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Numbers 16:13

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Numbers 16:13 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us?
Numbers 16:13 — American Standard Version

Context — Numbers 16

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
10and that he hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee? and seek ye the priesthood also?
11Therefore thou and all thy company are gathered together against Jehovah: and Aaron, what is he that ye murmur against him?
12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, We will not come up:
13is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us?
14Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
15And Moses was very wroth, and said unto Jehovah, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
16And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow:
← Numbers 16:12Numbers 16:14 →
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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
“[Is it] a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey? etc.] Meaning Egypt, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it; which, though a plentiful country, never had, nor deserved to have this epithet given it, which is peculiar to the land of Canaan, and is here given, in opposition to the description of that land, which the Lord himself had so described; and argues great impudence and want of reverence of the divine Being, as well as great ingratitude to Moses, the instrument of their being brought out of Egypt, where they laboured under bondage and servitude intolerable; and yet here represent it as an injury done to them, and as if the intent and…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“With perverse contempt for the promises, Dathan and Abiram designate Egypt by the terms appropriated elsewhere to the land of Canaan. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“16:13 land flowing with milk and honey: This sarcastic allusion to the spies’ earlier description of Canaan (13:27) is a deliberate distortion of life in Egypt (see study note on 11:4-15).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“a small: Num 16:9 out of a: Num 11:5; Exo 1:11, Exo 1:22, Exo 2:23 to kill: Num 20:3, Num 20:4; Exo 16:3, Exo 17:3 thou make: Exo 2:14; Psa 2:2, Psa 2:3; Luk 19:14; Act 7:25-27, Act 7:35 Numbers 16:14”
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Related study paths

Read Numbers 16 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification