Numbers 13:21-24
Summary for Num 13:21-24: 13:21-24 a The spies explored the land, which was unusually fertile in contrast with the Sinai wilderness. 13:21 b It was about 275 miles from the wilderness of Zin, located roughly between the wilderness of Paran and the southern frontier of Canaan (see 34:3-5 c; Josh 15:1-4 d), to Lebo-hamath (“entrance of Hamath,” either a notable mountain pass or another city near Hamath) in Syria.• The exact location of Rehob is uncertain, but it was probably the same as Old Testament Beth-rehob, situated near a major route to Hamath. The text thus already identifies the approximate borders of the Promised Land (see 1 Kgs 8:65 e). The phrase “from Dan to Beersheba” (Judg 20:1 f; 2 Sam 3:10 g), frequently used to demarcate Israel’s traditional boundaries, referred to a considerably smaller area than the territory visited by Israel’s spies.
13:22 h Israel’s spies made their way into Canaan’s hill country via the Negev, the dry southland next to the wilderness of Zin. In the southern part of Canaan’s central hill country, they came to Hebron, where Israel’s ancestors had lived (Gen 13:18 i; 23:19 j; 35:27 k; 37:14 l).
• The descendants of Anak were famous for their size and strength (e.g., Deut 9:2 m).
• Zoan (later called Tanis by the Greeks) was a famous city in Egypt’s eastern delta (see also Pss 78:12 n, 43 o; Isa 19:11-13 p; 30:3-5 q).
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