Bible Strands
Numbers 20:16
and when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses and the Israelites address the king of Edom at Kadesh, recounting their past deliverance to justify a peaceful passage request through Edom's border.
The words — The text highlights וַ/יִּשְׁלַ֣ח (va/i.yish.Lach) "and he sent" and מַלְאָ֔ךְ (mal.'Akh) "an angel," recording Yahweh's direct intervention during the Exodus.
The thread — This pattern of God dispatching an angel to guide and protect His people appears in Exodus 14:19, Exodus 23:20, and Exodus 33:2.
Why it lands — The verse establishes past divine rescue as the basis for the current diplomatic plea, requiring the reader to evaluate whether the same covenant faithfulness will be recognized in the present situation.
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
And when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:
Cross-references
- Exodus 14:19 And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them,
- Exodus 23:20 Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
- Exodus 33:2 And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Exodus 3:2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.
- Exodus 2:23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
- Exodus 6:5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant.
- Exodus 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.