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Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Numbers 13:23

23. they came unto the brook of Eshcol—that is, "the torrent of the cluster." Its location was a little to the southwest of Hebron. The valley and its sloping hills are still covered with vineyards, the character of whose fruit corresponds to its ancient celebrity. and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes—The grapes reared in this locality are still as magnificent as formerly—they are said by one to be equal in size to prunes, and compared by another to a man's thumb. One... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Numbers 13:1-25

The sending of the 12 spies into Canaan 13:1-25When the people arrived at Kadesh the Lord told them to go up and take possession of the land He had promised them (Deuteronomy 1:19-21). Kadesh stood in the Desert of Zin, which was a section of the great Paran wilderness. The people asked Moses if they could send spies ahead of them. They did so, "that they may search out the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we should go up, and the cities which we shall enter"... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Numbers 13:1-33

The failure of the first generation chs. 13-14The events recorded in chapters 13 and 14 took place while Israel was at Kadesh. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Numbers 13:21-25

The spies surveyed a very large area. Lebo-hamath (Numbers 13:21) stood about 50 miles north of Damascus, 100 miles north of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee). [Note: Yohanan Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, pp. 72-73.] The Anakites (Numbers 13:22) were a tribe of very tall people who lived in Canaan (Numbers 13:33).Hebron was a large fortified town. Moses gave it special emphasis here because it was near Hebron that God had promised to give Abraham the land (Genesis 13:14-18). From there Abraham... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 13:1-33

The Sending of the Spies and their Report8. Oshea] RV ’Hoshea,’ meaning ’help’ or ’salvation.’ Joshua, or Jehoshua (Numbers 13:16), means ’Jehovah is my help’: see on Exodus 17:9.17. Southward] RV by (RM ’into’) the South’: lit. ’into the Negeb’: see on Genesis 12:9. The spies, however, really went northward on this occasion, first through the Negeb, and then through the mountainous district lying N. of it, here called ’the mountain,’ afterwards the ’hill-country of Judah,’ to the W. of the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Numbers 13:23

(23) The brook of Eshcol.—This is commonly identified with the valley of Hebron. Ritter says that the reputation of the grapes of Hebron is so great throughout all Palestine that there is no difficulty in believing that the valley of Eshcol was that which is directly north of the city of Hebron. The valley may have derived its name originally from Eshcol, the brother of Mamre the Amorite (Genesis 14:13). In like manner the name of Mamre appears to have been transferred to the tree, or grove, of... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Numbers 13:1-33

A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey Numbers 13:27 The idea suggested is, that the true disciples of the Lord Jesus are expected to show to the world some illustration of the heavenly country to which they are journeying. In a sense they have been there, and have come back. But in what sense? I. The idea with many persons is, that the future condition of man is so completely different from this, that it is out of the question to attempt to form a conception of it. Heaven, they think, is... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Numbers 13:1-33

THE SPIES AND THEIR REPORTNumbers 13:1-33; Numbers 14:1-10Two narratives at least appear to be united in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters. From Numbers 13:17; Numbers 13:22-23, we learn that the spies were despatched by way of the south, and that they went to Hebron and a little beyond, as far as the valley of Eshcol. But Numbers 13:21 states that they spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin, south of the Dead Sea, to the entering in of Hamath. The latter statement implies that they... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Numbers 13:1-33

4. At Kadesh-Barnea and Israel’s Unbelief CHAPTER 13 1. The command to search out the land (Numbers 13:1-3 ) 2. The names of the spies (Numbers 13:4-16 ) 3. Directions given (Numbers 13:17-20 ) 4. Their explorations (Numbers 13:21-25 ) 5. The report they brought (Numbers 13:26-33 ) The crisis is reached with this chapter. The events of the preceding chapters are the prelude to the complete failure and disaster. To understand the situation we must consult Deuteronomy 1:21-24 . Moses... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 13:1-33

SPIES SENT TO CANAAN (vs.1-25) As Israel drew nearer to Canaan, God instructed Moses to send a man from each of the 12 tribes to spy out the land Canaan (vs.1-2). If we compare this to Deuteronomy 1:22-23 we shall see that the children of Israel had first come to Moses, desiring that they should send men to search out the land and bring back advice as to what way Israel should take to enter the land and what cities should be their first object of attack. Notice in this scripture that there... read more

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