Numbers 13:22

13:22 When they went up through the Negev, they ¹  came ²  to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, ³  descendants of Anak, were living. (Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan ⁴  in Egypt.)

Numbers 13:2

13:2 “Send out men to investigate ⁵  the land of Canaan, which I am giving ⁶  to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe, ⁷  each one a leader among them.”

Numbers 2:1

The Arrangement of the Tribes

2:1 ⁸ The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron:

Numbers 15:10

15:10 and you must present as the drink offering half a hin of wine with the fire offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Numbers 15:1

Sacrificial Rulings

15:1 ⁹ The Lord spoke to Moses:

Numbers 2:11

2:11 Those numbered in his division are 46,500.

[13:22]  ¹ tc The MT has the singular, but the ancient versions and Smr have the plural.

[13:22]  ² tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the following clause. The first verse gave the account of their journey over the whole land; this section focuses on what happened in the area of Hebron, which would be the basis for the false report.

[13:22]  ³ sn These names are thought to be three clans that were in the Hebron area (see Josh 15:14; Judg 1:20). To call them descendants of Anak is usually taken to mean that they were large or tall people (2 Sam 21:18-22). They were ultimately driven out by Caleb.

[13:22]  ⁴ sn The text now provides a brief historical aside for the readers. Zoan was probably the city of Tanis, although that is disputed today by some scholars. It was known in Egypt in the New Kingdom as “the fields of Tanis,” which corresponded to the “fields of Zoar” in the Hebrew Bible (Ps 78:12, 43).

[13:2]  ⁵ tn The imperfect tense with the conjunction is here subordinated to the preceding imperative to form the purpose clause. It can thus be translated “send…to investigate.”

[13:2]  ⁶ tn The participle here should be given a future interpretation, meaning “which I am about to give” or “which I am going to give.”

[13:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “one man one man of the tribe of his fathers.”

[2:1]  ⁸ sn For this chapter, see C. E. Douglas, “The Twelve Houses of Israel,” JTS 37 (1936): 49-56; C. C. Roach, “The Camp in the Wilderness: A Sermon on Numbers 2:2,” Int 13 (1959): 49-54; and G. St. Clair, “Israel in Camp: A Study,” JTS 8 (1907): 185-217.

[15:1]  ⁹ sn The wilderness wandering officially having begun, these rules were then given for the people to be used when they finally entered the land. That they would be provided here would be of some encouragement to the nation after their great failure. God still spoke of a land that was to be their land, even though they had sinned greatly. This chapter collects a number of religious rules. The first 16 verses deal with rulings for sacrifices. Then, vv. 17-36 concerns sins of omission. Finally, rules concerning tassels are covered (vv. 37-41). For additional reading, see G. B. Gray, Sacrifice in the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon, 1925); B. A. Levine, In the Presence of the Lord (SJLA); D. J. McCarthy, “The Symbolism of Blood and Sacrifice,” JBL 88 (1969): 166-76; “Further Notes on the Symbolism of Blood and Sacrifice,” JBL 92 (1973): 205-10; J. Milgrom, “Sin Offering or Purification Offering,” VT 21 (1971): 237-39; N. H. Snaith, “Sacrifices in the Old Testament,” VT 7 (1957): 308-17; R. J. Thompson, Penitence and Sacrifice in Early Israel; R. de Vaux, Studies in Old Testament Sacrifice.