Numbers 21:1

In this chapter we move very close to the entry into Canaan, but a number of experiences prior to that entry which would aid Israel in the struggles to come remained to be recorded, and the record of them would fill the Pentateuch, all the way to the end of Deuteronomy.

The chapter naturally falls into the following divisions: the conflict with Arad (Numbers 21:1-3), the experience of the fiery serpents (Numbers 21:4-9), a transitional brief summary of several encampments of Israel (Numbers 21:10-13), the journey continued (Numbers 21:14-20), the conflict with the Amorites (Numbers 21:21-32), and a defeat of Bashan (Numbers 21:33-35).

"And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. And Israel vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. And Jehovah hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed their cities: and the name of the place was called Hormah."

"The king of Arad ..." "The name of this place still survives in the old ruins lying some 16 miles south of Hebron, known as Tell Arad."[1] The "king of Arad" therefore is not a personal name, but the name of his capitol.

"By way of Atharim ..." The name Atharim could be translated as "the spies," in the KJV, meaning "the way of the spies"; if it is a place-name, "the location is not known."[2] What is evident here is that the ruler of Arad, as was the case no doubt with many Canaanites, anticipated the eventual assault of Israel upon their territory, and he, hearing of their long march up the eastern border of Edom, decided to halt their advance, probably attacking some isolated contingent of the sprawling camp of Israel and taking captives.

The reaction of Israel to this was dramatic. The Israelites made a vow to God that if indeed he delivered Arad into their hands, they would "utterly destroy" the people. The word in the Hebrew here is proscribe them, with the meaning that, "They would `utterly destroy them, not even reserving any booty to themselves, except that which would be deposited in the sanctuary as an offering'."[3] The word used for this continually is "to ban" or place under the "ban." The use of "my hand" instead of "our hands" in Numbers 21:2, is of no significance, such grammatical lapses being found throughout the Holy Scriptures.

"They utterly destroyed ..." (Numbers 21:3). This is said to be by anticipation of what Israel actually did at a later time, and, for this reason, some suppose that the inspired Joshua is the author of this particular information. However, as Whitelaw pointed out, this also might have happened immediately instead of later after crossing the Jordan:

"It could have been a comparatively small band of Israel that approached Arad near enough to be attacked, and which by the help of God, was enabled to defeat Arad and destroy their cities ... Arad was only a small border chieftain.[4]

In light of this consideration, all of the scholarly talk about this passage coming from a later hand, or being misplaced in the text, may certainly be taken with a grain of salt.

Regarding what some humanists like to call the "morality" of God's decree that the Canaanites should be utterly destroyed, it is sufficient here to note that only a fool can question the morality of God Himself. Yes, God decreed that all the earth at once (save Noah and his family) should be drowned. Was this right, or moral? Certainly. When any civilization reached a state of rebellion against God which, in the eyes of God, made its continued existence on earth a hazardous danger to all mankind, history indicates that God removed the offensive portion of humanity. It was true of the Canaanites.