Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 20:5
And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it [is] no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither [is] there any water to drink.
And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt,…. They represent that affair in such a light, as if they were forced out of Egypt by Moses and Aaron against their wills; or at least were overpersuaded by them to do what they had no inclination to, namely, to come out of Egypt; though they were in the utmost bondage and slavery, and their lives were made bitter by it, and they cried by reason of their oppression, and the hardships they endured; but this was all forgot. Aben Ezra says, it is a strange word which is here used, which shows the confusion they were in:
to bring us unto this evil place; dry and barren, where there were neither food nor drink, as follows:
it is no place of seed; or fit for sowing, as the Targum of Jonathan, any sort of seed, as wheat, barley, rye, rice, c.
or of figs, or vines, or pomegranates it is not a soil fit to plant such trees in, nor would they grow were they planted:
neither is there any water to drink; for them and their cattle, and therefore must be a miserable place for so large a body of people to subsist in.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5. No place of seed That is, No place for sowing seed. We call attention to the fact that in this complaint there is no mention of a lack of pasturage. They murmur because there are no arable lands, and delicious fruits, and abundant waters. Travellers agree in the opinion that before the wilderness was stripped of its trees for making charcoal for Egyptian markets, its numerous ravines were covered with grass. Revelation F.W. Holland, after spending many months in wandering on foot over the Sinaitic Peninsula, says: “It is wonderful how apparent difficulties melt away as one’s acquaintance with the country increases. I see no difficulty in the provision of sufficient pasturage for the flocks and herds if, as I have shown, there are good reasons for supposing the rainfall was in former days larger than it is at present. I have several times’ seen the whole face of the country, especially in the wadies, marvelously changed in appearance by a single shower. A slight increase to the present rainfall would produce an enormous addition to the present amount of pasturage.”
Pomegranates Recent researches have discovered this fruit on Egyptian sculptures, thus proving that this native of Asia was cultivated in Egypt at a very early date. As its name indicates, it is a “grained apple,” red when ripe, and grows on a bush.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Num 20:5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it [is] no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither [is] there any water to drink.
Ver. 5. Neither is there any water to drink. ] Thirst, a most eager appetite, enrageth their affections, and makes them thus hot with Moses.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
wherefore . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
evil. See App-44.
or of. Note Figure of speech Paradiastole, App-6, to emphasize the three items: figs, vines, and pomegranates. figs, vines, . . . pomegranates. See note on Num 13:23.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
water
(See Scofield “Num 20:8”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
this evil: Num 16:14, Deu 8:15, Neh 9:21, Jer 2:2, Jer 2:6, Eze 20:36
no place of: i.e. “no place for sowing
Reciprocal: Jos 7:7 – to deliver