And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

NUMBERS 21:6KJV
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Numbers 21:6 (KJV)

What does Numbers 21:6 mean?

Numbers 21:6 presents the deadly snake bites as the LORD’s response to Israel’s complaint during its wilderness journey. The verse connects the people’s suffering to an action by the LORD, rather than describing the snakes as a chance danger along the way.

The narrator tells the reader what happened. The people had just spoken against God and Moses, complaining about the journey and their food (verse 5). The phrase “fiery serpents” brings the painful bites into focus.

The Hebrew behind Numbers 21:6

  • “fiery” — שָׂרָף (saraf): The word is associated with burning. Here “fiery” is often understood to describe the burning effect of the snakes’ bites, rather than snakes made of fire.
  • “LORD” — יְהוָה (YHWH): This is God’s personal name in the Hebrew text. The KJV uses “LORD” in capital letters to represent that name.

Why Numbers 21:6 matters

  • The passage links the snakes to the people’s words, not simply to the hardships of travel. In verse 7, the people acknowledge that they had spoken against the LORD and Moses.
  • The danger affects the community widely. Numbers 21:6 says “much people of Israel died,” showing that the bites caused many deaths.
  • The following response connects the crisis with a means of rescue. In verses 8–9, the LORD tells Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole; a bitten person who looks at it lives.

Where else these words appear

“fiery” Hebrew H8314 · used in 7 verses

  • Numbers 21:8 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.
  • Isaiah 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
  • Isaiah 14:29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.

“bit” Hebrew H5391 · used in 14 verses

  • Genesis 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
  • Deuteronomy 23:20 Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
  • Jeremiah 8:17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.

“serpents” Hebrew H5175 · used in 28 verses

  • Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
  • Numbers 21:9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
  • Ecclesiastes 10:11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.