Numbers Chapter 21 verse 6 Holy Bible
And Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
read chapter 21 in ASV
Then the Lord sent poison-snakes among the people; and their bites were a cause of death to numbers of the people of Israel.
read chapter 21 in BBE
Then Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, which bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
read chapter 21 in DARBY
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
read chapter 21 in KJV
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died.
read chapter 21 in WBT
Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
read chapter 21 in WEB
And Jehovah sendeth among the people the burning serpents, and they bite the people, and much people of Israel die;
read chapter 21 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 6. - Fiery serpents, גְחָשִׁים שְׂרָפִים. Nachash is the ordinary word for serpent. The word saraph which seems to mean "burning one," stands (by itself) for a serpent in verse 8, and also in Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 30:6. In Isaiah 6:2, 6 it stands for one of the symbolic beings (seraphim) of the prophet's vision. The only idea common to the two meanings (otherwise so distinct) must be that of brilliance and metallic luster. It is commonly assumed that the "fiery" serpents were so called because of the burning pain and inflammation caused by the bite, after the analogy of the πρηστῆρες and καύσωνες of Dioscorus and AElian. But is hardly possible that Isaiah should have used the same word in such wholly dissimilar senses, and it is clear from comparison with Ezekiel's vision of the cherubim (Ezekiel 1:7) that the saraph of Isaiah 6:2 was so called from the burnished luster of his appearance. Even our Lord himself is described in the Apocalypse as having in the highest degree this appearance of glowing brass (Revelation 1:15; Revelation 2:18). It is further clear that the saraph was so named from his colour, not his venom, because when Moses was ordered to make a saraph he made a serpent of brass (or rather copper), with the evident intent of imitating as closely as possible the appearance of the venomous reptile. We may conclude then with some confidence that these serpents were of a fiery red colour, resembling in this respect certain very deadly snakes in Australia, which are known as "copper snakes." Travelers speak of some such pests as still abounding in the region of the Arabah, but it is quite uncertain whether the fiery serpents of that special visitation can be identified with any existing species.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(6) And the Lord sent fiery serpents . . . --Hebrew, the serpents, the seraphim (i.e., the burning ones). (See Deuteronomy 8:15; Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 30:6.) The word appears to denote a particular kind of serpent, as in the following verse. Some think that they were so called because of the bright fiery red upon their heads; others because of the blazing sunbeams on their scales; and others because of their inflammatory and poisonous bite. Venomous snakes are said to abound still in the Arabah.
