Numbers 14:6 kjv
And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
Numbers 14:6 nkjv
But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;
Numbers 14:6 niv
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes
Numbers 14:6 esv
And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
Numbers 14:6 nlt
Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing.
Numbers 14 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference Note |
|---|---|---|
| Faithfulness & Reward of Joshua/Caleb | ||
| Num 14:7-9 | "And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed... is an exceedingly good land... Only rebel not ye against the Lord..." | Joshua & Caleb's faithful counter-report |
| Num 14:24 | "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring..." | God commends Caleb's wholeheartedness |
| Num 14:30 | "Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb... and Joshua..." | Exemption from wilderness judgment |
| Num 32:11-12 | "Surely none of the men... who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land... save Caleb... and Joshua..." | God affirms their entry into Canaan |
| Deut 1:36 | "Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden..." | Moses' recounting, emphasizing Caleb |
| Josh 14:8-9 | "Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt... but I wholly followed the Lord my God." | Caleb's personal testimony to faithfulness |
| Josh 14:14 | "Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb... because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel." | Caleb's rewarded inheritance |
| Significance of Tearing Clothes | ||
| Gen 37:34 | "And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days." | Jacob's grief over Joseph |
| 2 Sam 1:11-12 | "Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him..." | David's mourning over Saul & Jonathan |
| Ezra 9:3 | "And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard..." | Ezra's grief over Israel's sin |
| Job 1:20 | "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped..." | Job's profound grief & submission |
| Jer 36:24 | "Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words." | Lack of mourning and repentance noted |
| Acts 14:14 | "Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people..." | Paul & Barnabas' horror at idolatry |
| Consequences of Unbelief & Rebellion | ||
| Num 14:28-35 | "Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness... ye shall wander forty years..." | God's judgment on disbelieving generation |
| Deut 1:34-35 | "And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, Surely there shall not one of these men..." | Moses reiterates the divine oath |
| Psa 78:32 | "For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works." | Reflects Israel's persistent unbelief |
| Heb 3:7-19 | "So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest... because of unbelief." | New Testament warning against unbelief |
| Heb 4:1-11 | "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." | The danger of failing to enter God's rest |
| 1 Cor 10:1-12 | "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition..." | Wilderness generation as an example |
| Jude 1:5 | "I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not." | Divine judgment on unbelievers |
Numbers 14 verses
Numbers 14 6 Meaning
Numbers 14:6 depicts Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, reacting with extreme distress and indignation. As two of the twelve spies who had explored Canaan, they tore their garments, an ancient Near Eastern gesture symbolizing deep grief, horror, and protest against the people's profound unbelief and rebellion following the majority's negative report. Their action highlighted the severity of Israel's sin in rejecting God's promise and authority.
Numbers 14 6 Context
Numbers chapter 13 describes Moses sending twelve leaders, one from each tribe, to spy out the land of Canaan. They return after forty days. Ten of the spies bring back a discouraging report, focusing on the strong inhabitants and fortified cities, instilling great fear in the Israelites (Num 13:28-29, 31-33). This leads the entire community to murmur against the LORD, wishing for death in Egypt or the wilderness, and even planning to appoint a new leader to return to Egypt (Num 14:1-4). This pervasive and rebellious fear, despite God's mighty acts on their behalf, provoked the reaction seen in Numbers 14:6. Joshua and Caleb, the two faithful spies, saw not only the land's fruitfulness but also God's power to grant it. Their tearing of clothes serves as a stark visible demonstration of their horror and indignation at the people's sinful lack of faith and their defiance against the very God who promised to give them the land. This act immediately precedes their courageous plea to the assembly, urging them not to rebel against the LORD (Num 14:7-9).
Numbers 14 6 Word analysis
- And Joshua: (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Yehoshua) - Originally called Hoshea (הוֹשֵׁעַ), meaning "salvation," Moses changed his name to Yehoshua, meaning "The LORD is salvation." This name change (Num 13:16) prophetically declared God's intent to bring His people into the Promised Land through this faithful leader, and underscored his vital role in God's redemptive plan. His courage and faith here perfectly align with his new name.
- the son of Nun: (נוּן, Nun) - Nun means "fish" or "posterity," a common, unextraordinary name for his father. This highlights that Joshua's greatness was not due to his lineage but to his unwavering faithfulness to God.
- and Caleb: (כָּלֵב, Caleb) - Caleb, often translated as "dog," in the ancient Near East context could connote loyalty, faithfulness, or devotion, particularly to a master. His unwavering fidelity to God's word and promise, especially evident in this account and his subsequent life, strongly embodies this meaning. His actions here underscore his "whole-hearted" (as later described in Josh 14:8-9) devotion. He was of the tribe of Judah, the royal tribe, significant for his future role.
- the son of Jephunneh: (יְפֻנֶּה, Yepunneh) - His father's name likely means "he will be faced" or "he will make a turning." Caleb, indeed, turned away from the popular unbelief, "faced" the challenges with faith, and remained singularly focused on God's will. He was a Kenizzite, adopted into Judah's tribe, showcasing that God's favor is not limited by conventional lineage but by devotion.
- who were of them that searched the land: (תָּרוּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ, taru et-ha'aretz - "they spied out the land") - This phrase directly connects Joshua and Caleb back to their mission in Numbers 13, differentiating them from the other ten spies whose fearful report precipitated the crisis. This establishes their eyewitness testimony as authentic, and their judgment as grounded in fact, tempered by faith in God's power, rather than solely human observation. They saw the same obstacles but also saw the Almighty God.
- rent their clothes: (קָרְעוּ בִּגְדֵיהֶם, qar'u bigdehem) - The tearing of one's outer garments was a public, non-verbal expression of intense distress. This act communicated profound grief (for the spiritual condition of the people), horror (at their blatant rebellion and ingratitude against God), indignation (at their sin), and despair (over the consequences of their actions). It was not just an emotional outburst but a performative declaration of mourning over the people's spiritual death and a visible sign of distress to awaken them to their severe sin against the living God. It reflected the solemnity of the situation—they viewed the people's decision as akin to a death sentence upon themselves.
Numbers 14 6 Bonus section
The presence of two witnesses, Joshua and Caleb, carrying the hopeful message of the land, resonates with the biblical principle that "by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established" (Deut 19:15, 2 Cor 13:1). Their united testimony provided a complete and trustworthy counter-narrative to the ten fearful spies. Moreover, their action of rending clothes demonstrated prophetic insight; they were mourning Israel's spiritual blindness which would indeed lead to a "death" in the wilderness for that generation. This event also highlights the deep chasm between outward observance (being "of them that searched the land") and inward fidelity ("wholly followed the Lord," Josh 14:8), proving that proximity to divine revelation does not guarantee true faith.
Numbers 14 6 Commentary
Numbers 14:6 encapsulates a pivotal moment of crisis in Israel's wilderness journey. Joshua and Caleb stand in stark contrast to the despairing majority, embodying courageous faith amidst widespread fear and rebellion. Their act of tearing clothes was a dramatic, culturally understood gesture conveying deep spiritual grief and horror, not primarily for themselves, but for the devastating spiritual plight of the Israelite community. It was a lament over the people's catastrophic failure to trust God, a desperate plea for them to recognize the gravity of their sin, and a symbolic expression of their profound sorrow that the Promised Land, now within reach, was being rejected due to unbelief. Their distress underscored the extreme nature of the people's rebellion, which went beyond simple doubt to outright defiance against the LORD and His explicit promises. This moment sets the stage for God's just judgment on the disobedient generation while confirming His unwavering commitment to those who follow Him wholeheartedly.