The house of Joseph had men spy out Bethel (the name of the city previously was 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.)
- BSB They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as Luz),
- NKJV So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly 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 28:19He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
- Gen 48:3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
- Gen 35:6So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.
- Josh 2:1Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.
- Judg 18:2The children of Dan sent five men of their family from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land!” They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.
- Josh 7:2Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the land.” 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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