Numbers 13:1-3, Numbers 13:17-33

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 13:1

And the Lord Spake unto Moses ,.... When in the wilderness of Paran, either at Rithmah or Kadesh; this was on the twenty ninth day of the month Sivan, on which day, the Jews say F15 Ib. ut supra, (Seder Olam Rabba, c. 8. p. 24. & Meyer. Annotat. in ib. p. 338.) Pesikta, Chaskuni. , the spies were sent to search the land, which was a scheme of the Israelites' own devising, and which they first proposed to Moses, who approved of it as prudential and political, at least he gave his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 13:2

Send thou men ,.... Which is rather a permission than a command; so Jarchi interprets it,"send men according to thy mind, I do not command thee, but if thou pleasest send;'this he observed was agreeable to Moses, and to the Israelites, and therefore granted it, or allowed them to take their own way, and which issued badly, as it always does, when men are left to their own counsel: that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel ; called the land of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Numbers 13:3

And Moses, by the commandment of the Lord ,.... By his power, permission, and leave, as Jarchi, that there might be no delay through his means: sent them from the wilderness of Paran ; from Rithmah or Kadeshbarnea, which seem to be one and the same place in that wilderness: this, as before observed, was on the twenty ninth day of Sivan: See Gill on Numbers 13:1 , all those were heads of the children of Israel ; were not mean and vulgar men, but persons of rule, who bore some... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 13:2

Send thou men, that they may search - It appears from Deuteronomy 1:19-24 ; that this was done in consequence of the request of the people, after the following address of Moses: "And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness - and we came unto Kadesh-Barnea; and I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us. Behold the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Numbers 13:2

Verse 2 2.Of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man. If all had been taken from one tribe, or from any single portion of the people, their fidelity might have been suspected by the others. God, therefore, would have each tribe assured by its own witness, in order that their report might be more unquestionable. All cause for jealousy was also to be taken away; lest, if any tribe had been passed over, it might have excepted against the messengers, whom it supposed to have been elected... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 13:1-45

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 13:2

Send thou men, that they may search the land. If this account of the mission of the spies be compared with that given in Deuteronomy 1:20-25 , it may be seen in a striking instance how entirely different a colour may be put upon the same circumstances by two inspired narratives. No one indeed will affirm that the two records are contradictory, or even inconsistent, and yet they leave an entirely different impression upon the mind; and no doubt were intended to. It is important to note that... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Numbers 13:1

And the Lord spake - The mission of the spies was first suggested by the Israelites themselves. See Deuteronomy 1:22. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Numbers 13:2

A ruler - A comparison of the list with that of Numbers 13:1 :5 following shows that they were not the princes of the tribes, but heads of houses or families Numbers 12:4.Of the names here given those of Joshua and Caleb alone are otherwise known to us. read more

Grupo de Marcas