Numbers 13:31
in Numbers 13But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
KJV
But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
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This verse in Numbers 13
Commentary
3 notes on this verseWere not the hosts of Israel very numerous? 600,000 effective men, well marshalled and modelled, closely embodied, and entirely united in interest and affection, constituted as formidable an army as perhaps was ever brought into the field; many a less has done more than perhaps the conquering of Canaan was, witness Alexander's army.
This site's exposition
We be not able to go up against the people
on Numbers 13:31-32
The comparison is the whole of their argument, they are stronger than we, which measures Canaan against Israel and leaves God out of the sum. Then the account itself changes, and a land flowing with milk and honey at verse 27 becomes a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof at verse 32. The Hebrew word behind evil report is dibbah, a word for slander, and Numbers 14:36-37 charges the ten with bringing up a slander upon the land and takes their lives by plague for it. Albert Barnes reads the phrase as a country exposed to constant attack from every quarter, which the men could have meant honestly, and the change from what they said five verses earlier stands either way.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But the men that went up with him,.... With Caleb, all but Joshua: the other ten said, we be not able to go up against the people; this they had not said before, though they plainly suggested it, and, to make the people believe this, had represented the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in the light they did; but now, in direct opposition to Caleb, fully expressed it, giving this reason for it: for they are stronger than we; being both of a larger size and more numerous.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָ֨אֲנָשִׁ֜ים | vehaanashim | and the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָל֤וּ | ʾalu | they had gone up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עִמּוֹ֙ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אָֽמְר֔וּ | ʾameru | they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נוּכַ֖ל | nukhal | we are able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לַעֲל֣וֹת | laalot | to go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חָזָ֥ק | chazak | [is] strong | H2389 → | 56 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃ | mimenu | more than us | H4480 → | 1188 times |
וְהָ֨אֲנָשִׁ֜יםand the men
vehaanashimH582 →566 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָל֤וּthey had gone up
ʾaluH5927 →890 times
עִמּוֹ֙with him
imoH5973 →1050 times
אָֽמְר֔וּthey said
ʾameruH559 →5305 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נוּכַ֖לwe are able
nukhalH3201 →194 times
לַעֲל֣וֹתto go up
laalotH5927 →890 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
חָזָ֥ק[is] strong
chazakH2389 →56 times
ה֖וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃more than us
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 3:19So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.
it leads to
- Jude 1:5
Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe.
- John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
- John 3:18
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
- Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
- Jude 1:5
Through
Joshua 14:8Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to the LORD my God.
it leads to
- Numbers 14:24
But 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.
- Deuteronomy 1:36
except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land on which he has set foot, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.”
- Numbers 14:24
Through
Deuteronomy 9:1Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 11:31
For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it,
- Deuteronomy 4:38
to drive out before you nations greater and mightier than you, and to bring you into their land and give it to you for your inheritance, as it is this day.
- Deuteronomy 11:31
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.