This chapter treats or the murmurings of the children of Israel upon the evil report of the spies, which greatly distressed Moses and Aaron, Num. 14:1–5; and of the endeavours of Joshua and Caleb to quiet the minds of the people with a good account of the land, and of the easy conquest of it, but…

And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried This is not to be understood of every individual in the congregation of Israel, but of the princes, heads, and elders of the people that were with Moses and Aaron when the report of the spies was made; though indeed the report might quickly…

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses, and against Aaron They being the instruments of bringing them out of Egypt, and conducting them hither: and the whole congregation said unto them; some of them, the rest assenting to it by their cries and tears and gestures; would God we had…

Wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land Unto the borders of it: their murmuring did not cease at Moses and Aaron, the instruments, but proceeded against God himself, who had done such wonderful things for them, not only in bringing them out of Egypt, but since they had been in the…

And they said one to another, let us make a captain An head over them instead of Moses, who they knew would never take the government and care of them, should they resolve to return to Egypt as they proposed, and besides were now so disaffected to him, that they might not care he should.

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces Through shame and confusion of face for them, at hearing so shocking a proposal made, and such wretched ingratitude expressed; they blushed at it, and were in the utmost distress on account of it, and therefore threw themselves into this posture; or it may…

And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh Rose up and interposed in this affair, looking upon themselves under a special obligation so to do, as they were capable of confronting the other spies, and contradicting what they had said: which were of them that searched the land; they…

And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, &c.] To as many as could hear them, to the heads of them: saying, the land which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land; they observe that they were of the number of the spies that were appointed and sent to search…

If the Lord delight in us Continue to delight in them as he had, and as appears by what he had done for, them in Egypt, at the Red sea, and in the wilderness; see ; then he will bring us into this land, and give it us, as he has promised, a land which floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord…

Only rebel not ye against the Lord Nothing, it is suggested, could hinder them from the, possession of it but their rebellion against the Lord; which might provoke him to cut them off by his immediate hand, or to deliver them into the hands of their enemies; for rebellion is a dreadful sin, and…

But all the congregation bade stone them with stones Namely, Joshua and Caleb, who had made such a faithful report of the good land, and had delivered such an animating and encouraging speech to the people.

And the Lord said unto Moses Out of the cloud upon the tabernacle: how long will this people provoke me? which suggests that they had often provoked him, and had done it long ago, and still continued to do so; and he had long bore their provocations; but it was not reasonable, nor could it be…

I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, &c.] Deprive them of inhabiting the land; so as many as died of the pestilence were even all the spies who brought an evil report of the good land, ; with respect to the body of the people, this is to be considered not as a peremptory…

And Moses said unto the Lord In an abrupt manner, as the following words show, his mind being greatly disturbed and distressed by the above threatening, then the Egyptians shall hear it; that the Lord had smitten the Israelites with the pestilence; the Targum of Jonathan interprets it of the…

And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land The land of Canaan, between which and Egypt there was an intercourse, though not by the way of the wilderness, being neighbours, and their original ancestors brethren, as Mizraim and Canaan were; or “they will say” [[18]], and that with joy, as…

Now if thou shall kill all this people, as one man Suddenly, and at once, as might be done by a pestilence; and as 185,000 were smitten at once, and as thought by the same disease, by the Angel of the Lord in the camp of the Assyrians, in later times, ; then the nations which have heard the fame of…

Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them That though he brought them out of Egypt, he was not able to bring them through the wilderness into Canaan; and that though he had wrought many signs and wonders for them, he could work no more, his power…

And now, I beseech thee, let the power of Lord be great That is, appear to be great; the power of God is great, not only mighty, but almighty; it knows no bounds, nothing is impossible with him, he can do whatever he pleases, ; his power, and the greatness of it, had been seen in bringing the…

The Lord is longsuffering Towards all men, and especially towards his own people: and of great mercy, being abundant in goodness, and keeping mercy for thousands: forgiving iniquity and transgression, all sorts of sin: and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon…

Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according unto the greatness of thy mercy Intimating, that though the sin of this people was great, the mercy of God to pardon was greater; and therefore he entreats that God would deal with them, not according to the greatness of their sins, and…

And the Lord said, I have pardoned, according to thy word. ] So as not to kill them utterly as one man: which is an instance of his being plenteous in mercy, and ready to forgive; and of the virtue and efficacy of the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, and of the great regard the Lord has…

But as truly as I live Which is the form of an oath, as the Targum; the Lord swears by his life, or by himself, because he could swear by no greater: all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord; this is not the thing sworn unto or confirmed, but that by which the oath is made and…

Because all those men which have seen my glory His glorious Majesty, or the emblem of it in the cloud, on the tabernacle, which had often appeared to them, and the glorious things done by him; the glory of his power, wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, and truth, displayed in bringing them out of…

Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers Not possess and enjoy the land of Canaan, which the Lord by an oath had promised their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give it to their seed; and now he swears that these men, who had so often tempted him, and been…

But my servant Caleb Who was one of the spies, and brought a good and true report of the land; and so in that, as well as in other things, approved himself to be a faithful servant of the Lord, and who had stilled the people at the beginning of their murmur, and with Joshua had attempted to quiet…

And now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley By the Canaanites are meant the Amorites, as Aben Ezra, which were a principal people of the land of Canaan, and which may be confirmed by (Deut. 1:19, Deut.

And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron Before he had been only speaking to Moses, who had interceded with him to pardon the people, which he had granted; but at the same time assured him they should not enter into and possess the land of Canaan, and the same he repeats to him and Aaron…

How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? &c.] Bear with their murmurings, spare them, and not cut them off? how long must sparing mercy be extended to them? the Lord speaks as one weary of forbearing, so frequent and aggravated were their murmurings.

Say unto them, as truly as I live, saith the Lord The form of an oath, as in ; as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you; what they had wished for, and expressed in the hearing of the Lord, he threatens them should be their case.

Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness They had wished they had died in it, , and the Lord here declares they should, which is signified by the falling of their carcasses in it, or their bodies, which when dead fall to the ground, having no strength to support themselves: and all that were…

Doubtless ye shall not come into the land The land of Canaan; or “if ye shall come” [[0]]; that is, I swear ye shall not, so the Targum of Jonathan: concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein; not them personally, but the people and nation of which they were, and to which they belonged, the…

But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey To the Canaanites, ; them will I bring in; into the land of Canaan, and so fulfil the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for the unbelief of this congregation did not make the faith, or faithfulness of God, of none effect: and they shall…

But as for you, your carcasses Which way of speaking seems to be used to distinguish them from their children; they shall fall in this wilderness: which is repeated for the confirmation and certainty it, and an emphasis is laid on the words, this which are pronounced with an accent, to put them in…

And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, &c.] Or “feed” [[1]], as shepherds, who go from place to place, and seek fresh pasture for their sheep; it being the custom of a shepherd, as Aben Ezra observes, not to stand or rest in a place; and so like sheep grazing in a wilderness,…

After the number of days in which ye searched the land, even forty days For so long they were searching it, ; each day for a year; reckoning each day for a year, forty days for forty years, as in ; shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years: which number is given, being a round one, otherwise…

I the Lord have said Determined, resolved on doing what I have declared, and again repeat it; the decree is absolute and peremptory, and will never be revoked: I will surely do it to all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me; against his ministers, Moses the chief…

And the men which Moses sent to search the land Ten of them, who returned; as they all did, who were sent to search it: and made all the congregation to murmur against him; against, Moses that sent them; they murmured themselves, and made others murmur: by bringing up a slander upon the land; that…

Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land They, and they only at this time: died by the plague before the Lord; either by the pestilence immediately sent upon them by the Lord, or by a flash of lightning from him, or in some other way; however, by the immediate hand of God, and…

But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, &c.] Here Joshua is set first, as Caleb is in ; which shows that they were equal in dignity, and therefore are indifferently put, sometimes the one first, and sometimes the other: which were of the men that went to search the land; were two…

And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel, &c.] That all that had murmured, who were of twenty years old and upwards, should die in the wilderness, and never see nor enter into the land of Canaan, on the borders of which they now were: and the people mourned greatly; because of…

And they rose up early in the morning The next morning after they had heard the bad news of their consumption in the wilderness; not being able, perhaps, to sleep that night with the thoughts of it, and being now in a great haste to go up and possess the land of Canaan, as they were before to…

And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? &c.] Which was to turn back into the wilderness, and go the way that leads to the Red sea, ; instead of which now they were for going forward into the land of Canaan, though averse to it just before: but it shall not…

Go not up, for the Lord is not among you And therefore could not expect success, for victory is of the Lord; the Targum of Jonathan adds, “the ark, and the tabernacle, and the cloud of glory move not,” which were a plain indication that the Lord would not go with them, and therefore could not hope…

For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, &c.] Having removed from the valley, ; or else had detached a party to defend the pass on the top of the mountain, and where perhaps they designed to feign a retreat if they found it proper, and draw them into a combat in the valley: and…

But they presumed to go up unto the hill top In a bold, audacious, and presumptuous manner; they attempted to go up to the top of the hill, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Moses against it, and the danger they would be exposed unto; but withdrawing themselves from God and his ministers, and…

Then the Amalekites came down The hill; met the Israelites as they ascended: and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill; the same with the Amorites, one of the seven nations of Canaan, ; and smote them; with the sword, having the advantage of them in coming down the hill upon them: and discomfited…