So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.
Parallel translations
- KJV So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
- BSB So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-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 traveled from Ezion Geber, and encamped at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.
- Num 20:1The children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month. The people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there.
- Num 27:14because in the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin, to honor me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
- Josh 15:1The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.
- Josh 13:5and the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal Gad under Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath;
- 2 Sam 8:9When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had struck all the army of Hadadezer,
- Deut 32:51because you trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn’t uphold my holiness among the children of Israel.
- Amos 6:2Go to Calneh, and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?
- Num 34:3–4then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.