Numbers 20:18
"“Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink from the water of the wells. We will go along the king’s highway. We will not turn away to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your border.”"
Key Reflection
In Numbers 20:18, Moses and the Israelites are politely requesting safe passage through Edom's territory. The terms they propose—avoiding fields and vineyards, not drinking from wells, and traveling only on the king’s highway—are meant to show respect and minimize potential conflict or exploitation of local resources. For the original audience, this would have been seen as a diplomatic gesture, aimed at maintaining good relations with Edom despite their imminent departure from the Promised Land.
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