Numbers 13 · Verse 21

Numbers 13:21

So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
Numbers 13:21, King James Version

Numbers 13:21 in other translations

BSBSo they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.
WEBSo they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.
ASVSo they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.
YLTAnd they go up and spy the land, from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob at the going in to Hamath;
DARBYAnd they went up, and searched out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, where one comes towards Hamath.
BBESo they went up and got a view of the land, from the waste land of Zin to Rehob, on the way to Hamath.
WebsterSo they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, as men come to Hamath.

What does Numbers 13:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 13:21-24
21-24. So they ... searched the land--They advanced from south to north, reconnoitering the whole land. the wilderness of Zin--a long level plain, or deep valley of sand, the monotony of which is relieved by a few tamarisk and rethem trees. Under the names of El Ghor and El Araba, it forms the continuation of the Jordan valley, extending from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akaba. Rehob--or, Beth-rehob, was a city and district situated, according to some, eastward of Sidon; and, according to others, it is the same as El Hule, an extensive and fertile champaign country, at the foot of Anti-libanus, a few leagues below Paneas. as men come to Hamath--or, "the entering in of Hamath" (2Ki 14:25), now the valley of Balbeck, a mountain pass or opening in the northern frontier, which formed the extreme limit in that direction of the inheritance of Israel. From the mention of these places, the route of the scouts appears to have been along the course of the Jordan in their advance; and their return was by the western border through the territories of the Sidonians and Philistines.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 From the wilderness of Zin - The place called; צן Tsin, here, is different from that called סין Sin or Seen. Exo 16:1; the latter was nigh to Egypt, but the former was near Kadesh Barnea, not far from the borders of the promised land. "The spies having left Kadesh Barnea, which was in the desert of Paran, see Num 13:26, they proceeded to the desert of Tsin, all along the land of Canaan, nearly following the course of the river Jordan, till they came to Rehob, a city situated near Mount Libanus, at the northern extremity of the Holy Land, towards the road that leads to Hamath. Thence they returned through the midst of the same land by the borders of the Sidonians and Philistines, and passing by Mount Hebron, rendered famous by the residence of Abraham formerly, and by the gigantic descendants of Anak at that time, they passed through the valley of the brook of Eshcol, where they cut down the bunch of grapes mentioned Num 13:23, and returned to the Israelitish camp after an absence of forty days," Num 13:25. See Calmet on this place.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 13:21-25
The searchers of the land brought a bunch of grapes with them, and other fruits, as proofs of the goodness of the country; which was to Israel both the earnest and the specimen of all the fruits of Canaan. Such are the present comforts we have in communion with God, foretastes of the fulness of joy we expect in the heavenly Canaan. We may see by them what heaven is.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Numbers 13:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַֽיַּעֲל֖וּvai.ya.'a.Luand they went upH5927
וַיָּתֻ֣רוּvai.ya.Tu.ruand they spied outH8446
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאָ֑רֶץha.'A.retzthe landH776
מִמִּדְבַּר\־mi.mid.bar-from [the] wilderness ofH4057
צִ֥ןtzinZinH6790
עַד\־'ad-toH5704
רְחֹ֖בre.ChoRehobH7340
לְבֹ֥אle.Vo'LeboH935
חֲמָֽת\׃cha.MatHamathH2574

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 13:21

  • Numbers 33:36

    And they removed from Ezion–gaber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.

  • Numbers 20:1

    Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.

  • Numbers 27:14

    For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.

  • Joshua 15:1

    This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast.

  • Joshua 13:5

    And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baal–gad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.

  • Numbers 34:3-4

    Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh–barnea, and shall go on to Hazar–addar, and pass on to Azmon:

  • 2 Samuel 8:9

    When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer,

  • Amos 6:2

    Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

  • Deuteronomy 32:51

    Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah–Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
from the wilderness of Zin.The wilderness of Zin, is different from that called Sin. (Ex 16:1.) The latter was near Egypt, but the former was near Kadesh Barnea, not far from the borders of Canaan. It seems to be the valley mentioned by Burckhardt; which, under the names of El Ghor and El Araba, form a continuation of the valley of the Jordan, extending from the Dead sea to the eastern branch of the Red sea. The whole plain presents to the view an appearance of shifting sands, whose surface is broken by innumerable undulations and low hills. A few talk, tamarisk, and rethem trees grow among the sand hills; but the depth of sand precludes all vegetation of herbage.
20:1; 27:14; 33:36; 34:3,4; De 32:51; Jos 15:1
Rehob.Rehob was a city, afterwards given to the tribe of Asher, situated near mount Lebanon, at the northern extremity of the Promised Land, on the road which leads to Hamath, and west of Laish or Dan: compare Jud 1:31; 18:28; Jos 19:28.
Hamath.
2Sa 8:9; Am 6:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Numbers 13:20

    And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.

  • Numbers 13:21

    So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.

  • Numbers 13:22

    And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

Read all of Numbers 13

Numbers 13:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y cuál sea el terreno, si es pingüe ó flaco, si en él hay ó no árboles: y esforzaos, y coged del fruto del país. Y el tiempo era el tiempo de las primeras uvas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et ils montèrent et reconnurent le pays, depuis le désert de Tsin jusqu’à Rehob, quand on vient à Hamath.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und sie zogen hinauf und kundschafteten das Land aus, von der Wüste Zin bis Rechob, wenn man nach Hamath geht.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		humus, pinguis an sterilis, nemorosa an absque arboribus. Confortamini, et afferte nobis de fructibus terræ. Erat autem tempus quando jam præcoquæ uvæ vesci possunt.