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Numbers 13:31

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Numbers 13:31 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
Numbers 13:31 — American Standard Version

Context — Numbers 13

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
28Howbeit the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, [and] very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29Amalek dwelleth in the land of the South: and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, dwell in the hill-country; and the Canaanite dwelleth by the sea, and along by the side of the Jordan.
30And 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.
31But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.
33And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“But the men that went up with him, etc.] With Caleb, all but Joshua: the other ten said, we be not able to go up against the people; this they had not said before, though they plainly suggested it, and, to make the people believe this, had represented the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in the light they did; but now, in direct opposition to Caleb, fully expressed it, giving this reason for it: for they [are] stronger than we; being both of a larger size and more numerous.”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“The men - All of them, Joshua excepted. Stronger - Both in stature of body and numbers of people. Thus they question the power, and truth, and goodness of God, of all which they had such ample testimonies. Numbers 13:32”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Num 32:9; Deu 1:28; Jos 14:8; Heb 3:19 Numbers 13:32”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“But his companions were of an opposite opinion, and declared that the people in Canaan were stronger than the Israelites, and therefore it was impossible to go up to it. Numbers 13:32”
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Related study paths

Read Numbers 13 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification