Numbers 14:1-35

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:17

And now, I beseech thee, let the power of Lord be great ,.... That is, appear to be great; the power of God is great, not only mighty, but almighty; it knows no bounds, nothing is impossible with him, he can do whatever he pleases, Psalm 147:5 ; his power, and the greatness of it, had been seen in bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt, and through the Red sea, and in providing for them, protecting and defending them in the wilderness; and the request of Moses is, that it might... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:18

The Lord is longsuffering ,.... Towards all men, and especially towards his own people: and of great mercy , being abundant in goodness, and keeping mercy for thousands: forgiving iniquity and transgression , all sorts of sin: and by no means clearing the guilty , visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation ; which may seem to make against the plea of Moses for mercy and forgiveness; but the reason of these words being... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:19

Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people , according unto the greatness of thy mercy ,.... Intimating, that though the sin of this people was great, the mercy of God to pardon was greater; and therefore he entreats that God would deal with them, not according to the greatness of their sins, and the strictness of justice, but according to the greatness of his mercy, who would, and does, abundantly pardon: and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now ;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:20

And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word. So as not to kill them utterly as one man: which is an instance of his being plenteous in mercy, and ready to forgive; and of the virtue and efficacy of the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, and of the great regard the Lord has to the prayers of a good man for others. The Jerusalem Targum is,"and the Word of the Lord said, lo, I have remitted and forgiven according to thy word;'which must be understood of Christ, the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:21

But as truly as I live ,.... Which is the form of an oath, as the Targum; the Lord swears by his life, or by himself, because he could swear by no greater: all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord ; this is not the thing sworn unto or confirmed, but that by which the oath is made and confirmed; and the sense is, that as sure as the earth "had been" filled with the glory of the Lord, as it may be rendered, as it had been with the fame of what he had done in Egypt, and at... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:22

Because all those men which have seen my glory ,.... His glorious Majesty, or the emblem of it in the cloud, on the tabernacle, which had often appeared to them, and the glorious things done by him; the glory of his power, wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, and truth, displayed in bringing them out of Egypt, through the Red sea, and thus far in the wilderness, even to the borders of the land of Canaan; it should be rendered, not "because", but "that", for this is the thing sworn to, or the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:23

Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers ,.... Not possess and enjoy the land of Canaan, which the Lord by an oath had promised their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give it to their seed; and now he swears that these men, who had so often tempted him, and been disobedient to him, should not inherit it; so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem take it for an oath; see Hebrews 3:11 , neither shall any of them that provoked me see it ; that provoked him... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:24

But my servant Caleb ,.... Who was one of the spies, and brought a good and true report of the land; and so in that, as well as in other things, approved himself to be a faithful servant of the Lord, and who had stilled the people at the beginning of their murmur, and with Joshua had attempted to quiet them afterwards; and though Joshua is not here mentioned, because, as some say, he had no children, and therefore it could not be said of him that his seed should possess the land, as is said... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:25

And now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley ,.... By the Canaanites are meant the Amorites, as Aben Ezra, which were a principal people of the land of Canaan, and which may be confirmed by Deuteronomy 1:19 ; this may seem contrary to what is said Numbers 13:29 ; where they are said to dwell in the mountain; but it may be reconciled by observing, that indeed their proper settled habitation was in the mountain; but now they went down from thence, and "sat" F26 יושב ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:26

And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron ,.... Before he had been only speaking to Moses, who had interceded with him to pardon the people, which he had granted; but at the same time assured him they should not enter into and possess the land of Canaan, and the same he repeats to him and Aaron together: saying : as follows. read more

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:17

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:19

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:20

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:21

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:22

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:23

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:24

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:25

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 14:26

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