But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;
Parallel translations
- WEB Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of those who spied out the land, tore their clothes.
- KJV And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
- BSB Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
- NASB And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;
- NLT Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing.
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
Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes in distress over the people's unbelief. Their grief showed they grasped the gravity of rebelling against God.
Overview
As the only faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb tore their garments, a sign of mourning and alarm at the congregation's sin. They saw the rebellion as an offense against God, not merely a difference of opinion. Their bold stand for faith would later be honored with entry into the very land the others feared.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Num 13:30Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it!”
- Num 14:30surely you shall not come into the land, concerning which I swore that I would make you dwell therein, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
- Gen 37:29Reuben returned to the pit; and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes.
- Num 13:6Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
- Num 14:38But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, remained alive of those men who went to spy out the land.
- Num 13:8Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.
- Gen 37:34Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
- Matt 26:65Then the high priest tore his clothing, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his blasphemy.
- Judg 11:35When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me; for I have opened my mouth to Yahweh, and I can’t go back.”
- 2 Sam 3:31David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, and clothe yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn in front of Abner.” King David followed the bier.
- Josh 7:6Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before Yahweh’s ark until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
- 2 Kgs 18:37Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, came with Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him Rabshakeh’s words.
- Gen 44:13Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey, and returned to the city.
- Job 1:20Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshiped.
- 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.
- Joel 2:12–13“Yet even now,” says Yahweh, “turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 14:6 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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