Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: 'Thus says your brother Jacob, Let us pass, I pray, through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard; we will not drink the water of the wells; we will go along the King's Highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory' — Moses appeals to kinship ('your brother Jacob') and offers to minimize intrusion. The King's Highway is a main north-south trade route; passage would be expeditious. Jacob and Edom share ancestry (Esau and Jacob); kinship implies obligation.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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