Numbers 13:33
in Numbers 13We 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!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
KJV
And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
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This verse in Numbers 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThere we saw the giants - נפלים nephilim. It is evident that they had seen a robust, sturdy, warlike race of men, and of great stature; for the asserted fact is not denied by Joshua or Caleb. Tales of gigantic men are frequent in all countries, but they are generally of such as have lived in times very remote from those in which such tales are told.
This site's exposition
We even saw the Nephilim there
The ten report how they looked to themselves, like grasshoppers in our own sight. Then they assert how they looked to others, a claim about another man's mind.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
20 , Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? "Nay, and so we were in their sight; they looked upon us with as much scorn and disdain as we did upon them with fear and trembling." So that upon the whole matter they gave it in as their judgment, We are not able to go up against them (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And there we saw the giants,....
They brought a bunch of grapes with them, and some other of the fruits of the land, as a proof of the extraordinary goodness of the country. Probably they furnished themselves with these fruits when they were leaving the country and returning. The cluster of grapes was so large and so heavy that they hung it upon a bar, and carried it between two of them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak--The name is derived from the son of Arba, a great man among the Arabians (Jos 15:14), who probably obtained his appellation from wearing a splendid collar or chain round his neck, as the word imports. The epithet "giant" evidently refers here to stature.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Modern Voices1 voice
A commentator
Charles Capps1934–2014
Fear Is Faith in Reverse (Capps Ministries Monthly Teaching) · Written before 2014.
proposed
It seems that God calls an evil report anything that doesn't agree with His Word.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׁ֣ם | vesham | and there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| רָאִ֗ינוּ | rainu | we saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַנְּפִילִ֛ים | hanefilim | the Nephilim | H5303 → | |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עֲנָ֖ק | ʾanak | Anak | H6061 → | 9 times |
| מִן־ | min- | [were] from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַנְּפִלִ֑ים | hanefilim | the Nephilim | H5303 → | |
| וַנְּהִ֤י | vanehi | and we were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְעֵינֵ֙ינוּ֙ | veeineinu | in own eyes our | H5869 → | 887 times |
| כַּֽחֲגָבִ֔ים | kachagavim | like grasshoppers | H2284 → | |
| וְכֵ֥ן | vekhen | and thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הָיִ֖ינוּ | hayinu | we were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּעֵינֵיהֶֽם׃ | beeineihem | in view their | H5869 → | 887 times |
וְשָׁ֣םand there
veshamH8033 →834 times
רָאִ֗ינוּwe saw
rainuH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַנְּפִילִ֛יםthe Nephilim
hanefilimH5303 →
בְּנֵ֥י[the] descendants of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
עֲנָ֖קAnak
ʾanakH6061 →9 times
מִן־[were] from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַנְּפִלִ֑יםthe Nephilim
hanefilimH5303 →
וַנְּהִ֤יand we were
vanehiH1961 →3559 times
בְעֵינֵ֙ינוּ֙in own eyes our
veeineinuH5869 →887 times
כַּֽחֲגָבִ֔יםlike grasshoppers
kachagavimH2284 →
וְכֵ֥ןand thus
vekhenH3651 →771 times
הָיִ֖ינוּwe were
hayinuH1961 →3559 times
בְּעֵינֵיהֶֽם׃in view their
beeineihemH5869 →887 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
Genesis 6:4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:4
Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,
- Deuteronomy 3:11
(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
- 2 Samuel 21:15–22
Once again the Philistines waged war against Israel, and David and his servants went down and fought against the Philistines; but David became exhausted.
- Deuteronomy 2:20–21
(That too was regarded as the land of the Rephaim, who used to live there, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
- 1 Samuel 17:4
Through
Isaiah 40:22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
it leads to
- Proverbs 8:27
I was there when He established the heavens, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
- Isaiah 42:5
This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to…
- Isaiah 66:1
This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- Psalms 104:2
He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
- Proverbs 8:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
About Numbers

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Capps, Fear Is Faith in Reverse (Capps Ministries Monthly Teaching); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
