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Numbers 14:36

in Numbers 14

So the men Moses had sent to spy out the land, who had returned and made the whole congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report about the land—

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the men, whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report against the land,

KJV

And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,

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This verse in Numbers 14

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

I will surely do these things

on Numbers 14:35-38

The ten men who brought the report die first, by plague, before any of the forty years begins. The text charges them with bringing up a slander upon the land, so the offence is what they said about a place.

This site's exposition

made the whole congregation grumble against him

The charge adds a second offence to the report itself, that the ten made the whole congregation grumble. James 3:1 says teachers will be judged more strictly. Clarke turns this against preachers who make the way of salvation look hard.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

And the men which Moses sent to search the land,.... Ten of them: who returned; as they all did, who were sent to search it: and made all the congregation to murmur against him; against, Moses that sent them; they murmured themselves, and made others murmur: by bringing up a slander upon the land; that it ate up its inhabitants, and that the inhabitants of it were of such a stature, and so gigantic and strong, and dwelt in such walled cities, Num 13:28, that there was no probability of subduing them, Num 13:31.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

God hereby showed his particular displeasure against those who sinned and made Israel to sin. (1.) They sinned themselves, in bringing up a slander upon the land of promise.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

He told them all what the decree was which had gone forth concerning them, and which could not be reversed, that they must all die in the wilderness, and Canaan must be reserved for the next generation.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord--Ten of the spies struck dead on the spot--either by the pestilence or some other judgment.

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

The words behind it

17 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.

  • וְהָ֣אֲנָשִׁ֔יםand the men

    vehaanashimH582 →566 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־whom

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • שָׁלַ֥חhe sent

    shalachH7971 →845 times

  • מֹשֶׁ֖הMoses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

  • לָת֣וּרto spy out

    laturH8446 →24 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הָאָ֑רֶץthe land

    haaretzH776 →2504 times

  • וַיָּשֻׁ֗בוּand they returned

    vaiyashuvuH7725 →1056 times

  • וַיַּלִּ֤ינוּand they caused to grumble

    vaiyilonuH3885 →84 times

  • עָלָיו֙on him

    ʾalavH5921 →5755 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָ֣עֵדָ֔הthe congregation

    haedahH5712 →149 times

  • לְהוֹצִ֥יאby bringing out

    lehotzi'H3318 →1067 times

  • דִבָּ֖הa bad report

    dibahH1681 →9 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land

    haaretzH776 →2504 times

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

Related verses

3 in all, six open

Where this verse is studied

About Numbers

The Brazen Serpent, Anthony van Dyck, 1618 to 1620. Public domain.
The Brazen Serpent, Anthony van Dyck, 1618 to 1620. Public domain.
Numbers: the study guide →Read Numbers 14 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.

Read on in Numbers 14 →