Numbers 21:15

Summary

The verse continues a poetic geographical description (part of a quoted song) that traces a natural feature — "the slope of the wadis" — as it runs toward the town of Ar and then rests against the territorial border of Moab. It is a topographic statement locating Ar relative to Moab's frontier.

Key words

• 'Eshed ("slope of", H0793) — feminine singular construct noun, the head of the phrase; it introduces the geographic feature being described and links to nechalim that follows.
• nechalim ("wadis", H5158N) — masculine plural noun with definite article, denoting the ravines/streambeds whose slope is being traced.
• natah ("it extends", H5186) — qal perfect 3rd person, a completed-aspect verb describing the direction the slope takes, functioning as the main verb of the first clause.
• sheveth ("dwelling of", H3427) — qal infinitive construct after the preposition le ("to"), forming a purpose/directional phrase, "to the dwelling of Ar," i.e., toward where Ar is situated.
• nish'an ("it leans", H8172) — niphal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative chain from natah; the niphal stem gives a reflexive/passive nuance, "it leans (itself)" against the border, rather than an active transitive action.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has two coordinated clauses sharing an implicit subject, the "slope of the wadis" ('eshed ha-nechalim). The first clause uses natah (qal perfect) to state that this slope "extends" toward sheveth 'Ar, literally "the dwelling of Ar" — here sheveth, an infinitive construct, functions almost like a place-name modifier, marking Ar as an inhabited site rather than simply a point on a map. The narrative vav prefixed to nish'an signals continuation of the same descriptive sequence: after extending toward Ar, the slope then "leans" (niphal, H8172) against gevul Mo'av, "the border of Moab." The niphal stem here conveys a self-directed or resultative sense — the terrain settles or rests against the border — a nuance that plain translations as "lie along" or "descansa" (Spanish "rests") only approximate.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the first clause very differently: "καὶ τοὺς χειμάρρους κατέστησεν κατοικίσαι Ἤρ" ("and he set the torrents/wadis to inhabit Ar"), introducing an active verb (κατέστησεν, "he set/established") with an implied external subject, where the Hebrew simply has the slope itself "extending" (natah). The Vulgate's "Scopuli torrentium inclinati sunt, ut requiescerent in Ar" ("the cliffs of the torrents are inclined, that they might rest in Ar") uses a plural passive verb (inclinati sunt) and a purpose clause ("ut requiescerent"), differing from the Hebrew's singular perfect natah and its non-purposive infinitive sheveth.