Numbers 13 · Verse 3

Numbers 13:3

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.
Numbers 13:3, King James Version

Numbers 13:3 in other translations

BSBSo at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,
WEBMoses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of the LORD. All of them were men who were heads of the children of Israel.
ASVAnd Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of Jehovah: all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel.
YLTAnd Moses sendeth them from the wilderness of Paran by the command of Jehovah; all of them are men, heads of the sons of Israel they are,
DARBYAnd Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran: according to the commandment of Jehovah, all of them heads of the children of Israel.
BBEAnd Moses sent them from the waste land of Paran as the Lord gave orders, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel.
WebsterAnd Moses, by the commandment of the LORD, sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.

What does Numbers 13:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. those men were heads of the children of Israel--Not the princes who are named (Nu 10:14-16, 18-20, 22-27), but chiefs, leading men though not of the first rank.

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

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 13:1-20

A memorable and melancholy history is related in this and the following chapter, of the turning back of Israel from the borders of Canaan, and the sentencing them to wander and perish in the wilderness, for their unbelief and murmuring. It appears, De 1:22, that the motion to search out the land came from the people. They had a better opinion of their own policy than of God's wisdom. Thus we ruin ourselves by…

Read the full comment on Numbers 13:1-20 →

Numbers 13:3 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.

וַיִּשְׁלַ֨חvai.yish.Lachand he sentH7971
אֹתָ֥ם'o.Tam<obj.> themH853
מֹשֶׁ֛הmo.ShehMosesH4872
מִמִּדְבַּ֥רmi.mid.Barfrom [the] wilderness ofH4057
פָּארָ֖ןpa.RanParanH6290
עַל\־'al-onH5921
פִּ֣יpi[the] mouth ofH6310
יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3068
כֻּלָּ֣םku.Lamall of themH3605
אֲנָשִׁ֔ים'a.na.Shim[were] menH582
רָאשֵׁ֥יra.Shei[who were] [the] heads ofH7218
בְנֵֽי\־ve.nei-[the] people ofH1121
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
הֵֽמָּה\׃He.mahtheyH1992

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

Cross references for Numbers 13:3

  • Numbers 12:16

    And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.

  • Numbers 32:8

    Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh–barnea to see the land.

  • Deuteronomy 1:19

    And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh–barnea.

  • Deuteronomy 9:23

    Likewise when the Lord sent you from Kadesh–barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.

  • Deuteronomy 1:23

    And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The wilderness of Paran, says Dr. Wells, seems to have been taken in a larger, and in a stricter sense. In the larger sense, it seems to have denoted all the desert and mountainous tract, lying between the wilderness of Shur westward, and mount Seir, or the land of Edom, eastward, the land of Canaan northward, and the Red sea southward. And in this sense, it seems to have comprehended the wilderness of Sin, and the wilderness of Sinai, also the adjoining tract wherein lay Kibroth-hattaavah and Hazeroth. In this sense it may be understood in De 1:19, where, by "that great and terrible wilderness," is intended the wilderness of Paran in its largest acceptation; for, in its stricter acceptation, it seems not to have been so great and terrible a wilderness; but is taken to denote more peculiarly that part of Arabia Petræa which lies between mount Sinai and Hazeroth west, and mount Seir east.
12:16; 32:8; De 1:19,23; 9:23

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

Context

  • Numbers 13:2

    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.

  • Numbers 13:3

    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.

  • Numbers 13:4

    And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.

Read all of Numbers 13

Numbers 13:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Envía tú hombres que reconozcan la tierra de Canaán, la cual yo doy á los hijos de Israel: de cada tribu de sus padres enviaréis un varón, cada uno príncipe entre ellos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Moïse les envoya du désert de Paran, selon le commandement de l’ Éternel. Tous ces hommes étaient des chefs des fils d’Israël.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Mose sandte sie aus der Wüste Paran nach dem Befehl Jehovas, allesamt Männer, welche Häupter der Kinder Israel waren.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Mitte viros, qui considerent terram Chanaan, quam daturus sum filiis Israël, singulos de singulis tribubus, ex principibus.