Bible Strands
Numbers 21:8
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses Moses immediately after the prophet intercedes for the Israelites who confessed their sin of speaking against God and their leader. The command arrives at the precise moment the people request rescue from the fatal snake bites.
The words — The imperative עֲשֵׂה ('a.Seh) commands Moses to "make" or "fashion," and the noun שָׂרָ֔ף (sa.Raf) identifies the object as a "fiery serpent" or burning one. These terms dictate the exact physical construction required for the divine remedy.
The thread — The sequence continues in Numbers 21:9 when Moses executes the directive by mounting a bronze serpent, and the pattern resurfaces in John 3:14 where the elevated sign points to the Son of Man. The theme of God's patient intervention during repeated rebellion also appears in Psalms 106:43 and Psalms 145:8.
Why it lands — The text requires a direct, unmediated act of looking to the appointed sign to survive. It forces the reader to accept that deliverance depends entirely on responding to the specific remedy God ordains.
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 the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Cross-references
- John 3:14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
- Psalms 106:43 Many times He rescued them, but they were bent on rebellion and sank down in their iniquity.
- Psalms 145:8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.