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.”
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.
- BSB 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!”
- 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 my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully, him I will bring into the land into which he went. His offspring shall possess it.
- Rom 8:31What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Phil 4:13I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
- Ps 60:12Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.
- Num 14:6–9Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of those who 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 41:10–16Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
- Heb 11:33who, through faith subdued kingdoms, worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
- Ps 118:10–11All the nations surrounded me, but in Yahweh’s name, I cut them off.
- Josh 14:6–8Then the children of Judah came near to Joshua in Gilgal. Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the thing that Yahweh spoke to Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning you in Kadesh Barnea.
- Ps 27:1–2By David. Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?
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 13:30 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.