Numberschapter 13
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The Spies Return from the Promised Land — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
A.Twelve men, one ruler from each tribevv. 1-16
1 And the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.” 3 So at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites, 4 and these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi; 15 and from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi. 16 These were the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses gave to Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.
B.Go see whether the land is fat or leanvv. 17-20
17 When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether its people are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the land where they live good or bad? Are the cities where they dwell open camps or fortifications? 20 Is the soil fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous, and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
C.Forty days, and a cluster carried on a polevv. 21-25
21 So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. 23 When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. 24 Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol. 25 After forty days the men returned from spying out the land,
D.A good land — but we were as grasshoppersvv. 26-33
26 and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit! 28 Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!” 31 But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!” 32 So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature. 33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
Chapter summary
The twelve spies sent.
Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴
Chapter summary
The twelve spies sent.
Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴
The twelve spies sent. One from each tribe, heads of the children of Israel. Moses renames Oshea son of Nun, Jehoshua (Joshua: ‘the LORD saves’). The reconnaissance. Forty days. To Hebron, to Eshcol where they cut a cluster of grapes borne between two on a staff. They return with the fruit and the report: the land flows with milk and honey; nevertheless the people are strong, the cities walled and great; Anakim there. Caleb stilled the people: ‘let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it’. But his fellow spies: ‘we are not able … there we saw the giants … and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers’.
Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.
Context
Law · Moses — Numbers overview
- A. 1–16 Twelve men, one ruler from each tribe
- B. 17–20 Go see whether the land is fat or lean
- C. 21–25 Forty days, and a cluster carried on a pole
- D. 26–33 A good land — but we were as grasshoppers
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
Numbers 146 verses
- Numbers 14:6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
- Numbers 14:24But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit it.
- Numbers 14:33Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.
- Numbers 14:36So the men Moses had sent to spy out the land, who had returned and made the whole congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report about the land—
- Numbers 14:43For there the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you, and you will fall by the sword. Because you have turned away from the LORD, He will not be with you.”
- Numbers 14:45Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them all the way to Hormah.
- Read Numbers 14 →
Deuteronomy 14 verses
- Deuteronomy 1:19And just as the LORD our God had commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites, through all the vast and terrifying wilderness you have seen. When we reached Kadesh-barnea,
- Deuteronomy 1:22Then all of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us to search out the land and bring us word of what route to follow and which cities to enter.”
- Deuteronomy 1:24They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied out the land.
- Deuteronomy 1:28Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’”
- Read Deuteronomy 1 →
Numbers 134 verses
- Numbers 13:8from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
- Numbers 13:24Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol.
- Numbers 13:30Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!”
- Numbers 13:33We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
- Read Numbers 13 →
Numbers 322 verses
- Numbers 32:8This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to inspect the land.
- Numbers 32:9For when your fathers went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land that the LORD had given them.
- Read Numbers 32 →
4 more chapters this one speaks with
Exodus 32 verses
- Exodus 3:8I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Exodus 3:17And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
- Read Exodus 3 →
Numbers 342 verses
- Numbers 34:18Appoint one leader from each tribe to distribute the land.
- Numbers 34:19These are their names: Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;
- Read Numbers 34 →
Exodus 242 verses
- Exodus 24:13So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant and went up on the mountain of God.
- Exodus 24:18Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
- Read Exodus 24 →
Nehemiah 92 verses
- Nehemiah 9:25They captured fortified cities and fertile land and took houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled; they grew fat and delighted in Your great goodness.
- Nehemiah 9:35For even while they were in their kingdom, with the abundant goodness that You had given them, and in the spacious and fertile land that You had set before them, they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.
- Read Nehemiah 9 →
Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.