Numbers 13:29 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Numbers 13:29
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.
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
mountains
בָּהָ֔רba.Har
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Canaanites
וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ve.ha.ke.na.'a.Ni
H3669
a Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan · conjunction + definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
dwell
יֹשֵׁ֣בyo.Shev
H3427
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
sea
הַיָּ֔םhai.Yam
H3220
a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
coast
יַ֥דyad
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct
Jordan
הַיַּרְדֵּֽןhai.yar.Den
H3383
Jarden · definite article + proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Numbers 14:43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, theref…
Judges 6:3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up agains…
Genesis 14:7 And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt i…
Genesis 15:19-21 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
Exodus 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unt…
Exodus 3:17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and…
Exodus 17:8-16 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Numbers 14:25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Numbers 13:26–end
It is a wonder how the people of Israel had patience to stay forty days for the return of their spies, when they were just ready to enter Canaan, under all the assurances of success they could have from the divine power, and a constant series of miracles that had hitherto attended them; but they distrusted God's power and promise, and were willing to be held in suspense by their own counsels, rather than be brought to a certainty by God's covenant. How much do we stand in our own light by our unbelief! Well, at length the messengers return, but they agree not in their report.
I. The major part discourage the people from going forward to Canaan; and justly are the Israelites left to this temp…
The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south--Their territory lay between the Dead and the Red Seas, skirting the borders of Canaan.
Hittites . . . dwell in the mountains--Their settlements were in the southern and mountainous part of Palestine (Gen 23:7).
the Canaanites dwell by the sea--The remnant of the original inhabitants, who had been dispossessed by the Philistines, were divided into two nomadic hordes--one settled eastward near the Jordan; the other westward, by the Mediterranean.
John Gill on Numbers 13:29
The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south,.... On the southern side of the land of Canaan: not in it, for they were not Canaanites, but neighbours to them, and lay nearest to the camp of Israel, and at the entrance into the land of Canaan; and as they were enemies of Israel, as appears from an attack upon them quickly after they came from the Red sea, in Rephidim, Exodus 17:8; and friends to the Canaanites, they would no doubt oppose their passage into their land, as they did, Numbers 14:43; this is one difficulty in the way of possessing the land hinted at, others follow:
and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains; and guard the passes there; so that…
Amalekite — A tribe that dwelt in Arabia Petraea, between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. They were not the descendants of Amalek, the son of Eliphaz, for they existed in the days of Abraham (Gen. 14:7). They were…
Amalekites — a nomadic tribe of uncertain origin, which occupied the peninsula of Sinai and the wilderness intervening between the southern hill-ranges of Palestine and the border of Egypt. (Numbers 13:29; 1…
Amorite, The Amorites — (dwellers on the summits, mountaineers), one of the chief nations who possessed the land of Canaan before its conquest by the Israelites. As dwelling on the elevated portions of the country, they are…
Caleb — A dog. (1.) One of the three sons of Hezron of the tribe of Judah. He is also called Chelubai (1 Chr. 2:9). His descendants are enumerated (18-20, 42-49). (2.) A “son of Hur, the firstborn of…
Canaan — (1.) The fourth son of Ham (Gen. 10:6). His descendants were under a curse in consequence of the transgression of his father (9:22-27). His eldest son, Zidon, was the father of the Sidonians and…
Canaanites — The descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham. Migrating from their original home, they seem to have reached the Persian Gulf, and to have there sojourned for some time. They thence “spread to the west,…
Hills — From the Hebrew Gibeah, meaning a curved round hill. But our translators have also employed the same English word for the very different term har, which has a much more extended sense than gibeah,…
Hittites — Palestine and Syria appear to have been originally inhabited by three different tribes. (1.) The Semites, living on the east of the isthmus of Suez. They were nomadic and pastoral tribes. (2.) The…
Jebusites — The name of the original inhabitants of Jebus, mentioned frequently among the seven nations doomed to destruction (Gen. 10:16; 15:21; Ex. 3:8, 17; 13:5, etc.). At the time of the arrival of the…
Palestina And Palestine — (land of strangers). These two forms occur in the Authorized Version but four times in all, always in poetical passages; the first in (Exodus 15:14) and Isai 14:29 The second (Joel 3:4) In each case…
John Calvin on Numbers 13:1–end
Numbers 13:1-33
1. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
1. Et loquutus est Jehova ad Mosen, dicendo:
2. Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
2. Mitte tibi viros qui explorent terram Chanaan, quam ego daturus sum filiis Israel, singulos viros de singulis tribubus patrum suorum mittetis, unumquenque principem inter eos.
3 And Moses, by the commandment of the Lord, sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.
3. Misit ergo illos Moses e deserto Paran, juxta sermonem Jehovae: et universi ipsi viri p…
In forty days the spies returned to the camp at Kadesh (see at Num 16:6), and reported the great fertility of the land ("it floweth with milk and honey," see at Exo 3:8), pointing, at the same time, to the fruit they had brought with them; "nevertheless," they added (כּי אפס, "only that"), "the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are fortified, very large: and, moreover, we saw the children of Anak there." Amalekites dwelt in the south (see at Gen 36:12); Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites in the mountains (see at Gen 10:15-16); and Canaanites by the (Mediterranean) Sea and on the side of the Jordan, i.e., in the Arabah or Ghor (see at Gen 13:7 and Gen 10:15-18).
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Numbers 13:29
The spies answer the question of 13:18. Many ethnic groups occupied ancient Canaan.
Rashi on Numbers 13:29
עמלק יושב וגו׳ THE AMALEKITES ABIDE [IN THE LAND OF THE SOUTH] — Because they had already been “burnt” by Amalek, the spies mentioned him first in order to terrify them (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 9).
ועל ידי הירדן AND BY THE יד OF THE JORDAN — יד means what it literally implies: beside the Jordan. They meant: the Canaanites live on the bank of the Jordan and therefore you will be unable to cross it.
Spies — When the Israelites reached Kadesh for the first time, and were encamped there, Moses selected twelve spies from among the chiefs of the divisions of the tribes, and sent them forth to spy the land…
Vine — One of the most important products of Palestine. The first mention of it is in the history of Noah (Gen. 9:20). It is afterwards frequently noticed both in the Old and New Testaments, and in the…
Wine — The common Hebrew word for wine is yayin, from a root meaning “to boil up,” “to be in a ferment.” Others derive it from a root meaning “to tread out,” and hence the juice of the grape trodden out.…
Amalekites · Red Sea — Red Sea
Amalekites, The · COUNTRY of: In the south of Canaan — COUNTRY of: In the south of Canaan
Amorites · Territory of — Territory of
Amorites, The · Originally inhabited a mountain district in the south — Originally inhabited a mountain district in the south
Desert, Journey Of Israel Through The · Spies bring back evil report — Spies bring back evil report
Hittites · Dwelling place of — Dwelling place of
Holy Land · Twelve men sent to spy — Twelve men sent to spy
Majority And Minority Reports · Of the spies — Of the spies
Reports · .Of spies — .Of spies
Trouble · .When the spies brought their adverse report — .When the spies brought their adverse report
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
