Bible Strands
Numbers 14:45
Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them all the way to Hormah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes the immediate aftermath of the Israelites' unauthorized advance into the hill country, where hostile local forces counterattack the disorganized camp.
The words — וַ/יַּכּ֥וּ/ם (va-yakhûm) = they struck them [H5221] and וַֽ/יַּכְת֖וּ/ם (va-yakhtûm) = they scattered them [H3807] denote the sequential military actions that dismantle the advancing party.
The thread — The motif of hill-dwelling enemies routing Israel appears in Deuteronomy 1:44 regarding the Amorites and in Judges 1:17 regarding the Canaanites at Zephath. Numbers 21:3 later records a parallel divine delivery of Canaanite forces to Israel.
Why it lands — The text demonstrates that human initiative operating outside divine command invites immediate defeat, requiring the reader to recognize the necessity of alignment with God's timing and presence before acting.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.
Cross-references
- Numbers 21:3 And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah.
- Deuteronomy 1:44 Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah.
- Judges 1:17 Then the men of Judah went with their brothers the Simeonites, attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and devoted the city to destruction. So it was called Hormah.
- Numbers 14:43 For there the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you, and you will fall by the sword. Because you have turned away from the LORD, He will not be with you.”
- Exodus 17:16 “Indeed,” he said, “a hand was lifted up toward the throne of the LORD. The LORD will war against Amalek from generation to generation.”
- Deuteronomy 32:30 How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- Joshua 7:5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
- Joshua 7:11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.