Numbers 21:20 (DRB)

Passage

From Bamoth, is a valley in the country of Moab, to the top of Phasga, which looked towards the desert.

Nearby Context

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.

Numbers 21:19 From Mathana unto Nahaliel: from Nahaliel unto Bamoth.

Numbers 21:20 From Bamoth, is a valley in the country of Moab, to the top of Phasga, which looked towards the desert.

Numbers 21:21 And Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, saying:

Numbers 21:22 I beseech thee that I may have leave to pass through thy land: we will not go aside into the fields or the vineyards, we will not drink waters of the wells, we will go the king's highway, till we be past thy borders.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bamoth", "valley", "country", "moab", "phasga", "looked", "towards", and "desert". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bamoth" and "valley", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "From Mathana unto Nahaliel from Nahaliel unto..." into verse 21's "And Israel sent messengers to Sehon king...", so "bamoth" and "valley" 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 "bamoth" and "valley" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.