Numbers 14:3

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Numbers 14:3 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And wherefore doth Jehovah bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And wherefore doth Jehovah bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
Numbers 14:3 — American Standard Version

Context — Numbers 14

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
3And wherefore doth Jehovah bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, etc.] 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 wilderness; and yet so ungrateful to complain of him and argue with him about favours bestowed on them, as if they were injuries done to them; and particularly as if God had no other intention in bringing them out of Egypt to the place where they were, but to fall by the sword: the sword of the Canaanites, as the Targum of Jonathan adds: that our wives and our children shall be a prey? to the same…”
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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 Lord - From instruments they rise higher, and strike at God the cause and author of their journey: by which we see the prodigious growth and progress of sin when it is not resisted. A prey - To the Canaanites whose land we were made to believe we should possess. Numbers 14:4”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“14:3-4 The threats about which they complained were real, but the Israelites should have trusted the Lord. In the ancient Near East, women and children were often taken as plunder in the aftermath of battle. • return to Egypt: How quickly the Israelites forgot their bondage (Exod 2:23-24) and the hardship of the wilderness (Num 11:1)!”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“the Lord: Psa 78:40; Jer 9:3 our wives: Num 14:31, Num 14:32 Numbers 14:4”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification