6 For the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh.
And the sons of Judah come nigh unto Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenezzite saith unto him, `Thou hast known the word that Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses the man of God, concerning me and concerning thee in Kadesh-Barnea: a son of forty years `am' I in Moses, servant of Jehovah, sending me from Kadesh-Barnea, to spy the land, and I bring him back word as with my heart; and my brethren who have gone up with me have caused the heart of the people to melt, and I have been fully after Jehovah my God; and Moses sweareth in that day, saying, If not -- the land on which thy foot hath trodden, to thee it is for inheritance, and to thy sons -- to the age, for thou hast been fully after Jehovah my God. `And, now, lo, Jehovah hath kept me alive, as He hath spoken, these forty and five years, since Jehovah spake this word unto Moses, when Israel went in the wilderness; and now, lo, I `am' to-day a son of five and eighty years; yet `am' I to-day strong as in the day of Moses' sending me; as my power then, so `is' my power now, for battle, and to go out, and to come in. `And now, give to me this hill-country, of which Jehovah spake in that day, for thou didst hear in that day, for Anakim `are' there, and cities, great, fenced; if so be Jehovah `is' with me, then I have dispossessed them, as Jehovah hath spoken.' And Joshua blesseth him, and giveth Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh for an inheritance, therefore hath Hebron been to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenezzite for an inheritance unto this day, because that he was fully after Jehovah, God of Israel; and the name of Hebron formerly `is' Kirjath-Arba (he `is' the great man among the Anakim); and the land hath rest from war.
And Moses speaketh unto Jehovah, saying, `Jehovah -- God of the spirits of all flesh -- appoint a man over the company, who goeth out before them, and who cometh in before them, and who taketh them out, and who bringeth them in, and the company of Jehovah is not as sheep which have no shepherd.' And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Take to thee Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom `is' the Spirit, and thou hast laid thine hand upon him, and hast caused him to stand before Eleazar the priest, and before all the company, and hast charged him before their eyes, and hast put of thine honour upon him, so that all the company of the sons of Israel do hearken. `And before Eleazar the priest he standeth, and he hath asked for him by the judgment of the Lights before Jehovah; at His word they go out, and at His word they come in; he, and all the sons of Israel with him, even all the company.' And Moses doth as Jehovah hath commanded him, and taketh Joshua, and causeth him to stand before Eleazar the priest, and before all the company, and layeth his hands upon him, and chargeth him, as Jehovah hath spoken by the hand of Moses.
And Moses calleth for Joshua, and saith unto him before the eyes of all Israel, `Be strong and courageous, for thou -- thou dost go in with this people unto the land which Jehovah hath sworn to their fathers to give to them, and thou -- thou dost cause them to inherit it; and Jehovah `is' He who is going before thee, He himself is with thee; He doth not fail thee nor forsake thee; fear not, nor be affrighted.' And Moses writeth this law, and giveth it unto the priests (sons of Levi, those bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah), and unto all the elders of Israel, and Moses commandeth them, saying, `At the end of seven years, in the appointed time, the year of release, in the feast of booths, in the coming in of all Israel to see the face of Jehovah in the place which He chooseth, thou dost proclaim this law before all Israel, in their ears. `Assemble the people, the men, and the women, and the infants, and thy sojourner who `is' within thy gates, so that they hear, and so that they learn, and have feared Jehovah your God, and observed to do all the words of this law; and their sons, who have not known, do hear, and have learned to fear Jehovah your God all the days which ye are living on the ground whither ye are passing over the Jordan to possess it.' And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Lo, thy days have drawn near to die; call Joshua, and station yourselves in the tent of meeting, and I charge him;' and Moses goeth -- Joshua also -- and they station themselves in the tent of meeting, and Jehovah is seen in the tent, in a pillar of a cloud; and the pillar of the cloud standeth at the opening of the tent. And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Lo, thou art lying down with thy fathers, and this people hath risen, and gone a-whoring after the gods of the stranger of the land into the midst of which it hath entered, and forsaken Me, and broken My covenant which I made with it; and Mine anger hath burned against it in that day, and I have forsaken them, and hidden My face from them, and it hath been for consumption, and many evils and distresses have found it, and it hath said in that day, Is it not because that my God is not in my midst -- these evils have found me?
And to Caleb son of Jephunneh hath he given a portion in the midst of the sons of Judah, according to the command of Jehovah to Joshua, `even' the city of Arba, father of Anak -- it `is' Hebron. And Caleb is dispossessing thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, children of Anak, and he goeth up thence unto the inhabitants of Debir; and the name of Debir formerly is Kirjath-Sepher. And Caleb saith, `He who smiteth Kirjath-Sephar, and hath captured it -- I have given to him Achsah my daughter for a wife.' And Othniel son of Kenaz, brother of Caleb, doth capture it, and he giveth to him Achsah his daughter for a wife. And it cometh to pass, in her coming in, that she persuadeth him to ask from her father a field, and she lighteth from off the ass, and Caleb saith to her, `What -- to thee?' And she saith, `Give to me a blessing; when the land of the south thou hast given me, then thou hast given to me springs of waters;' and he giveth to her the upper springs and the lower springs.
and Caleb saith, `He who smiteth Kirjath-Sepher -- and hath captured it -- then I have given to him Achsah my daughter for a wife.' And Othniel son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb, doth capture it, and he giveth to him Achsah his daughter for a wife. And it cometh to pass in her coming in, that she persuadeth him to ask from her father the field, and she lighteth from off the ass, and Caleb saith to her, `What -- to thee?' And she saith to him, `Give to me a blessing; when the south land thou hast given me -- then thou hast given to me springs of water; and Caleb giveth to her the upper springs and the lower springs.
and all the multitude of the people were praying without, at the hour of the perfume. And there appeared to him a messenger of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of the perfume, and Zacharias, having seen, was troubled, and fear fell on him; and the messenger said unto him, `Fear not, Zacharias, for thy supplication was heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John, and there shall be joy to thee, and gladness, and many at his birth shall joy, for he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and strong drink he may not drink, and of the Holy Spirit he shall be full, even from his mother's womb;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 13
Commentary on Numbers 13 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 13
It is a memorable and very melancholy story which is related in this and the following chapter, of the turning back of Israel from the borders of Canaan, when they were just ready to set foot in it, and the sentencing of them to wander and perish in the wilderness for their unbelief and murmuring. It is referred to Ps. 95:7, etc., and improved for warning to Christians, Heb. 3:7, etc. In this chapter we have,
Num 13:1-20
Here we have,
Num 13:21-25
We have here a short account of the survey which the spies made of the promised land.
Num 13:26-33
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.