Numbers 21:8 kjv
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
Numbers 21:8 nkjv
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."
Numbers 21:8 niv
The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."
Numbers 21:8 esv
And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live."
Numbers 21:8 nlt
Then the LORD told him, "Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!"
Numbers 21 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Num 21:6-7 | The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people… the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned..." | The context of divine judgment due to sin and the people's confession. |
| John 3:14-15 | And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. | The primary New Testament parallel, identifying Jesus as the fulfillment of the lifted-up serpent, bringing eternal life. |
| Isa 45:22 | "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other." | The principle of looking and being saved, applied universally to God's salvation. |
| 2 Kgs 18:4 | He broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made...for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it... | Historical outcome showing the symbol becoming an idol (Nehushtan), highlighting the danger of misdirected worship. |
| Deut 8:15 | Who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground... | Recalls the presence of fiery serpents as part of God's testing and leading in the wilderness. |
| Ps 107:19-20 | Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them... | God's response to distress, sending healing through His word/means, echoing the serpents' situation. |
| 1 Cor 10:9 | We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents... | Connects the wilderness testing and judgment by serpents to the warning against testing Christ. |
| 2 Cor 5:21 | For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. | Relates to Christ being made a curse/sin on the cross (like the serpent represents sin's curse) for our redemption. |
| Gal 3:13 | Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"— | Parallels Christ becoming a "curse" on the tree (cross) with the serpent as a symbol of curse, to bring blessing. |
| Rom 5:8 | But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. | God's initiative in providing salvation for undeserving sinners, similar to healing the grumbling Israelites. |
| Heb 12:2 | looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross... | Encouragement to "look" to Jesus, echoing the salvific gaze at the bronze serpent. |
| Acts 4:12 | And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mankind by which we must be saved. | Reinforces the exclusivity of God's appointed means of salvation (Jesus Christ), like the single remedy in the wilderness. |
| Jn 12:32 | "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." | Another instance of Jesus speaking of His being "lifted up," drawing people to Himself for salvation. |
| Col 2:14 | by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. | Relates to overcoming the "bite" or curse of sin by Christ's action on the cross. |
| Rom 1:16 | For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... | Salvation through believing in God's power, exemplified by the simple act of faith in Numbers. |
| Num 14:11 | How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me...? | The root problem leading to judgment, lack of faith/belief. The bronze serpent tests this faith. |
| Tit 3:5 | he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy... | Emphasizes God's mercy as the basis for salvation, not human merit, paralleling the undeserved healing in Num 21. |
| Isa 11:10, 12 | In that day the root of Jesse... will be a signal (nes) for the peoples... He will raise a signal (nes) for the nations... | The "pole" or "standard" (nes) motif used elsewhere to describe God raising up a leader or a sign for the nations. |
| Eph 2:8-9 | For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works... | Clarifies salvation as a gift received through faith, without works, similar to the immediate and simple remedy for the bites. |
| 1 Pet 2:24 | He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. | Connects Christ's bearing sin on the cross (tree) with the healing of physical and spiritual infirmity. |
Numbers 21 verses
Numbers 21 8 Meaning
Numbers 21:8 describes God's command to Moses following the Israelites' grumbling and subsequent plague of venomous serpents. To provide a remedy, the Lord instructed Moses to fashion a symbolic serpent and elevate it on a standard. The divine promise was that anyone bitten by the deadly snakes, who then looked upon this elevated serpent, would live, highlighting a principle of salvation through faith in a divinely appointed means.
Numbers 21 8 Context
The events in Numbers 21:8 occur during the Israelites' wilderness wanderings, specifically after their encounter with the Canaanites in Arad and their subsequent detour around Edom. Exhausted and impatient from the journey from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea, the people complained against God and Moses, speaking ill of the manna (calling it "worthless food") and bemoaning the lack of water. This deep-seated grumbling, reflective of their spiritual rebellion and unbelief, provoked God's judgment. As a consequence, God sent "fiery serpents" (Hebrew: n'chashim hass'raphim) among them, whose venomous bites caused immense suffering and death to many Israelites. Realizing their transgression, the people confessed their sin to Moses and pleaded for his intercession. Moses then prayed to the Lord, and Numbers 21:8 records God's divine and paradoxical solution: not the removal of the serpents, but the provision of a means for healing through faith.
Numbers 21 8 Word analysis
- And the Lord: (וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה, vayomer YHVH) Emphasizes that this is a direct, authoritative divine instruction from YHVH, the covenant God.
- said to Moses: (אֶל מֹשֶׁה, el Moshe) Highlights Moses' unique role as the divinely chosen mediator and recipient of God's commands.
- Make: (עֲשֵׂה, aseh) A direct imperative, requiring immediate obedience and action. It indicates a deliberate creation, not a magical find.
- a fiery serpent: (שָׂרָף, saraph) Hebrew saraph can refer to a burning, venomous serpent (likely due to the burning sensation of its bite or its color), and is also used for the angelic seraphim (Isa 6:2, 6). The association here points to the severity and divine nature of the plague. This specific snake is a bronze likeness, not the actual living serpent.
- and set it: (וְשִׂים אֹתוֹ, v'sim oto) Implies placing something purposefully and conspicuously.
- on a pole: (עַל נֵס, al nes) The Hebrew word nes (נֵס) means a banner, standard, pole, or signal. It suggests an elevated, highly visible point that draws attention, similar to a flagpole used for a rallying point or sign.
- and everyone: (וְהָיָה כָּל, v'hayah kol) Signifies universal scope, extending the offer of life to all who were afflicted by the serpent bites, regardless of their past sins (beyond the initial grumbling).
- who is bitten: (הַנָּשׁוּךְ, hannashukh) Describes the condition of those in dire need of salvation, afflicted by the consequence of sin, facing death.
- when he looks at it: (וְרָאָה אֹתוֹ, v'ra'ah oto) This simple act of "looking" is the condition for healing. It implies a conscious act of focusing on the object, not a complex ritual, underscoring that healing is through faith and obedience to God's specific command.
- shall live: (וָחָי, vachay) To live, revive, recover, survive. This is the promised outcome, emphasizing immediate physical deliverance from death, which foreshadows spiritual life in the New Testament.
Words-group Analysis
- "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole": This is a powerful, paradoxical divine instruction. The serpent (symbol of the curse, sin, death – Gen 3, Num 21's judgment) is commanded to be made into a likeness and then elevated on a pole. This setup of "death on a standard" foreshadows the principle of redemption through God's radical, counter-intuitive methods. The symbol of the curse becomes the instrument of salvation when God designates it as such.
- "everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live": This phrase details the universal accessibility and the singular condition for salvation. "Everyone who is bitten" shows the widespread impact of sin and judgment. The requirement "when he looks at it" demonstrates that salvation is received through a simple, yet intentional, act of faith in God's appointed means. This direct "looking" bypasses human effort, rituals, or medicine, emphasizing divine grace. The outcome, "shall live," underscores God's mercy to grant life from death.
Numbers 21 8 Bonus section
The Hebrew word for "fiery serpent," saraph, links to the destructive burning nature of the snakes' venom and the intensity of divine judgment. Its connection to the angelic "seraphim" found in Isaiah 6, meaning "burning ones," adds another layer, perhaps emphasizing the divine source of both judgment and the miraculous remedy. The pole or nes serves not only as a physical elevation but also a signal or sign, drawing all eyes to it. This act was not a permanent solution for the Israelites' faithlessness but a temporary, divinely-appointed act for immediate crisis. Indeed, centuries later, the very same bronze serpent had to be destroyed by King Hezekiah because the people began to worship it as an idol called "Nehushtan" (2 Kgs 18:4), underscoring the constant danger of worship shifting from God to the created thing, even a divinely ordained symbol. This serves as a cautionary tale against veneration of symbols over the One they point to, reinforcing that all focus must remain on the source of salvation.
Numbers 21 8 Commentary
Numbers 21:8 is a profound testament to God's mercy and a powerful foreshadowing of Christ's salvific work. Faced with judgment due to their rebellion, Israel was provided an unusual and simple remedy. The command to create a bronze likeness of the "fiery serpent," the very instrument of their suffering, and hoist it upon a pole, demonstrates God's sovereign power to use paradoxical means for redemption. The healing was not inherent in the bronze object itself, but flowed from God's promise activated by the people's obedient gaze—an act of faith. This pivotal event finds its ultimate interpretive fulfillment in John 3:14-15, where Jesus explicitly compares Himself, lifted up on the cross, to this bronze serpent. Just as the Israelites looked at the serpent and lived physically, so too does anyone who looks in faith to Christ, crucified for their sins, receive eternal spiritual life. It is a divine remedy for a fatal problem, freely offered but requiring personal faith.