Numbers 13:17-14:45

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Numbers 13:1-20

Here we have, I. Orders given to send spies to search out the land of Canaan. It is here said, God directed Moses to send them (Num. 13:1; 2), but it appears by the repetition of the story afterwards (Deut. 1:22) that the motion came originally from the people; they came to Moses, and said, We will send men before us; and it was the fruit of their unbelief. They would not take God's word that it was a good land, and that he would, without fail, put them in possession of it. They could not... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 13:17

And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan ,.... He sent them from Kadeshbarnea, as Caleb affirms, Joshua 14:7 , and said unto them, go ye up this way southward ; pointing as it were with his finger which way they should go, even up such a hill southward; and which, as Aben Ezra observes, was not the south of the camp, but the south of the land of Canaan; and who further observes, that it is well known that Egypt, from whence the Israelites now came, was to the south of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 13:1-45

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 13:17

Get you up this way southward. Rather, "get you up there ( זֶה ) in the Negeb." The Negeb, meaning literally "the dryness," was the south-western district of Canaan, which bordered upon the desert, and partook more or less of its character. Except where springs existed, and irrigation could be carried out, it was unfit for settled habitation. See Joshua 15:19 ; 1:15 , where the same word is used. Go up into the mountain. From the Negeb they were to make their way into the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Numbers 13:17

Southward - Rather, “by the Negeb,” or south-country; a well-defined tract of territory forming the southernmost and least fertile portion of the land of Canaan and of the subsequent inheritance of Judah. It extended northward from Kadesh to within a few miles of Hebron, and from the Dead Sea westward to the Mediterranean (see especially Joshua 15:21-32).Into the mountain - The hill-country of southern and central Canaan, mostly within the borders of Judah and Ephraim. It commences a few miles... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Numbers 13:17-18

Numbers 13:17-18. Southward Into the southern part of Canaan, which was the nearest part, and the worst too, being dry and desert, and therefore fit for them to enter and pass through with less observation. Into the mountain Into the mountainous country, and thence into the valleys, and so take a survey of the whole land. What it is Both for largeness, and for nature and quality. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Numbers 13:1-33

The twelve spies (13:1-33)Israel pushed on towards the promised land. The long and tiresome journey through the wilderness of Paran was relieved by stoppages at various points where the people set up camp for a few days (see 10:12; 11:35; 12:16; 13:3). As they moved nearer to Canaan, Moses sent twelve spies, one from each tribe, to see what they could find out about the country - its terrain, its people, its defences and its productivity (13:1-20). The spies probably split up, going in... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Numbers 13:17

southward. For first nine miles, on account of the roads, then by the mountain passes eastward. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Numbers 13:17

"And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get up this way by the South, and go up into the hill-country: and see the land, what it is; and the people that dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many; and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strongholds; and what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there is wood therein or not.... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Numbers 13:17

Numbers 13:17. Go up into the mountain:— See chap. Numbers 12:16. read more

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