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Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

Numbers 13:32

A land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. — Some understand by this phrase a land of scarcity, unable to support its inhabitants; others understand it as denoting an unhealthy land, in which sense it appears to be still used in the East. (See Roberts’ Oriental Illustrations, p. 101, 8vo, 1844.) It seems more probable, however, that the allusion is to the strife and discord which prevailed amongst the various tribes who contended for its possession. (Comp. Leviticus 26:38.)

Men of great stature. — Literally, men of measures (comp. Isaiah 45:14), where the word middah, measure, occurs in the singular number, “men of stature.” Such persons did undoubtedly exist in the land of Canaan, but there is no evidence that the inhabitants generally were of extraordinary size.

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See also Numbers 13:32 in other biblical comments:

  • Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

    Verse Numbers 13:32. _MEN OF A GREAT STATURE_] אנשי מדות _anshey_ _middoth_, men of measures - two men's height; i. e., exceedingly tall men....

  • Albert Barnes' Bible Commentary

    A LAND THAT EATETH UP ... - i. e. it is a land which from its position is exposed to incessant attacks from one quarter and another, and so its occupants must be always armed and watchful....

  • Annotated Bible by A.C. Gaebelein

    4. AT KADESH-BARNEA AND ISRAEL'S UNBELIEF CHAPTER 13 _ 1. The command to search out the land (Numbers 13:1)_ 2. The names of the spies (Numbers 13:4) 3. Directions given (Numbers 13:17) 4.

  • Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

    THE ESPIAL OF CANAAN. This narrative is marked by numerous discrepancies, due to its being a fusion of two accounts drawn from JE and P. In the one (JE) the spies start probably from Kadesh (Numbers 1...

  • Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

    BROUGHT UP AN EVIL REPORT. sent forth. slander. Compare Numbers 14:37. WE SAW. The language of unbelief....

  • Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

    AND THEY BROUGHT UP AN EVIL REPORT OF THE LAND— The evil report consisted of the particulars immediately following: they said, that it was a _land which ate up the inhabitants thereof;_ an expression...

  • College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

    C. SURVEY AND REPORT vv. 21-33 TEXT Numbers 13:21. So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. 22. And they ascended by the south, and came unt...

  • Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

    _AND THEY BROUGHT UP AN EVIL REPORT OF THE LAND WHICH THEY HAD SEARCHED UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, SAYING, THE LAND, THROUGH WHICH WE HAVE GONE TO SEARCH IT, IS A LAND THAT EATETH UP THE INHABITANTS...

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    THE SENDING OF THE SPIES AND THEIR REPORT 8. Oshea] RV 'Hoshea,' meaning 'help' or 'salvation.' Joshua, or Jehoshua (Numbers 13:16), means 'Jehovah is my help': see on Exodus 17:9....

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    EATETH UP THE INHABITANTS] This refers to the warlike character of the inhabitants, who devour each other in strife....

  • EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

    THE OLD TESTAMENT BOOK OF NUMBERS IN THE DESERT NUMBERS _MARION ADAMS_ CHAPTER 13 MOSES SENDS 12 MEN INTO THE COUNTRY CALLED CANAAN – NUMBERS 13:1-24 V1 The *LORD said to Moses, v2

  • ETCBC data on Hebrew bible

    וַ יֹּוצִ֜יאוּ דִּבַּ֤ת הָ אָ֨רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תּ

  • Expositor's Bible Commentary (Nicoll)

    THE SPIES AND THEIR REPORT Numbers 13:1; Numbers 14:1 Two narratives at least appear to be united in the thirteenth and fourteenth Chapter s. From Numbers 13:17;...

  • Frederick Brotherton Meyer's Commentary

    THE MAJORITY AND MINORITY REPORTS Numbers 13:21 It was August. Eshcol lay southeast of Hebron. Its sloping hills were covered with choice grapevines, the clusters of which weighed ten to twelve pound...

  • G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

    Here we have another story of failure. It is closely associated with the movement of the people toward the promised land. The hour had come in which they should go forward. In this account in Numbers...

  • Geneva Study Bible Commentary

    And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, [is] a land that (l) eateth up the inhabi...

  • Introductory Lectures - Commentary by William Kelly

    The previous portion of the Book of Numbers, viewed as a history, has evidently a prefatory character, however important and divinely wise. It is in a great measure preparatory for that which we have...

  • John Calvin's Bible Commentary

    32._But the men that went up with him said. _We here see, as in a mirror, how impiety gradually gathers audaciousness in evil. At the outset, the authors of the rebellion were ambiguous in their expre...

  • John Darby's Synopsis

    THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY COVERS CHAPTER S 13 AND 14. Next, the pleasant land is despised. I shall here call the attention of the reader to some points mentioned on this subject in other parts of the B...

  • John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

    AND THEY BROUGHT UP AN EVIL REPORT OF THE LAND WHICH THEY HAD SEARCHED UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL,.... Before, they gave a good report of the land itself, as a very fruitful one, answering to their e...

  • Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    _Eateth up its inhabitants_ Not so much by civil wars, for that was likely to make their conquest more easy; but rather by the unwholesomeness of the air and place, which they guessed from the many fu...

  • KJV Original Language Details

    1 The names of the men who were sent to search the land. 17 Their instructions. 21 Their actes. 26 Their relation. 1 AND the LORD spake vnto Moses, saying, 2 Send thou men, that they may search t...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants th...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    THE EXPLORATION OF THE SPIES AND THEIR REPORT...

  • Leslie M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible

    SPIES SENT TO CANAAN (vs.1-25) As Israel drew nearer to Canaan, God instructed Moses to send a man from each of the 12 tribes to spy out the land Canaan (vs.1-2). If we compare this to Deuteronomy 1:...

  • Marginal Notes in the King James Version (1611)

    MEN OF A GREAT STATURE: _ Heb._ men of statures...

  • Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible

    26-33 We may wonder that the people of Israel staid forty days for the return of their spies, when they were ready to enter Canaan, under all the assurances of success they could have from the Divine...

  • Matthew Poole's Concise Commentary On The Bible

    THEY BROUGHT UP, Heb. _brought forth_, to wit, out of their mouths; they uttered a reproach, or reproachful words. OF THE LAND i.e. against it, or concerning the land. It is the genitive case of the o...

  • Notes on the Pentateuch by Charles Henry Mackintosh

    "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one...

  • Patchworkid's Personal Study Bible Notes

    Numbers 13:32 gave H3318 (H8686) children H1121 Israel H3478 report H1681 land H776 out H8446 (H8804) saying...

  • Summarized Bible Commentary

    CONTENTS: Spies sent into Kadesh-barnea, and their report. CHARACTERS: God, Moses, Caleb, Joshua. CONCLUSION: Faith looks at difficulties through God but unbelief looks through difficulties at God....

  • Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    Numbers 13:11. _The tribe of Joseph._ This verse seems deficient. _Septri Manasseh;_ where the sense is, that the sceptre of Joseph was in the tribe of Manasseh. The Hebrew משׂה _matta,_ signifies mac...

  • The Biblical Illustrator

    _They brought up an evil report._ THE REPORT OF THE SPIES I. God’s promises will always bear investigation. It is true that none of us has entered heaven; but Jesus, who has gone on in advance to tak...

  • The ESV Global Study Bible's Study Notes

    NUMBERS—NOTE ON NUMBERS 13:25 The spies’ report covers the same events described in vv. Numbers 13:17. But while the earlier account is straightforward and factual, the spies’ account is vivid and

  • The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary

    CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES Numbers 13:1. _And the Lord spake unto Moses_, &c. It appears from Deuteronomy 1:22, that the sending of the spies to search out the land was suggested by the people an...

  • The Pulpit Commentaries

    EXPOSITION THE REBELLION AT KADESH (Numbers 13:1, Numbers 14:1). NUMBERS 13:2 Send thou men, that they may search

  • Through The Bible C2000 Serie by Chuck Smith

    Now in chapter thirteen we get the story. Now, they come to Kadesh Barnea and they are now on the border ready to enter into the Promised Land. They had been about two years, a little over two years n...

  • Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

    1 Chronicles 20:6; 2 Samuel 21:20; Amos 2:9; Deuteronomy 1:28;...

  • Wesley's Explanatory Notes

    Eateth up its inhabitants — Not so much by civil wars, for that was likely to make their conquest more easy; but rather by the unwholesomeness of the air and place, which they guessed from the many fu...

  • When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties, Norman L. Geisler and Thomas Howe, 1960

    How could the ten spies report that the land devoured its inhabitants? PROBLEM: In Numbers 13:32, ten of the spies who had been sent by Moses reported that the land was “a land that devours its inhabi...

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