesh, and the ultimate direction of the march was not as yet pronounced. The order of the narrative in these chapters, as occasionally elsewhere in this book (compare Numbers 9:1, etc.), is not that of time, but of subject matter; and the war against Arad is introduced here as the first of the series of victories gained under Moses, which the historian now takes in hand to narrate.
Wesley's Numbers 21:1 Bible Commentary
21:1 King Arad - Or rather, the Canaanite King of Arad: for Arad is not the name of a man, but of a city or territory. And he seems to be called a Canaanite in a general sense, as the Amorites and others.The south - Of Canaan, towards the east, and near the dead sea.Of the spies - Not of those spies which Moses sent to spy the land, for that was done thirty eight years before this, and they went so privately, that the Canaanites took no notice of them, nor knew which way they came or went; but of the spies which he himself sent out to observe the marches and motions of the Israelites. Took some of them prisoners - Which God permitted for Israel's humiliation, and to teach them not to expect the conquest of that land from their own wisdom or valour.