What Does Numbers 21:16 Mean in the King James?
And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Beer names both a well and, through the same Hebrew root, what is made plain: here hidden water becomes reachable by a gathered people.
THE MEANING
The promise reaches you as a movement from gathering to receiving: the people come together, and water is given to them. Beer names the well, a source opened in the ground so what lies beneath can be reached.
THE ROOT
בְּאֵר
be’er
GROWS FROM
ב־א־ר
ba’ar
To dig out a well; in a related use, to make plain or explain.
The name Beer means “well,” and the same consonants appear in בֵּאֵר (be’er), “make plain” or “explain.” The connection lets the well become an image of hidden water made accessible, like something brought into the open.
ALSO GROWS
be’er: Well
בְּאֵר
The name identifies the place as a source of water opened in the ground.
be’er: Make plain; explain
בֵּאֵר
This related use of the root echoes the well: what is hidden is brought within reach or understanding.
אֱסֹף
esof
GROWS FROM
א־ס־ף
asaph
To gather, collect, or bring in.
“Gather together” in this verse is esof. The gathering is part of the movement toward provision: the water is promised to the people together. This root also carries the sense of bringing things into one collection, which English’s simple “gather” can leave in the background.
ALSO GROWS
asaph: Gather; collect
אָסַף
This is the root verb behind the command to bring the people together.
asifah: Gathering; assembly
אֲסִיפָה
The noun form holds the act of gathering as a shared coming together.
וְאֶתְּנָה
ve’etnah
GROWS FROM
נ־ת־ן
natan
To give, set, or place.
“Give” in this verse is ve’etnah. The water is something given to the gathered people. The root also carries the concrete sense of setting or placing, so the gift is provision made present among them.
ALSO GROWS
natan: Give; set; place
נָתַן
This is the verb behind the promise to give water.
mattanah: Gift
מַתָּנָה
This noun from the same root makes the giving of water legible as a gift.
THE PATTERN
Water is given when a source is opened and made accessible to those who thirst.
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.THE THREAD
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:Both verses use אָסַף (asaph, “gather”) in an instruction to assemble people before a promise is spoken. In Exodus, the gathered elders hear that God has seen their suffering; in Numbers, the gathered people are promised water.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us