They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as Luz),
Parallel translations
- WEB The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city before that was Luz.)
- KJV And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
- NKJV So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly Luz.)
- NASB The house of Joseph had men spy out Bethel (the name of the city previously was Luz).
- NLT They sent men to scout out Bethel (formerly known as Luz).
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They send spies to reconnoiter Bethel, formerly called Luz. It matters as a prudent step in the campaign that leads to the city's fall.
Overview
The Joseph tribes scout Bethel before attacking, a wise and ordinary means within God's providence. The note of the older name Luz anchors the account historically. The verse shows that trusting God does not exclude careful planning in the work he gives.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Gen 28:19and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
- Gen 48:3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
- Gen 35:6So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
- Josh 2:1Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
- Judg 18:2So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.
- Josh 7:2Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 1:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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