Глава 20

Arrival of the Israelis in the Desert of Sin. - Death of Mariami. - Lack of water. - Murmur of the people. - The miracle of bringing water out of a rock. - The intention to penetrate Canaan through Idumea. - Refusal of the Edomites. - Death of Aaron. Numbers 20:1. And the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Sin in the first month, and the people stopped at Kadesh, and Miriam died there and was buried there. About the desert of Sin, see the book. Numbers 13.18. Numbers 20:2. And there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered together against Moses and Aaron; The lack of water in Kadesh can be explained either by a spring drought, or by the insignificance of the amount of this water for the Israeli hordes gathered here with their herds. Numbers 20:7. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Numbers 20:8. Take the rod and gather the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock in their sight, and it will give water out of itself: and so you will bring water out of the rock for them, and give water to the congregation and their cattle. Numbers 20:9. And Moses took the rod from the presence of the Lord, as He commanded him. Numbers 20:10. And Moses and Aaron gathered the people to the rock, and he said to them: Listen, you rebellious ones, shall we bring water out of this rock for you? Numbers 20:11. And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice, and much water flowed out, and the congregation and their livestock drank. Numbers 20:12. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe Me, to demonstrate My holiness in the sight of the children of Israel, you will not bring this people into the land that I am giving them. A continuous series of previous indignations of an ungrateful people, and most importantly, the current indignation of the younger generation, which already had one foot in the land of promise, shook the strong spirit of Moses. At the great moment of the miraculous manifestation of the power and goodness of God, the legislator could not suppress the outbursts of human irritation against the cruel and impudent crowd, for which he had to be punished: the great leader of the Jews, who brought the people to the borders of the land promised to him, had to die outside the latter. Considered from the point of view of the manifestation of Divine Justice, the condemnation to death of the elder Moses and Aaron can be considered at the same time from the point of view of divine mercy: the event at Meribah showed that the influence of the mortal principle - the flesh - had already begun to take precedence in Moses over his previously indestructible spirit. The continued presence of the outdated leader with the young Israeli people, full of strength and unbridled energy, might have been beyond the strength of the legislator, and not to the same extent beneficial for the people. The same must be said about Aaron. The old man (although pure in soul) was not previously distinguished by particular strength of spirit (Exodus 32); in his old age and without the moral support of his brother Moses, he could turn out to be completely weak and helpless in his great and responsible post. Numbers 20:13. This is the water of Meribah, at which the children of Israel came into conflict with the Lord, and He showed them His holiness. Meriva or Meriba means: quarrel, strife. Numbers 20:14. And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom [to say], “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the difficulties that have befallen us; Numbers 20:15. our fathers went over to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt for a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly; Numbers 20:16. and we cried to the Lord, and He heard our voice, and sent an Angel, and brought us out of Egypt; and behold, we are in Kadesh, a city at your very border; Numbers 20:17. let us pass through your land: we will not go through the fields and through the vineyards, and we will not drink water from [your] wells; But let us go along the royal road, we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have crossed your borders. The Jews did not attempt to penetrate Canaan in a northern or northwestern direction, probably because they feared the power of the Philistines, who dominated the southwestern corner of Canaan. After some discussion, the northeast direction was chosen, through Edom. “We will not drink water from your wells” free of charge (cf. Num. 20:19). “Let us go along the royal road,” straight: “we will not turn either to the right or to the left.” Numbers 20:19. And the children of Israel said to him: We will go by the high road, and if we drink of your water, I and my cattle, then I will pay for it; I will only walk with my feet, which costs nothing. Numbers 20:20. But he said: don't go through [me]. And Edom came out against him with a great people and a strong hand. This refers, perhaps, to a secondary Israeli embassy to the Edomites, with more detailed assurances of the safety of Edom for the permission Israel requested. Numbers 20:21. So Edom did not agree to allow Israel to pass through its borders, and Israel went away from it. “And Israel went away from him,” avoiding acting offensively in fulfillment of the divine instruction: “Beware of starting a war with them (the sons of Esau), for I will not give you one foot of their land, because I gave Mount Seir as a possession to Esau” (Deut. 2.4–5). As a result of the refusal received and not having the intention of taking what was asked for by force, the Jews, heading north, had to bypass Idumea from its eastern borders. During this journey, on Mount Hor, Moses' brother, the high priest Aaron, died. Numbers 20:22. And the children of Israel departed from Kadesh, and the whole congregation came to Mount Hor. According to many commentators, the name of Mount Or should be understood as the current Jebel Nebi Harun, located in the Arab Valley, near the Seir mountain range. Having climbed to the top of the mountain, they find a small hollow with a lonely white cypress: this is, legend says, the place of Aaron’s death. Numbers 20:29. And all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, and the whole house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days. Aaron died at the age of 123 (Numbers 33.38, 39). You might be interested in: