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So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.
Numbers 13:21 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.
  • KJV So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
  • NKJV So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath.
  • NASB So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, at Lebo-hamath.
  • NLT So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.

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

The spies surveyed the entire land, from the southern wilderness of Zin to Rehob near the northern entrance of Hamath. It shows they thoroughly examined the whole inheritance God was giving Israel.

Overview

The twelve men covered the full extent of Canaan, from its southern desert to its northern reaches. Their comprehensive survey left them without excuse: they saw firsthand the goodness of the land God had sworn to the patriarchs. The breadth of the journey underscores the seriousness of the report they would bring back.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Num 33:36They set out from Ezion-geber and camped at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.
  • Num 20:1In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
  • Num 27:14for when the congregation contended in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against My command to show My holiness in their sight regarding the waters.” Those were the waters of Meribah in Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin.
  • Josh 15:1Now the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah extended to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin at the extreme southern boundary:
  • Josh 13:5the land of the Gebalites; and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath.
  • 2 Sam 8:9When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,
  • Deut 32:51For at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you broke faith with Me among the Israelites by failing to treat Me as holy in their presence.
  • Amos 6:2Cross over to Calneh and see; go from there to the great Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?
  • Num 34:3–4Your southern border will extend from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern border will run from the end of the Salt Sea,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Numbers videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Numbers 13:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on NumbersMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 13:21 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.