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Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!”
Numbers 13:30 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it!”
  • KJV And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
  • NKJV Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
  • NASB Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will certainly prevail over it.”
  • NLT But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”

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

Caleb silenced the people and urged immediate advance, confident that Israel could overcome the land. He stands as the model of faith that takes God at His word.

Overview

Against the rising fear, Caleb called for action, certain that the LORD's promise guaranteed victory. His confidence rested not in Israel's strength but in God's pledge. Caleb and Joshua's faith would be rewarded with entry into the land, foreshadowing the perseverance that marks God's true people.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Num 14:24But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit it.
  • Rom 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
  • Phil 4:13I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
  • Ps 60:12With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.
  • Num 14:6–9Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
  • Rom 8:37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
  • Isa 41:10–16Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
  • Heb 11:33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
  • Ps 118:10–11All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
  • Josh 14:6–8Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me.
  • Ps 27:1–2Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 13:30YouTube · 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 13:30 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.