FollowersofTheShepherd - Num 20:21, 21:4 vs Num 21:10;

Do Numbers 20:21, Numbers 21:4, and Numbers 21:10 Contradict?

Numbers 20:21

“Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him,” (Numbers 20:21 ESV).

In Numbers 20, we read the Israelites turned away from Edom as it rejected them.

Numbers 21:4

“From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way,” (Numbers 21:4 ESV).

In Numbers 21, they go around Edom.

Numbers 21:10

“And the people of Israel set out and camped in Oboth(a city in Edom),” (Numbers 21:10 ESV).

On their way to Edom, they get refused in Numbers 20, so the Israelites turn back from Edom. In Numbers 21:4, they head back to Edom going around it. In Numbers 20:10, they stop and go into Edom into the city of Oboth. When we look at a map of the cities the Israelites went through(see below), they began to go around Edom, only to then settle in Oboth. There is no contradiction, we just have to read very carefully. The people began to go around the region, only to go through Edom into Obath.

Works Used:

Image By Jim Padgett