🔢WEB · Numbers 14:7
What does Numbers 14:7 mean?
"They spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceeding good land."
— Numbers 14:7 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
They said to one another, “Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.”
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of those who spied out the land, tore their clothes.
They spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceeding good land.
If Yahweh delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land which flows with milk and honey.
Only don’t rebel against Yahweh, neither fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us. Their defense is removed from over them, and Yahweh is with us. Don’t fear them.”
But all the congregation threatened to stone them with stones. Yahweh’s glory appeared in the Tent of Meeting to all the children of Israel.
Explanation
Numbers 14:7 records the words of Joshua and Caleb, two of the twelve spies who had been sent into Canaan to survey the land God had promised to Israel. In plain language, they are standing before the entire assembled community and declaring their firsthand assessment: the land is exceptionally good, fertile, and worth possessing. This is a direct, positive testimony meant to counter the fear and discouragement that the other ten spies had already stirred up among the people.
The context is critical to understanding why this simple statement carries so much weight. Moses had sent twelve leaders, one from each tribe, to scout the land of Canaan before Israel's planned entry into it (Numbers 13). All twelve agreed that the land was indeed rich and fruitful, bringing back samples like a massive cluster of grapes as proof. However, ten of the spies focused on the strength of the land's inhabitants and the fortified cities, concluding that conquest was impossible and spreading panic throughout the camp. The people responded by weeping, rebelling against Moses and Aaron, and even proposing to choose a new leader to take them back to Egypt. It is in this charged atmosphere of fear and near-rebellion that Joshua and Caleb tear their clothes in distress and step forward to address the whole congregation, beginning with this affirmation of the land's goodness.
Theologically, this verse represents a p
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