Numbers 21:6

So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The narrator records Yahweh’s judgment on the Israelites immediately after they complain against Him and Moses, detest the manna, and question why they were brought out of Egypt. The event occurs in the wilderness at the moment of their public rebellion.

The words — The text uses הַנְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים (ha/ne.cha.shim ha/se.ra.fim), literally “the serpents, the fiery ones,” to identify the venomous creatures. The verb וַיְשַׁלַּח (va/y.sha.lach) indicates Yahweh actively dispatched them into the camp.

The thread — The narrative is referenced in 1 Corinthians 10:9 as a historical warning against testing Christ, while Deuteronomy 8:15 and Jeremiah 8:17 cite the same wilderness snakes as examples of divine judgment or imminent warning.

Why it lands — The passage requires recognizing that direct rebellion against God’s provision produces immediate, lethal consequences, leaving intercession as the only viable response.

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

וַיְשַׁלַּ֨חva/y.sha.Lachand/ he sent יְהוָ֜הYah.wehYahweh בָּעָ֗םba./'Amamong the/ people אֵ֚ת'et<obj.>הַנְּחָשִׁ֣יםha./ne.cha.Shimthe/ snakes הַשְּׂרָפִ֔יםha./se.ra.Fimthe/ saraphs וַֽיְנַשְּׁכ֖וּva/y.na.she.Khuand/ they bit אֶת־'et-<obj.>הָעָ֑םha./'Amthe/ people וַיָּ֥מָתva/i.Ya.motand/ it died עַם־'am-a people רָ֖בravnumerous מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃mi./Yis.ra.'Elfrom/ Israel

King James Version

And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 10:9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
Deuteronomy 8:15 He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.
Jeremiah 8:17 “For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.
Amos 9:3 Though they hide themselves atop Carmel, there I will track them and seize them; and though they hide from Me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.
Isaiah 30:6 This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.
Isaiah 14:29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.
Genesis 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life.