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Numbers 13:3

in Numbers 13

So at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of Jehovah: all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel.

KJV

And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.

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This verse in Numbers 13

Commentary

3 notes on this verse
And Moses, by the commandment of the Lord,.... By his power, permission, and leave, as Jarchi, that there might be no delay through his means: sent them from the wilderness of Paran; from Rithmah or Kadeshbarnea, which seem to be one and the same place in that wilderness: this, as before observed, was on the twenty ninth day of Sivan: See Gill on Num 13:1, all those were heads of the children of Israel; were not mean and vulgar men, but persons of rule, who bore some office of magistracy ant government among the people in their respective tribes.

This site's exposition

Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran

on Numbers 13:3-4

The twelve men sent are leaders of the Israelites. Calvin says their names are written down in perpetual remembrance, since ten are named only to be condemned by what they say at verse 31.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

those men were heads of the children of Israel--Not the princes who are named (Nu 10:14-16, 18-20, 22-27), but chiefs, leading men though not of the first rank.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

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.
Ramban: Spain, 1194–1270 · Ramban on Numbers 13:2:1, via Sefaria, Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976

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

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּשְׁלַ֨חand he sent

    vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times

  • אֹתָ֥ם<obj.> them

    ʾotamH853 →10935 times

  • מֹשֶׁ֛הMoses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

  • מִמִּדְבַּ֥רfrom [the] wilderness of

    mimidbarH4057 →270 times

  • פָּארָ֖ןParan

    paranH6290 →11 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • פִּ֣י[the] mouth of

    piH6310 →498 times

  • יְהוָ֑הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • כֻּלָּ֣םall of them

    kulamH3605 →5413 times

  • אֲנָשִׁ֔ים[were] men

    ʾanashimH582 →566 times

  • רָאשֵׁ֥י[who were] [the] heads of

    rasheiH7218 →599 times

  • בְנֵֽי־[the] people of

    venei-H1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • הֵֽמָּה׃they

    hemahH1992 →553 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 12:16After that, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.4 worksNumbers 32:8This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to inspect the land.4 worksDeuteronomy 9:23And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh-barnea, He said, “Go up and possess the land that I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You neither believed Him nor obeyed Him.3 worksDeuteronomy 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,3 works1 Samuel 25:1When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.3 worksGenesis 14:6and the Horites in the area of Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is near the desert.3 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Numbers 10:12and the Israelites set out from the Wilderness of Sinai, traveling from place to place until the cloud settled in the Wilderness of Paran.3 worksDeuteronomy 1:23The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.2 worksDeuteronomy 1:1These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—in the Arabah opposite Suph—between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.2 worksGenesis 21:21And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Deuteronomy 1:19

    And 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.…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 1:2

      It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir.

    • Deuteronomy 8:15

      He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.

    • Jeremiah 2:6

      They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought…

    • Deuteronomy 32:10

      He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye.

  • Through

    Numbers 12:16

    After that, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 11:35

      From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth, where they remained for some time.

    • Numbers 33:18

      They set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 9:23

    And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh-barnea, He said, “Go up and possess the land that I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You…

    it leads to

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 1:23

    The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 13:3–33

      So at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,

Where this verse is studied

About Numbers

The Spies Return from the Promised Land — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Spies Return from the Promised Land — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Numbers: the study guide →Read Numbers 13 →

This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.

Read on in Numbers 13 →