They went up by the South, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
Parallel translations
- KJV And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
- BSB They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
- NKJV And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
- NASB When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak were. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
- NLT Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.)
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
At Hebron the spies encountered the descendants of Anak, the formidable people who would later frighten Israel. The note about Hebron's antiquity grounds the account in real history.
Overview
Hebron, an ancient city tied to Abraham, was now home to the Anakim, a people of imposing stature. Seeing these giants planted the seed of fear that would dominate the spies' report. Yet Hebron would later become Caleb's inheritance (Joshua 14), showing that faith, not the size of the obstacle, determines the outcome.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 78:12He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
- Ps 78:43how he set his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the field of Zoan,
- Isa 19:11The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?”
- Josh 15:13–14He gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of Yahweh to Joshua, even Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (also called Hebron).
- Josh 11:21–22Joshua came at that time, and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel: Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.
- Judg 1:10Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron. (The name of Hebron before that was Kiriath Arba.) They struck Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
- Isa 30:4For their princes are at Zoan, and their ambassadors have come to Hanes.
- Gen 23:2Sarah died in Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron), in the land of Canaan. Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
- 2 Sam 2:11The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
- Isa 19:13The princes of Zoan have become fools. The princes of Memphis are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, who are the cornerstone of her tribes.
- Num 13:17Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way by the South, and go up into the hill country.
- Gen 13:18Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh.
- Josh 21:13To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the man slayer, Libnah with its suburbs,
- Josh 14:13–15Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.
- Num 13:33There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim. We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
- 2 Sam 2:1After this, David inquired of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” Yahweh said to him, “Go up.” David said, “Where shall I go up?” He said, “To Hebron.”
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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 13:22 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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