Numbers 21:16 (DRB)

Passage

When they went from that place, the well appeared whereof the Lord said to Moses: Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

Nearby Context

Numbers 21:14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord: As he did in the Red Sea, so will he do in the streams of Arnon.

Numbers 21:15 The rocks of the torrents were bowed down that they might rest in Ar, and lie down in the borders of the Moabites.

Numbers 21:16 When they went from that place, the well appeared whereof the Lord said to Moses: Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

Numbers 21:17 Then Israel sung this song: Let the well spring up. They sung thereto:

Numbers 21:18 The well, which the princes dug, and the chiefs of the people prepared by the direction of the lawgiver, and with their staves. And they marched from the wilderness to Mathana.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "went", "place", "well", "appeared", "whereof", "lord", "said", and "moses". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "went" and "place", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "The rocks of the torrents were bowed..." into verse 17's "Then Israel sung this song Let the...", so "went" and "place" belong inside that flow. In Numbers context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "went" and "place" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.