Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 21:18

"The well, which the princes digged, Which the nobles of the people delved, With the sceptre, [and] with their staves. And from the wilderness [they journeyed] to Mattanah;" — Numbers 21:18 (ASV)

By the direction of the lawgiver.— Better, with the ruler’s staff. The same word occurs in Genesis 49:10, where it stands in parallelism to “the sceptre.” (See the note on this passage.)

And from the wilderness they went to Mat-tanah.— The Targums interpret this and Numbers 21:19-20 of the well, And from the wilderness it was given to them for a gift, and from there it was given to them in Mattanah, etc. The Targum of Onkelos is as follows: “And from the time that it was given to them, it descended with them to the rivers, etc.” The Targum of Palestine is—“And from the wilderness, etc.” (as above).