So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.
Parallel Translations
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So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.
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So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
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So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, at the entrance to Hamath.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Numbers 13:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 20:1 The children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month. The people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there.
- Numbers 33:36 They traveled from Ezion Geber, and encamped at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.
- Numbers 27:14 because in the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, to honor me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
- Joshua 15:1 The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.
- Joshua 13:5 and the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal Gad under Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath;
- Numbers 34:3-4 then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward. Your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and it shall pass southward of Kadesh Barnea; and it shall go from there to Hazar Addar, and pass along to Azmon.
- Deuteronomy 32:51 because you trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn’t uphold my holiness among the children of Israel.
- 2 Samuel 8:9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had struck all the army of Hadadezer,
- Amos 6:2 Go to Calneh, and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The wilderness of Zin, in the south of Canaan,…
The wilderness of Zin, in the south of Canaan, Num 34:3; Jos 15:3; differing from the wilderness of Sin, which was nigh unto Egypt, Exo 16:1.
To Hamath; i.e. from the south they passed through the whole land even to the northern parts of it,
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Rehob, a city in the northwest part, Jos 19:28; Jdg 1:31; and Hamath, a city in the north-east part, Jos 19:35; Eze 47:17. And that they might more expeditiously and securely perform this office, it is probable that they divided themselves into several shall parties, and informed themselves not only by their eye, but also by their ear, and the information of persons, of whom they inquired about the nature and condition of their land.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We have here a short account of the survey…
We have here a short account of the survey which the spies made of the promised land. 1. They went quite through it, from Zin in the south, to Rehob, near Hamath, in the north, Num 13:21. See Num 34:3, Num 34:8. It is probable that they did not go altogether in a body, lest they should be suspected and taken up, which there would be the more danger of if the Canaanites knew (and one would think they could not but know) how near the Israelites were to them; but they divided themselves into several companies, and so passed unsuspected, as way-faring men. 2. They took particular notice of Hebron (Num 13:22), probably because near there was the field of Machpelah, where the patriarchs were buried (Gen 23:2), whose dead bodies did, as it were, keep possession of that land for their posterity. To this sepulchre they made a particular visit, and found the adjoining city in the possession of the sons of Anak, who are here named. In that place where they expected the greatest encouragements they met with the greatest discouragements. Where the bodies of their ancestors kept possession for them the giants kept possession against them. They ascended by the south, and came to Hebron, that is, "Caleb," say the Jews, "in particular," for to his being there we find express reference, Jos 14:9, Jos 14:12, Jos 14:13. But that others of the spies were there too appears by their description of the Anakim, v. 33. 3. 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, Num 13:23, Num 13:24. The place whence they took it was, from this circumstance, called the valley of the cluster, that famous cluster which was to Israel both the earnest and the specimen of all the fruits of Canaan. Such are the present comforts which we have in communion with God, foretastes of the fulness of joy we expect in the heavenly Canaan. We may see by them what heaven is.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And they told him,.... Moses, who was the chief…
And they told him,.... Moses, who was the chief ruler whom they addressed, and to whom they directed their speech:
and said, we came unto the land whither thou sentest us; the land of Canaan, which they were sent by Moses to spy; this was said by ten of them or by one of them as their mouth; for Caleb and Joshua did not join with them in the following account, as appears from Num 13:30,
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and surely it floweth with milk and honey; they own that the land answered to the description which the Lord had given of it when it was promised them by him, Exo 3:8,
and this is the fruit of it; pointing to the bunch of grapes, the pomegranates and figs; not that these were a proof of its flowing with milk and honey, at least in a literal sense, but of the goodness and fruitfulness of the land: though the luxury of Bacchus, the god of wine, is by the poet (m) described, not only by a fountain of wine, but by rivers of milk and flows of honey.
(m) "Vinique fontem", &c. Horat. Carmin. l. 2. Ode 19.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Zin - In the south of Canaan, differing from…
Zin - In the south of Canaan, differing from the wilderness of Sin, which was nigh unto Egypt. To Hamath - From the south they passed through the whole land to the northern parts of it; Rehob was a city in the northwest part, Hamath, a city in the northeast.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. From the wilderness of Zin] The place…
Verse 21. From the wilderness of Zin] The place called; צן Tsin, here, is different from that called סין Sin or Seen. Ex 16:1; the latter was nigh to Egypt, but the former was near Kadesh Barnea, not far from the borders of the promised land.
"The spies having left Kadesh Barnea, which was in the desert of Paran, see Nu 13:26, they proceeded to the desert of Tsin, all along the land of Canaan, nearly following the course of the river Jordan, till they came to Rehob, a city situated near Mount Libanus, at the northern extremity of the Holy Land, towards the road that leads to Hamath. Thence they returned through the midst of the same land by the borders of the Sidonians and Philistines, and passing by Mount Hebron, rendered famous by the residence of Abraham formerly, and by the gigantic descendants of Anak at that time, they passed through the valley of the brook of Eshcol, where they cut down the bunch of grapes mentioned Nu 13:23, and returned to the Israelitish camp after an absence of forty days," Nu 13:25. See Calmet on this place.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 13:21. Zin — In the south of Canaan,…
Num 13:21. Zin — In the south of Canaan, differing from the wilderness of Sin, which was nigh unto Egypt. To Hamath — From the south they passed through the whole land to the northern parts of it; Rehob was a city in the north-west part, Hamath a city in the north-east.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The wilderness of Zin was the northeastern portion of…
The wilderness of Zin was the northeastern portion of the wilderness of Paran.
Rehob (“mod.” Khurbeh) was probably the Beth-rehob of Jdg 18:28, near Dan-Laish; and apparently to the north of it, since it gave its name to a Syrian kingdom 2Sa 8:3. The southern approach to Hamath from the plain of Coele-Syria, lay between those two ranges of Lebanon called Libanus and Antilibanus. A low screen of hills connects the northernmost points of these two ranges; and through this screen the Orontes bursts from the upper Coele-Syrian hollow into the open plain of Hamath.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain First ripe (præcoquæ:) Hebrew literally, "the first-born." Septuagint, "the…
First ripe (præcoquæ:) Hebrew literally, "the first-born." Septuagint, "the days of spring, forerunners of the grape." In Madeira, grapes ripen in March. Some suppose the messengers departed in June, others in July. In Palestine, they have fresh grapes from the end of June till Martinmas [memorial day of St. Martin of Tours, November 11?], and three vintages, in August, and in each of the two following months.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain So they . . . searched the land--They advanced…
So they . . . searched the land--They advanced from south to north, reconnoitering the whole land.
the wilderness of Zin--a long level plain, or deep valley of sand, the monotony of which is relieved by a few tamarisk and rethem trees. Under the names of El Ghor and El Araba, it forms the continuation of the Jordan valley, extending from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akaba.
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Rehob--or, Beth-rehob, was a city and district situated, according to some, eastward of Sidon; and, according to others, it is the same as El Hule, an extensive and fertile champaign country, at the foot of Anti-libanus, a few leagues below Paneas.
as men come to Hamath--or, "the entering in of Hamath" (Kg2 14:25), now the valley of Balbeck, a mountain pass or opening in the northern frontier, which formed the extreme limit in that direction of the inheritance of Israel. From the mention of these places, the route of the scouts appears to have been along the course of the Jordan in their advance; and their return was by the western border through the territories of the Sidonians and Philistines.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21. the wilderness of Zin] The geographical statements regarding…
21. the wilderness of Zin] The geographical statements regarding the tracts south of Judah are vague. In Num_13:26 Paran and Kadesh are placed by the compiler in juxtaposition, but in Num_20:1 Zin and Kadesh. See prelim, note on ch. 20.
Rehob] Probably the same as Beth-rehob (Jdg_18:28) near the sources of the Jordan.
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the entrance of Hamath] Hamath (a district mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions) lay to the north of Palestine; and the ‘entrance’ to it seems to have been a well-known pass, formed by a depression between Lebanon and Hermon. It was, according to P , a point on the northern border of Israel’s possessions in Canaan (Num_34:8).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (21) From the wilderness of Zin.—The name of the…
(21) From the wilderness of Zin.—The name of the wilderness of Zin, in which Kadesh was situated, appears to have been given to the northern or northeastern part of the wilderness of Paran. Comp. Num_20:1; Num_27:14; Num_33:36; Num_34:3-4; Deu_32:51; Jos_15:1; Jos_15:3.
Unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.—Or, unto Rehob, at the entrance of Hamath. Rehob is supposed to be identical with the Beth-rehob of Jdg_18:28, in the tribe of Naphtali, which was near Dan-Laish. “The entrance of Hamath” formed the northern boundary of the land assigned to the Israelites (Num_34:8).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain From the wilderness of Zin. The extreme southern boundary…
From the wilderness of Zin. The extreme southern boundary of the promised land. (Num_34:3, 4 Jos_15:1, Jos_15:3) There seems to be but one marked natural feature which could have been chosen for that purpose the broad sandy depression called the Wady Murreh, which divides the mountain mass of the Azazimeh from the Rakhmah plateau, the southern extremity of the highlands of Judah. The plain of Kudes communicates with it at its upper or western end, and maybe counted a part of it. Unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. Septuagint, ewv Roonwn Aimay . Hamath, now Hamah, was in Greek times Epiphaneia, on the Orontes, outside the limits of Jewish rule. The southern entrance to it lay between the ranges of Libanus and Anti-libanus. (see note on Num_34:8) The Rehob here mentioned is not likely to have been either of the Rehobs in the territory of Asher, (Jos_19:28-30) but the Beth-rehob further to the east, and near to where Dan-Laish was afterwards built. (Jud_1:18:28) It lies on the route to Hamath, and was at one time a place of some importance in the possession of the Syrians. (2Sa_10:6)
Vers. 21-29. The search and the report.
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I THE SEARCH. The land passed over is indicated in a somewhat indefinite way. Contrast it with the definiteness of the tribal boundaries in Joshua (chapters 13-19). These were forty days of speculative and dangerous wandering, with no guiding cloud, though doubtless God protected them even when they felt not the protection; if for nothing else, for the sake of the faithful two who would yet serve his purposes and confirm his word. Forty days too of waiting in the wilderness of Paran days, one may imagine, of much conjecture, full of apprehension to some, while by others ninny airy castles would be built, how soon to tremble at the first breath of God"s approaching anger! Forty days was not much time to see even so small a land, geographically speaking, as Canaan. We know by our own land the ludicrous mistakes of travelers passing through it, and their sometimes serious mistakes; how they exalt exceptions into rules, and the eccentricities of the individual into the character and habits of the race. Live in a land, and then you shall report on it with the authority of experience. We have heard the story of the traveler who visited a Carthusian monastery in Italy. He admired the situation, and said to one of the monks, "What a fine residence!" "Transeuntibus," was the sad, satiric reply. If we wish to know the fatness, the beauty, and the safety of the land in which God"s people dwell, we must have something more than forty days of superficial rambling. It is not Saul, with eyesight lost, and waiting at Damascus, crushed in spirit, for Ananias, who shall tell us how Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; but rather such a one as Paul the aged, thirty years later, sounding from the fullness of his experience, "I know whom I have believed". (2Ti_1:12)
II THE REPORT. After forty days riley came back, bearing on a staff between two of them the cluster of grapes bearing it thus, as some think, because of its weight; as others, that the fruit might keep its shapeliness and bloom. And, indeed, along" with the pomegranates and figs, which were doubtless choice samples, this fruit was God"s own beautiful testimony. Human messengers might differ and deceive, but these sweet silent messengers seemed to intimate that God had been making ready the land for his own people. So much for what the spies brought in their hands. But as to the verbal report, what a meager thing it is! As to the quality of the land, they content themselves with saying, Surely it floweth with milk and honey." Yes. God had said this very thing to Moses long before: it was the highest poetry of promise to speak thus; it was meant to excite large anticipations of something fertile and beautiful; but men who had been over the land for a personal inspection might have said something more prosaic and exact. Then as to the strong people, the walled towns, and the giants, God had indicated these very things as being in the future of his people, when he caused the fighting men to be numbered not long before. The report was meager, we may well believe, because not otherwise could it have been unanimous. As long as they kept to certain bare facts, and did not proceed to advise, the spies could agree, and yet it very speedily appeared how hollow their agreement was. Caleb and Joshua had to strike out their own path, no longer wasting time in trying to sustain vain compromises. Y.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Exploration of the Spies and Their Report
The Exploration of the Spies and Their Report
v. 21. So they went up and searched the land from the Wilderness of Zin, as the northern end of the Wilderness of Paran was called, unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath, in the extreme northern part of Canaan, not far from Laish, which was later known as Dan. After this general statement a more detailed account is given.
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v. 22. And they ascended by the south, after leaving the camp of the Israelites, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. ) These three princes of the Anakim were descendants of Arbah, the founder of Hebron, for its original name was Kiriath-arbah. This was a very old city, as Moses indicates by comparing its age with that of Zoan in Egypt, which the children of Israel knew so well.
v. 23. And they came unto the brook, or valley, of Eshcol, north of Hebron, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes (this was undoubtedly an incident of their return trip), and they bare it between two upon a staff, for its great weight made this necessary; and they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs, for the valley was known, even at a later period, for the extraordinary richness and excellence of its fruits.
v. 24. The place was called the brook, or valley, Eshcol (grape-cluster), because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
v. 25. And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
v. 26. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, to whom they officially reported their return, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, who assembled when the news of their return was spread, unto the Wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh, where the encampment of the Israelites was, and brought back word unto them and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. They were the returned heroes, and the people very likely surged about them and plied them with questions, a process which is apt to destroy the balance even of men with humble tendencies.
v. 27. And they told him, Moses, in their official report, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, a clever phrase by which the responsibility is placed upon Moses, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, Exo 3:8; and this is the fruit of it, they had visible evidence of the extraordinary fruitfulness of the soil of Canaan.
v. 28. Nevertheless, and here the glowing report is rapidly tempered by the element of personal feelings which the majority of the spies introduced, the people be strong that dwell in the land, both in numbers and in courage, not to speak of physical strength, and the cities are walled and very great, mighty, fortified, and inaccessible; and, moreover, we saw the children of Anak there, people known for their great power.
v. 29. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south; and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jordan. Cf Gen 36:12; Gen 10:15-16; Gen 13:7. No sooner, however, had this majority report been made than a very emphatic minority report was presented.
v. 30. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, for the form and the tendency of the spies’ report naturally produced great excitement, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. Thus Caleb voiced the opinion of himself and Joshua.
v. 31. 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. Their cowardly hearts measured outward numbers only, seeing nothing but obstacles on every hand, forgetting entirely the almighty power of the Lord and His gracious promises.
v. 32. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, its position and its fertility made it so desirable as a possession that the inhabitants, in endless feuds, were grinding one another to pieces; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature, men whose great size reminded them of the dreadful giants that lived before the Flood, Gen 6:4.
v. 33. 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. Thus the exaggerations of the cowards rose to a climax in this last extravagant statement, their purpose being to fill the hearts of all the people with the same senseless fear which possessed their own hearts. "Truly an expressive type of the lying fear with which worldly-mindedness has ever depicted the difficult approaches to the kingdom of God. " Matters have reached an unfortunate stage in the Church when the men who are called to be the leaders of the congregations lose courage and dread the battle with the powers of darkness. But God always has some witnesses and servants that encourage His people and promise certain victory by the help of the Lord.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Zin ... Rehob ... Zoan
Zin ... Rehob ... Zoan
These are names of places. (See: How to Translate Names)
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the wilderness of Zin
The word "Zin" here is the Hebrew name of the wilderness. (See: Copy or Borrow Words)
Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt
This can be stated in active form. AT: "the Canaanites had built Hebron 7 years before the Egyptians built Zoan" (See: Active or Passive and Numbers)
Ahiman ... Sheshai ... Talmai
These are names of clans that were named after their ancestors. (See: How to Translate Names)
Anak
This is the name of a man. (See: How to Translate Names)
translationWords
desert
Hamath
Negev
Hebron
clan
year
Egypt
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 13:21-24 The spies explored the land, which was unusually…
13:21-24 The spies explored the land, which was unusually fertile in contrast with the Sinai wilderness.
13:21 It was about 275 miles from the wilderness of Zin, located roughly between the wilderness of Paran and the southern frontier of Canaan (see 34:3-5; Josh 15:1-4), to Lebo-hamath (“entrance of Hamath,” either a notable mountain pass or another city near Hamath) in Syria. • The exact location of Rehob is uncertain, but it was probably the same as Old Testament Beth-rehob, situated near a major route to Hamath. The text thus already identifies the approximate borders of the Promised Land (see 1 Kgs 8:65). The phrase “from Dan to Beersheba” (Judg 20:1; 2 Sam 3:10), frequently used to demarcate Israel’s traditional boundaries, referred to a considerably smaller area than the territory visited by Israel’s spies.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.