And the house of Joseph sent to descry Beth–el. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el. (Now the name of the city beforetime was Luz.)
and the house of Joseph cause men to spy about Beth-El (and the name of the city formerly is Luz),
And the house of Joseph sent to search out Bethel; now the name of the city before was Luz.
Judges — The post-conquest slide into cyclical apostasy. Twelve judges delivering Israel from successive oppressors, a pattern repeating seven times, and an appendix whose violence diagnoses a nation with no king.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
Voices3
And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel,.... To reconnoitre the place, to observe its passes and avenues, which were most accessible, and to examine the walls of it, where they were weakest and least defended: now the name of the city before was Luz; which signifies a "nut"; perhaps it was so called from large numbers of nut trees which grew near it; the Jews suggest as if it was like a nut, no entrance into it but through a cave or some subterraneous passage, see Gen 28:19.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed
Hormah--destroyed in fulfilment of an early vow of the Israelites (see on Nu 21:2). The confederate tribes, pursuing their incursions in that quarter, came successively to Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron, which they took.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed
And here, [1.] He is not to be blamed for giving them this intelligence if he did it from a conviction that the Lord was with them, and that by his donation the land was theirs of right, any more than Rahab was for entertaining those whom she knew to be enemies of her country, but friends of God.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan
The verses this one reaches7
and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Have not his servants come to you to explore the land, spy it out, and overthrow it?”
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Genesis 28:19and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
leads to
Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
Through
Joshua 7:2Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied…
leads to
On the north side their border began at the Jordan, went up past the northern slope of Jericho, headed west through the hill country, and came out at the wilderness of Beth-aven.
Through
Judges 18:2So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The…
leads to
And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Through
Genesis 35:6So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
leads to
and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
The whole web at once: see the Arc.
