Bible Strands
Numbers 20:15
how our fathers went down to Egypt, where we lived many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses relays a message to the king of Edom from Kadesh, recounting Israel’s ancestral history to justify their request to pass through Edomite territory. The speaker identifies the Israelites as descendants of Jacob who descended into Egypt and endured prolonged oppression.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יָּרֵ֥עוּ (va/i.ya.Re.'u) literally means "and they did harm," describing the Egyptian actions against the Israelites. The phrase יָמִ֣ים רַבִּ֑ים (ya.Mim ra.Bim) translates directly to "many days," emphasizing the extended duration of their Egyptian residency.
The thread — This historical account echoes the descent recorded in Genesis 46:6 and the prolonged Egyptian stay detailed in Exodus 12:40. The theme of Egyptian mistreatment and subsequent deliverance recurs in Deuteronomy 26:6.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to recognize the historical reality of Israel’s oppression as the basis for their current plea to Edom. It demands acknowledgment that divine deliverance follows prolonged suffering, framing the present request within a pattern of covenantal rescue.
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
How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:
Cross-references
- Genesis 46:6 They also took the livestock and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt.
- Exodus 12:40 Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years.
- Deuteronomy 26:6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us, putting us to hard labor.
- Genesis 15:13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Acts 7:15 So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.
- Exodus 1:11 So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
- Exodus 1:16 “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”
- Exodus 1:22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”
- Exodus 5:14 Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”
- Numbers 11:5 We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.