And they turned and went up into the mountain ,.... As they were ordered and directed by Moses, Numbers 13:17 . and came unto the valley of Eshcol ; so called from the cluster of grapes they cut down there, as they returned: and searched it out ; the whole land, and so were capable of giving a particular account of it. read more
And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands ,.... Besides the cluster of grapes, which was carried between two men on a staff; even pomegranates and figs, Numbers 13:23 , and brought it down unto us ; who lay encamped at the bottom of the mountain: and brought us word again ; what sort of a land it was: and said, it is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us ; that is, Caleb and Joshua, two of the spies, said this, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it, and... read more
Notwithstanding, ye would not go up ,.... And possess it, as the Lord had bid them, and Moses encouraged them to do, as well as Joshua and Caleb, who were two of the spies sent into it: but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God ; disregarded the word of the Lord, and disobeyed his command, and thereby bitterly provoked him, which rebellion against him, their King and God, might well do. read more
And ye murmured in your tents ,.... Not in a private manner; for though the murmurs began there, they having wept all night after the report of the spies; yet it became general and public, and they gathered together in a body, and openly expressed their murmurs against Moses and Aaron, Numbers 14:1 , and said, because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt ; a strange expression indeed! when it was such a plain amazing instance of his love to them, as... read more
Whither shall we go up ?.... What way can we go up into the land? where is there any access for us? the mountain we are come to, and directed to go up, is possessed by the Amorites, a strong and mighty people, who keep and guard the passes, that there is no entrance: our brethren have discouraged our hearts ; ten of the spies; for Joshua and Caleb encouraged them with very powerful arguments, which had they listened to, it would have been well for them: saying, the people is greater... read more
Cities - walled up to heaven - That is, with very high walls which could not be easily scaled. High walls around houses, etc., in these parts of Arabia are still deemed a sufficient defense against the Arabs, who scarcely ever attempt any thing in the way of plunder but on horseback. The monastery on Mount Sinai is surrounded with very high walls without any gate; in the upper part of the wall there is a sort of window, or opening, from which a basket is suspended by a pulley, by which both... read more
Verse 27 27.And ye murmured in your tents. Elsewhere he says that they also wept; here he only speaks of their murmuring, which better suited his reproof. He then reminds them how malignant had been their ingratitude and perversity in upbraiding God on account of the special blessing which He had conferred upon them, as if He had done them a grievous injury. He could not have afforded them a more manifest proof of His paternal love towards them than by their deliverance. Most iniquitous,... read more
That great and terrible wilderness: the desert forming the western side of the Stony Arabia. It bears now the name of Et-Tih , i . e . The Wandering, a name "doubtless derived from the wanderings of the Israelites, the tradition of which has been handed down through a period of three thousand years It is a pastoral country ; unfitted as a whole for cultivation, because of its scanty soil and scarcity of water". In the northern part especially the country is rugged and bare, with vast... read more
Sending the spies. This paragraph contains a brief review of events which are recorded in Numbers 13:1-33 ; Numbers 14:1-45 . Israel had left the wilderness of Sinai; the cloud now rested in the wilderness of Paran. At this point they were not very many days' journey from the land of promise. But it would seem that they did not like to go in and take possession of the land without more information than they as yet possessed as to its accessibility and its fitness for their permanent... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 1:19-46
Moses here makes a large rehearsal of the fatal turn which was given to their affairs by their own sins, and God's wrath, when, from the very borders of Canaan, the honour of conquering it, and the pleasure of possessing it, the whole generation was hurried back into the wilderness, and their carcases fell there. It was a memorable story; we read it Num. 13:1-14:45; but divers circumstances are found here which are not related there. I. He reminds them of their march from Horeb to... read more