These were the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses gave to Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.
Parallel translations
- WEB These are the names of the men who Moses sent to spy out the land. Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
- KJV These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
- NKJV These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.
- NASB These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.
- NLT These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)
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
These are the named spies, and Moses renames Hoshea ("salvation") as Joshua ("the LORD saves"). The new name marks Joshua's role in God's saving plan.
Overview
Summarizing the list, the text notes that Moses gave Hoshea the name Joshua, meaning "the LORD is salvation." The name change signals his calling to lead Israel into the land. Joshua bears the Hebrew form of the name Jesus, making him a striking type of Christ, who saves and brings his people into their inheritance (Heb. 4:8-9).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Num 13:8from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
- Exod 17:9So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”
- Deut 32:44Then Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people.
- Hos 1:1This is the word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.
- Num 14:30Surely none of you will enter the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
- Matt 1:21–23She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
- Num 14:6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
- Heb 4:8For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
- Acts 7:45And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David,
- Rom 9:25As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 13:16 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.