Numbers 13:2
in Numbers 13“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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Send thou men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a prince among them.
KJV
Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
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This verse in Numbers 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSend thou men, that they may search - It appears from Deu 1:19-24 that this was done in consequence of the request of the people, after the following address of Moses: “And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness - and we came unto Kadesh-Barnea; and I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us.
This site's exposition
And the LORD said to Moses
on Numbers 13:1-2
The LORD gives the order here, while Deuteronomy 1:22 records the people coming to Moses first and asking that men be sent. Adam Clarke reads the two accounts together, taking the command in verse 2 as God granting what the people had already asked.
This site's exposition
which I am giving to the Israelites
The command names the land as the LORD's gift before any man of Israel has seen it. The spies are sent to look at a gift. Calvin says the ten tried, as far as in them lay, to bring the promise and the grace of God to nothing.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
Their names are enumerated, in perpetual remembrance of their ignominy, except in the case of two, Joshua and Caleb; for it was just that their crime should be handed down to all ages, and that the infamy of their perfidiousness should never be blotted out, since they endeavored, as far as in them lay, to bring to naught the promise and the grace of God.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Send thou men,....
But thus we ruin ourselves by giving more credit to the reports and representations of sense than to divine revelation; we walk by sight, not by faith; whereas, if we will receive the witness of men, without doubt the witness of God is greater.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A ruler - A comparison of the list with that of Num 13:1:5 following shows that they were not the princes of the tribes, but heads of houses or families Num 12:4. Of the names here given those of Joshua and Caleb alone are otherwise known to us.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
SEND ‘LECHA’ (THEE) 1 Literally: “for thyself,” as explained by Rashi. MEN. “As you see fit. I do not command you [to send them], but if you wish [to do so], send them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שְׁלַח־ | shelach- | send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| לְךָ֣ | lekha | for <the> yourself | ||
| אֲנָשִׁ֗ים | ʾanashim | men | H582 → | 566 times |
| וְיָתֻ֙רוּ֙ | veyaturu | so they may spy out | H8446 → | 24 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כְּנַ֔עַן | kenaan | Canaan | H3667 → | 94 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| נֹתֵ֖ן | noten | [am] about to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִבְנֵ֣י | livnei | to [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶחָד֩ | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| אִ֨ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶחָ֜ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| לְמַטֵּ֤ה | lemateh | for [the] tribe of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| אֲבֹתָיו֙ | ʾavotav | ancestors his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| תִּשְׁלָ֔חוּ | tishlachu | you will send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | every [one] | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| נָשִׂ֥יא | nasi' | a leader | H5387 → | 134 times |
| בָהֶֽם׃ | vahem | among <the> them |
שְׁלַח־send
shelach-H7971 →845 times
לְךָ֣for <the> yourself
lekha
אֲנָשִׁ֗יםmen
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
וְיָתֻ֙רוּ֙so they may spy out
veyaturuH8446 →24 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
כְּנַ֔עַןCanaan
kenaanH3667 →94 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
נֹתֵ֖ן[am] about to give
notenH5414 →2011 times
לִבְנֵ֣יto [the] people of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אִ֣ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶחָד֩one
ʾechadH259 →971 times
אִ֨ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶחָ֜דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
לְמַטֵּ֤הfor [the] tribe of
lematehH4294 →252 times
אֲבֹתָיו֙ancestors his
ʾavotavH1 →1212 times
תִּשְׁלָ֔חוּyou will send
tishlachuH7971 →845 times
כֹּ֖לevery [one]
kolH3605 →5413 times
נָשִׂ֥יאa leader
nasi'H5387 →134 times
בָהֶֽם׃among <the> them
vahem
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
Numbers 11:16Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them…
it leads to
- Exodus 24:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance.
- Exodus 24:9
Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
- Genesis 46:27
And with the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt were seventy in all.
- Luke 10:1
After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit.
- Deuteronomy 16:18
You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
- Exodus 24:1
Through
Numbers 1:4And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you.
it leads to
- Numbers 1:16
These men were appointed from the congregation; they were the leaders of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the clans of Israel.
- Exodus 18:25
So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
- Numbers 1:16
Through
Numbers 34:18Appoint one leader from each tribe to distribute the land.
it leads to
- Numbers 1:4–16
And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you.
- Numbers 1:4–16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.