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Numbers 20:1-2
New Catholic Bible
Numbers 20:1-2
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 20
Death of Miriam.[a] 1 The people of Israel, the whole assembly, came into the Desert of Zin in the first month,[b] and the people stayed in Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried.
The Need for Water. 2 The community had no water, and they gathered together against Moses and Aaron.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 20:1 God will rebuke Moses for not having faith, probably because his act of striking the rock with his staff may have looked too much like an act of magic. But it may also be that the editor was taking into account other traditions of which traces can be found in the Bible (Ex 17; Deut 1:37; Ps 106:32), in order to conceal a greater act of distrust on the part of the head of the community. The rock is an image for God and a symbol of Christ (Ps 18:2; Jn 7:38; 1 Cor 10:4).
- Numbers 20:1 First month: according to verses 22-29, this chapter covers the last of the 40 years in the desert after the Exodus. By this time there would have been a complete turnover of those 20 years and older who had been in the desert for the whole time.
