And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
~ Psalm 72:19
Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
~ Exodus 17:2
For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
~ Numbers 26:65
But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
~ Hebrews 3:17
A Commentary on Numbers 14:20-36, by John Calvin.
20. And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word. God signifies that tie pardons for His servant Moses’ sake, and makes, as it were, a present to him of those whom He had already devoted to destruction. Hence we gather how much the entreaties of the pious avail with God: as He is said, in Psalm 145:19, to “fulfil the desire of them that fear him.” He would, indeed, have done of His own accord what He granted to Moses; but, in order that we may be more earnest in prayer, the use and advantage of prayers is commended, when God declares that He will not only comply with our requests, but even obey them.
But how is it consistent for Him to declare that He had spared those, upon whom He had determined to inflict the most extreme punishment, and whom He deprived of their promised inheritance? I reply that the pardon in question was not granted to the individuals, but to their race and name. For the opinion of some is unnatural, who think that they were released from the penalty of eternal death, and thence that God was propitiated towards them, because He was contented with their temporal punishment. I do not doubt, then, but that Moses was so far heard, as that the seed of Abraham should not be destroyed, and the covenant of God should not fail For He so dispensed the pardon as to preserve their posterity uninjured, whilst He inflicted on the unbelievers themselves the reward of their rebellion. Thus the conditions of the pardon were of no advantage to the impious rebels, though they opened a way for the faithful fulfillment of His promise.
21. But as truly as I live, all the earth. It is, indeed, plain that God here swears by His life and glory: the meaning is only ambiguous in this respect, that some translate it in the past tense, that the earth had been filled with His glory, which had already been displayed in so many miracles. And this seems to accord well with what follows, “Those, who have seen my glory — shall not see the land;” still the future tense suits the context better, viz., that God should call to witness His glory, which He will hereafter assert. Moses feared lest the destruction of the people should be turned into a reproach and contumely against God; God now declares with an oath that He would so vindicate His glory, as that those, who were guilty of so great a crime, should not escape punishment. He proclaims that those should not see the land, who had shut their eyes against the miracles, of which they had been spectators and eye-witnesses, and in their blindness had endeavored to set them at naught. For, inasmuch as they had not been taught to fear God by so many signs, they were worse than unworthy of beholding the land, the possession of which ought to have been assured to them by those very signs, if God’s truth had not been utterly rejected by their ingratitude.
God complains that He had been “tempted” by them “ten times;” because they had not ceased constantly to provoke Him by their frowardness; for it is no fixed or definite number, which is intended, but God would merely indicate that they had done so without measure or end. We have elsewhere (60) shown what it is to tempt God, viz., to subject His power to the narrow rule of our own senses, and to prescribe to Him the mode in which He is to act, according to our own desires: so as to defer to Him no further than our carnal reason dictates. The source and cause of this tempting of God is subjoined, i.e., when men refuse to listen to His voice; since nothing but obedience, which is the mistress of humility, can restrain our insolence.
24. But my servant Caleb. By synecdoche Caleb alone is now excepted, although Joshua was a partaker of the same grace, as he had been also a sharer in his courageous conduct; but Caleb is especially distinguished, because he had, as it were, uplifted the banner, and had stood forth first to encourage Joshua, The sum of his praise is that he “fulfilled (61) to go after God.” The word “will,” which some understand, is superfluous, since the expression is complete without any addition. God, therefore, commends Caleb’s perseverance in obeying; because he not only promptly exhorted the others, but also proceeded boldly and unhesitatingly, without being deterred by any obstacles. God, however, magnifies his perseverance, because he looked to Him alone in his noble conflict with so great a multitude. For it is an extraordinary case for a person to stand firm, and to hold a straight course in the midst of violent and tempestuous disturbances, when all the world is, as it were, convulsed. Although the word rvch, ruach, (62) is sometimes used for the disposition of the mind, yet I have no doubt but that Moses signifies, by metonymy, that Caleb was thus influenced by divine inspiration.
25. Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites. Some thus resolve these words; “Although the Amalekites dwell in the valley;” and others thus: “Since the Amalekites abide in the valleys to lay ambuscades.” Others think that their object is to inspire terror, lest the Israelites should remain too long in the enemy’s country, since they would be daily exposed to fresh attacks. I am, however, rather of opinion that they are spoken in reproach. For they had already arrived at the borders of the inhabited land, so that their enemies might be put to the rout at once: whereas God commands them to retire, and thus expels them from the land, which they had actually reached. Still I do not deny that He sets before them the necessity of the case, and thus enforces their obedience; as if He had said, that nothing now remained but to retreat, and again to throw themselves into the desert.
26. And the Lord spoke unto Moses. (63) I have translated the copula by the word itaque (therefore,) to indicate the connection with what precedes: for Moses does not here recount anything new, but, by way of explanation, repeats a point of great importance, viz., that they, who had refused to enter the land, would be deprived of its possession. He begins with the passionate interrogation: (64) “How long shall this troublesome dregs of a people be borne with, who never cease to murmur against me?” And God says that He “had heard” their turbulent cries; in order that they might more certainly perceive that their pride was intolerable, since God Himself was weary of it, although He is long-suffering and slow to anger. It is in bitter irony that He says He will deal with them in accordance with their own resolution and desire. Nothing, indeed, was further from their intention than to wander in the wilderness, but, since they had held back from entering the land, God says that He will gratify them in a very different sense, viz., that they shall never enjoy the sight of that land, which they had despised. By His oath, He expresses His extreme wrath, as also it is said in Psalm 95:11,
“Unto whom I swore in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my rest.” (65)
It was necessary that their stolidity should be thus aroused, lest, when God was so greatly provoked, they should still continue self-satisfied, according to their went. He aggravates their punishment by another circumstance, i.e., that, they were to be deprived of the inheritance which He had sworn to give to Abraham; for the lifting up of the hand (66) (as I have said elsewhere) was a form of oath; just as if God were called down from heaven by the outstretched hand to be witness and judge: and, although this does not indeed literally apply to God, still we know that He commonly transfers to Himself the things that belong to men. Moreover, this was a most severe reproof, that they by their wickedness and self-will should nullify a promise, which God had ratified by an oath, in so far, at least, as its fulfillment affected themselves: for He points out immediately afterwards that, although they had rejected the proffered blessing, he would still be true; and would bestow on their little ones that which they had refused for themselves. It is thus that God tempers His judgments against those hypocrites, who falsely profess to honor His name, so as to preserve a seed for the propagation of His Church: nor is He ever so severe towards the reprobate, as to fail in sustaining His mercy towards His elect. Nay, He here declares that Hie will be gracious towards their children, as a means of inflicting punishment on the fathers. It was an indirect accusation of God, when they lamented over their children, as if they were to be carried away as “a prey;” whereas, God promises that they shall be the possessors of the land, in order to reprove this wicked blasphemy.
33. And your children shall wander in the wilderness. (67) He here pronounces that their children shall be in some measure partakers of their punishment, inasmuch as they shall wander in the desert until the time prescribed: for by the word shepherds, He means sojourners, (68) who have no certain or settled residence. To this effect is the similitude in the song of Hezekiah:
“My lodging is departed as a shepherd’s tent.” (69) (Isaiah 38:12.)
In short, He declares that they shall be wandering and unsettled, and lead a life, like shepherds conducting their flocks from place to place.
He calls the wicked rebellions, whereby they had corrupted themselves, metaphorically “whoredoms;” for, from the time that God had espoused them to Himself, their true chastity would have been to embrace His grace in sincere faith, and at the same time to devote themselves to His service; but by rejecting tits pure worship, they had broken their sacred marriage-vow like gadding harlots.
This example teaches us how God visits the iniquities of the fathers on their children, and yet chastises no one undeservedly; since the descendants here referred to, (70) although atoning for the fault of others, were still by no means innocent themselves. But in the judgments of God there is always a deep abyss, into which if you fear to be plunged, adore that which it is not lawful to question. Nevertheless, there is no doubt but that thus also God provided for the welfare of those, towards whom He appeared to show some marks of severity. For He waited not only until they had grown up, but also, as was advantageous to themselves, until they had attained the strength of manhood, and until a new generation had sprung up. He assigns a second reason why He postponed the fulfillment of His promise for forty years, viz., that tie might repay the ill-spent days by as many years. Having, then, spoken of their children, He again returns to the actual criminals themselves, who were to be consumed in all that long period of time, as if by a lingering disease. The noun tnv’t, tenuoth, which I have rendered vanity, (71) is derived from the verb nv’, nu, which signifies to render ineffectual. Translators, however, extract from it various meanings. Some thus construe it: Ye shall know whether I am false, or whether my word shall be vain. Others, rendering it prohibition, depart more widely from the sense. But, in my judgment, it is an ironical concession, whereby God reproves their detestable pride, which had no other object than to accuse God of falsehood, and to charge Him calumniously with failing to fulfil His words. Unless, (72) perhaps, it should be preferred to take it passively; because the people had endeavored to annihilate, as it were, God himself. But still I rather adopt this sense, that they should perceive by certain and experimental proof, whether God’s promises were frivolous or vain. Moreover, we must bear in mind the admonition of the Prophet, to which I have referred, (Psalm 95:11,) and which the Apostle adapts to our present use, (Hebrews 4:6,) viz., that a better rest is now offered to us, from which we are to fear lest our unbelief should withhold us. For it is not sufficient for us that God’s hand should once have been extended to us, unless we allow ourselves to be directed by it, until our earthly wanderings are concluded, and it conducts us into our heavenly rest.
36. And the men, which Moses sent to search the land. I do not at all approve of the view which some take, that this is recorded by anticipation; for there is no question but that Moses recounts the special punishment which was inflicted by God upon the perfidious spies. He had previously treated of the general punishment of the whole people; when he now relates that the ten men were smitten by the plague, he intimates that God would begin with them, so as to manifest by this conspicuous and notable example how grossly He was offended by their very disgraceful contempt of His grace. Their sudden and unnatural death was, therefore, a kind of presage to all the others of the punishment which awaited them. For in the first place, the expression, “the plague,” is emphatic, as much as to say that they should not die in the ordinary course of nature. Again, by “the sight of God,” (73) he means something else than as if he had said, “before God;” for God was not merely a beholder of their destruction, but in a strange and unusual manner He executed His awful judgment, as if He had publicly ascended the tribunal. And this appeared more clearly by His prolonging the life of Caleb and Joshua, who were the only survivors of that generation until the end of the time prescribed. It is true, indeed, that the verbs (74) are in the past tense; but, since there is an evident prolepsis, I have not hesitated to change the tense, which is a sufficiently common idiom of the language; and thus the connection of the address is better preserved.
Footnotes:
(57) A.V., “How long will this people provoke, me?” V. “Usquequo detrahet mihi populus iste?” Ainsworth says, “provoke me, or despite, blaspheme, contemptuously provoke me. So the Apostle expoundeth this word blaspheme, in Romans 2:24, from Isaiah 52:5; and it implieth also a contempt or despising, Proverbs 1:30; Proverbs 15:5; Isaiah 5:24.”
(58) “Et quelle punition luy seroit apprestee, si Dieu se vouloit venger d’une revolte si detestable;” and what punishment would be prepared for them, if God chose to take vengeance on so detestable a revolt. — Fr.
(59) See Exodus 34:6, 7. (10)Vol. 3, pp. 386-388.
(60) See ante, (11)vol. 1, p. 421, on Deuteronomy 6:16.
(61) A.V., “Followed me fully.” “Hebr., he fulfilled after me: so in Deuteronomy 1:36, and Joshua 14:8.” — Ainsworth. “Implevit, subaudi, verbum meum, vel voluntatem meam.” — S.M.
(62) “This other spirit was the spirit of faith, which the Law cannot give, (Galatians 3:2) — the spirit of adoption of sons, not of bondage to fear again, Romans 8:14, 15. By the guidance of this spirit, Caleb constantly followed the Lord, and obtained the promised inheritance.” — Ainsworth.
(63) “The Lord spoke therefore to Moses,” etc. — Lat.
(64) “Pathetica interrogatio.” — Lat. “Or, Dieu use d’un proeme vehement a la facon d’un homme passione;” now, God uses a vehement exordium, after the fashion of an angry man. — Fr.
(65) “Si introibunt in requiem meam.” — Lat. See Margin A.V., and Hebrews 4:3, 5.
(66) See ver. 30, Margin A.V.Item, (12)vol. 1, p. 131, on Exodus 6:8.
(67) Lat., “shall be shepherds.” Margin A.V., “or feed.”
(68) “Il entend qu’ils seront errans comme estrangers, ayant tousiours un pied leve, et nul arrest;” he means that they shall wander as strangers, having one foot always lifted, and without any stay. — Fr.
(69) A.V., “Mine age is departed, etc.” A. Barnes’s translation pretty nearly agrees with that of C., which he defends in the following note: “The word dvry, which is here used, means properly the revolving period, or circle of human life. The parallelism seems to demand, however, that it should be used in the sense of dwelling, or habitation, so as to correspond with the “shepherd’s tent.” Accordingly, Lowth and Noyes render it habitation. So also do Gesenius and Rosenmuller. The Arabic word has this signification; and the Hebrew verb dvr, also means to dwell, to remain, as in Chaldee.” C.’s Latin is here hospitium; in his Commentary on Isaiah, habitatio.
(70) “Ayant porte la paste au four (comme on dit) pour le peche de leurs peres;” having carried the dough to the oven (as they say) for the sin of their fathers. — Fr.
(71) A.V., “My breach of promise. Margin, Or, altering of my purpose.” Fr., “Mensonge.”
(72) “Sinon qu’on aimast mieux prendre ce mot en temps passif, Vous cognoistrez men aneantissement: pource que le peuple s’estoit efforce d’abolir Dieu;” unless it be preferred to take this word in a passive sense, You shall know my annihilation; because the people had striven to annihilate God. — Fr.
(73) It will be seen that C.’s own translation is, “coram Deo;” but the V. renders the words, “in conspectu Domini.”
(74) A.V. concludes the denunciation of the Almighty at ver. 35. C. continues it to the end of ver. 38; and hence arose the necessity for changing the tenses. Vatablus and the Geneva version agree with C.; Dathe with A.V.
Numbers 14:11
And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
Numbers 14:12
I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
Numbers 14:13
And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)
Numbers 14:14
And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
Numbers 14:15
Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
Numbers 14:16
Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
Numbers 14:17
And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
Numbers 14:18
The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
Numbers 14:19
Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
Numbers 14:20
And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word:
Numbers 14:21
But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.
Numbers 14:22
Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
Numbers 14:23
Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
Numbers 14:24
But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
Numbers 14:25
(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
Numbers 14:26
And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Numbers 14:27
How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.
Numbers 14:28
Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
Numbers 14:29
Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
Numbers 14:30
Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
Numbers 14:31
But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.
Numbers 14:32
But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.
Numbers 14:33
And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
Numbers 14:34
After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
Numbers 14:35
I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
Numbers 14:36
And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,
Numbers 14:37
Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD.
Numbers 14:38
But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.
Numbers 14:39
And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.
Numbers 14:39-45
39. And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.
39. Loquutus est igitur Moses verba ista omnibus filiis Israel, et luxerunt populus valde.
40. And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised: for we have sinned.
40. Surrexeruntque mane, et ascenderunt in verticem montis, dicendo: Ecce nos, ut ascendamus ad locum de quo loquutus est Jehova: quia peccavimus.
41. And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper.
41. Et dixit Moses, Ut quid transgredimini sermonem Jehovae? Et (vel, quando) hoc non prospere cedet.
42. Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.
42. Ne ascendatis: quia non est Jehova in medio vestri: ne percutiamini coram inimicis vestris.
43. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.
43. Amalec enim et Chananaeus ibi est ante vos, et cadetis gladio. Nam propterea quod aversi estis a sequendo Jehova, neque erit Jehova vobiscum.
44. But they presumed to go up unto the hill-top: nevertheless, the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.
44. Sumpserunt tamen animos ut ascenderent in verticem montis. Area autem foederis Jehovae et Moses non recesserunt e medio castrorum.
45. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.
45. Descendit itaque Amalec et Chananaeus, qui habitabant in monte illo, percusseruntque eos, et contuderunt usque Horma.
39. And Moses told all these sayings. It was, indeed, a just cause for mourning, when they heard that God, whose longsuffering they had so wantonly abused, would hereafter be inexorable. Yet here we have set before our eyes that “sorrow of the world which worketh death,” as Paul says, (2 Corinthians 7:10,) when the wicked, as they weep and complain, cease not to murmur against God; nay, when they gnaw the bit with greater obstinacy, and thus, like savage and untamable beasts, rush forward to their destruction in blind desperation. The temporal punishment could not, indeed, be redeemed by any tears; but, if there had been the disposition to repent, their only remedy would have been voluntarily to submit themselves, and calmly to undergo whatever chastisement God might be pleased to inflict. First of all, however, they proudly struggle to shake off the punishment awarded to them, and whilst they pretended penitence, increasingly kick against God. There is no doubt but that it was under the pretence of submission that they prepared themselves on the morrow to advance; but wherefore was this, except that they may overturn God’s inviolable decree! Nevertheless, they sought, as if against His. will, to make a way for themselves, though He forbade. “Behold us, (they said,) we are ready;” but it was too late; for the opportunity had fled. For, as the Prophet exhorts us to “seek the Lord while he may be found,” (Isaiah 4:6,) so also we ought to follow Him when He calls us. But of what avail was this unseasonable alacrity of the people? When God wishes them to retire into the desert, they affect a desire to obey Him by advancing further; and still would have their confession of sin accepted as a sufficient satisfaction.
41. And Moses said, Wherefore do ye now transgress? He rejects this feigned penitence, whereby the sinner tries all sorts of shifts, (78) so as not to submit himself to God. “If thou wilt return, O Israel, return unto me,” saith the Lord by Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 4:1.) The first thing, therefore, which we must consider is, what God requires of us; so that it may plainly appear that we truly submit ourselves to His power.
In order to restrain their temerity, Moses reminds them that they will seek in vain for success, when they depart from God’s command. And this is a very useful piece of instruction, that His grace will never be wanting to us, if we simply obey His word; but when, in contempt and neglect of His precepts, we are carried away by our own feelings, the event will never be prosperous. If any should object that the wretched people had no other remedy, I have already stated, that they ought to have been contented with this consolation, viz., that banishment from the land of Canaan was not disinheritance from the hope of eternal life. Nay, if they had humbled themselves before God, they might expect that their punishment would have been a profitable help to them. By their misdirected activity they double the evil. After having pointed out their danger, Moses again impresses upon them that God is not with them, because they had deserted Him: and that His blessing was withheld, because they had refused to follow Him at the proper time.
44. But they presumed to go up unto the hill-top. It was not, indeed, their intention deliberately to array themselves against God, but rather did they endeavor to appease Him by this means of propitiation. Nor was their self-deceit devoid of a colorable pretext, inasmuch as they were ready cheerfully to welcome death, so as to offer their lives in sacrifice, and thus to compensate for their previous hesitation and inertness. It is thus that the zeal of the wicked is fervent, when it ought to be still; whereas, when God commands, coldness and apathy possess their minds, so that they are no more aroused by His voice, than as if they were stones. In a word, when it ought to be quiet, unbelief is always active, prompt, and bold; but when God would have it advance, it is timid, slow, and dead.
In conclusion, Moses adds, that their foolish enterprise was punished; for they were not merely routed and put to flight by their enemies, but utterly destroyed. (79) Hence we gather, that their audacity failed them in the trial, and was deficient in true courage. At the same time he recounts another sign of their senselessness, in that they left behind the ark of God, as well as Moses, and rushed forward, like doomed persons, to be slaughtered. Hence it appears that unbelievers, when carried away by the blind impulse of their zeal, are as much destitute of reason and discretion as if they deliberately conspired for their own destruction.
Footnotes:
(78) “En laquelle les pecheurs tournent a l’entour du pot;” whereby sinners twist round the pot. — Fr.
(79) “Sed etiam contriti.” — Lat. “Discomfited them.” — A.V. The Geneva version renders the word “consumed.” — Hebr. vyktvm, from kcht, which Taylor renders, “contundere, conterere. To beat, to crush, to knock, and mash all to pieces.”
Numbers 14:40
And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned.
Numbers 14:41
And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper.
Numbers 14:42
Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.
Numbers 14:43
For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you.
Numbers 14:44
But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.
Numbers 14:45
Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.
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