Numbers 13:21

We have here a short account of the survey which the spies made of the promised land. 1. They went quite through it, from Zin in the south, to Rehob, near Hamath, in the north, Num 13:21. See Num 34:3, Num 34:8. It is probable that they did not go altogether in a body, lest they should be suspected and taken up, which there would be the more danger of if the Canaanites knew (and one would think they could not but know) how near the Israelites were to them; but they divided themselves into several companies, and so passed unsuspected, as way-faring men. 2. They took particular notice of Hebron (Num 13:22), probably because near there was the field of Machpelah, where the patriarchs were buried (Gen 23:2), whose dead bodies did, as it were, keep possession of that land for their posterity. To this sepulchre they made a particular visit, and found the adjoining city in the possession of the sons of Anak, who are here named. In that place where they expected the greatest encouragements they met with the greatest discouragements. Where the bodies of their ancestors kept possession for them the giants kept possession against them. They ascended by the south, and came to Hebron, that is, "Caleb," say the Jews, "in particular," for to his being there we find express reference, Jos 14:9, Jos 14:12, Jos 14:13. But that others of the spies were there too appears by their description of the Anakim, v. 33. 3. They brought a bunch of grapes with them, and some other of the fruits of the land, as a proof of the extraordinary goodness of the country. Probably they furnished themselves with these fruits when they were leaving the country and returning. The cluster of grapes was so large and so heavy that they hung it upon a bar, and carried it between two of them, Num 13:23, Num 13:24. The place whence they took it was, from this circumstance, called the valley of the cluster, that famous cluster which was to Israel both the earnest and the specimen of all the fruits of Canaan. Such are the present comforts which we have in communion with God, foretastes of the fulness of joy we expect in the heavenly Canaan. We may see by them what heaven is.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Num 13:21. Zin — In the south of Canaan, differing from the wilderness of Sin, which was nigh unto Egypt. To Hamath — From the south they passed through the whole land to the northern parts of it; Rehob was a city in the north-west part, Hamath a city in the north-east.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Journey of the Spies; Their Return, and Report. - Num 13:21. In accordance with the instructions they had received, the men who had been sent out passed through the land, from the desert of Zin to Rehob, in the neighbourhood of Hamath, i.e., in its entire extent from south to north. The "Desert of Zin" (which occurs not only here, but in Num 20:1; Num 27:14; Num 33:36; Num 34:3-4; Deu 32:51, and Jos 15:1, Jos 15:3) was the name given to the northern edge of the great desert of Paran, viz., the broad ravine of Wady Murreh, which separates the lofty and precipitous northern border of the table-land of the Azazimeh from the southern border of the Rakhma plateau, i.e., of the southernmost plateau of the mountains of the Amorites (or the mountains of Judah), and runs from Jebel Madarah (Moddera) on the east, to the plain of Kadesh, which forms part of the desert of Zin (cf. Num 27:14; Num 33:36; Deu 32:51), on the west. The south frontier of Canaan passed through this from the southern end of the Dead Sea, along the Wady el Murreh to the Wady el Arish (Num 34:3). - "Rehob, to come (coming) to Hamath," i.e., where you enter the province of Hamath, on the northern boundary of Canaan, is hardly one of the two Rehobs in the tribe of Asher (Jos 19:28 and Jos 19:30), but most likely Beth-rehob in the tribe of Naphtali, which was in the neighbourhood of Dan Lais, the modern Tell el Kadhy (Jdg 18:28), and which Robinson imagined that he had identified in the ruins of the castle of Hunin or Honin, in the village of the same name, to the south-west of Tell el Kadhy, on the range of mountains which bound the plain towards the west above Lake Huleh (Bibl. Researches, p. 371). In support of this conjecture, he laid the principal stress upon the fact that the direct road to Hamath through the Wady et Teim and the Bekaa commences here. The only circumstance which it is hard to reconcile with this conjecture is, that Beth-rehob is never mentioned in the Old Testament, with the exception of Jdg 18:28, either among the fortified towns of the Canaanites or in the wars of the Israelites with the Syrians and Assyrians, and therefore does not appear to have been a place of such importance as we should naturally be led to suppose from the character of this castle, the very situation of which points to a bold, commanding fortress (see Lynch's Expedition), and where there are still remains of its original foundations built of large square stones, hewn and grooved, and reminding one of the antique and ornamental edifices of Solomon's times (cf. Ritter, Erdkunde, xv. pp. 242ff.). - Hamath is Epiphania on the Orontes, now Hamah (see at Gen 10:18).

After the general statement, that the spies went through the whole land from the southern to the northern frontier, two facts are mentioned in Num 13:22-24, which occurred in connection with their mission, and were of great importance to the whole congregation. These single incidents are linked on, however, in a truly Hebrew style, to what precedes, viz., by an imperfect with Vav consec., just in the same manner in which, in Kg1 6:9, Kg1 6:15, the detailed account of the building of the temple is linked on to the previous statement, that Solomon built the temple and finished it;

(Note: A comparison of 1 Kings 6, where we cannot possibly suppose that two accounts have been linked together or interwoven, is specially adapted to give us a clear view of the peculiar custom adopted by the Hebrew historians, of placing the end and ultimate result of the events they narrate as much as possible at the head of their narrative, and then proceeding with a minute account of the more important of the attendant circumstances, without paying any regard to the chronological order of the different incidents, or being at all afraid of repetitions, and so to prove how unwarrantable and false are the conclusions of those critics who press such passages into the support of their hypotheses. We have a similar passage in Jos 4:11., where, after relating that when all the people had gone through the Jordan the priests also passed through with the ark of the covenant (Jos 4:11), the historian proceeds in Jos 4:12, Jos 4:13, to describe the crossing of the two tribes and a half; and another in Judg 20, where, at the very commencement (Jdg 20:35), the issue of the whole is related, viz., the defeat of the Benjamites; and then after that there is a minute description in Jdg 20:36-46 of the manner in which it was effected. This style of narrative is also common in the historical works of the Arabs.)

so that the true rendering would be, "now they ascended in the south country and came to Hebron (ויּבא is apparently an error in writing for ויּבאוּ), and there were הענק ולידי, the children of Anak," three of whom are mentioned by name. These three, who were afterwards expelled by Caleb, when the land was divided and the city of Hebron was given to him for an inheritance (Jos 15:14; Jdg 1:20), were descendants of Arbah, the lord of Hebron, from whom the city received its name of Kirjath-Arbah, or city of Arbah, and who is described in Jos 14:15 as "the great (i.e., the greatest) man among the Anakim," and in Jos 15:13 as the "father of Anak," i.e., the founder of the Anakite family there. For it is evident enough that הענק (Anak) is not the proper name of a man in these passages, but the name of a family or tribe, from the fact that in Num 13:33, where Anak's sons are spoken of in a general and indefinite manner, ענק בּני has not the article; also from the fact that the three Anakites who lived in Hebron are almost always called הענק ולידי, Anak's born (Num 13:22, Num 13:28), and that הענק בּני (sons of Anak), in Jos 15:14, is still further defined by the phrase הענק ולידי (children of Anak); and lastly, from the fact that in the place of "sons of Anak," we find "sons of the Anakim" in Deu 1:28 and Deu 9:2, and the "Anakim" in Deu 2:10; Deu 11:21; Jos 14:12, etc. Anak is supposed to signify long-necked; but this does not preclude the possibility of the founder of the tribe having borne this name. The origin of the Anakites is involved in obscurity. In Deu 2:10-11, they are classed with the Emim and Rephaim on account of their gigantic stature, and probably reckoned as belonging to the pre-Canaanitish inhabitants of the land, of whom it is impossible to decide whether they were of Semitic origin or descendants of Ham. It is also doubtful, whether the names found here in Num 13:21, Num 13:28, and in Jos 15:14, are the names of individuals, i.e., of chiefs of the Anakites, or the names of Anakite tribes. The latter supposition is favoured by the circumstance, that the same names occur even after the capture of Hebron by Caleb, or at least fifty years after the event referred to here. With regard to Hebron, it is still further observed in Num 13:22, that it was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. Zoan - the Tanis of the Greeks and Romans, the San of the Arabs, which is called Jani, Jane in Coptic writings - was situated upon the eastern side of the Tanitic arm of the Nile, not far from its mouth (see Ges. Thes. p. 1177), and was the residence of Pharaoh in the time of Moses. The date of its erection is unknown; but Hebron was in existence as early as Abraham's time (Gen 13:18; Gen 23:2.).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

13:21-24 The spies explored the land, which was unusually fertile in contrast with the Sinai wilderness.

13:21 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; Josh 15:1-4), 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). The phrase “from Dan to Beersheba” (Judg 20:1; 2 Sam 3:10), frequently used to demarcate Israel’s traditional boundaries, referred to a considerably smaller area than the territory visited by Israel’s spies.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

So they . . . searched the land--They advanced from south to north, reconnoitering the whole land.

the wilderness of Zin--a long level plain, or deep valley of sand, the monotony of which is relieved by a few tamarisk and rethem trees. Under the names of El Ghor and El Araba, it forms the continuation of the Jordan valley, extending from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akaba.

Rehob--or, Beth-rehob, was a city and district situated, according to some, eastward of Sidon; and, according to others, it is the same as El Hule, an extensive and fertile champaign country, at the foot of Anti-libanus, a few leagues below Paneas.

as men come to Hamath--or, "the entering in of Hamath" (Kg2 14:25), now the valley of Balbeck, a mountain pass or opening in the northern frontier, which formed the extreme limit in that direction of the inheritance of Israel. From the mention of these places, the route of the scouts appears to have been along the course of the Jordan in their advance; and their return was by the western border through the territories of the Sidonians and Philistines.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 21. From the wilderness of Zin] The place called; צן Tsin, here, is different from that called סין Sin or Seen. Ex 16:1; the latter was nigh to Egypt, but the former was near Kadesh Barnea, not far from the borders of the promised land.

"The spies having left Kadesh Barnea, which was in the desert of Paran, see Nu 13:26, they proceeded to the desert of Tsin, all along the land of Canaan, nearly following the course of the river Jordan, till they came to Rehob, a city situated near Mount Libanus, at the northern extremity of the Holy Land, towards the road that leads to Hamath. Thence they returned through the midst of the same land by the borders of the Sidonians and Philistines, and passing by Mount Hebron, rendered famous by the residence of Abraham formerly, and by the gigantic descendants of Anak at that time, they passed through the valley of the brook of Eshcol, where they cut down the bunch of grapes mentioned Nu 13:23, and returned to the Israelitish camp after an absence of forty days," Nu 13:25. See Calmet on this place.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(21) From the wilderness of Zin.—The name of the wilderness of Zin, in which Kadesh was situated, appears to have been given to the northern or northeastern part of the wilderness of Paran. Comp. Num_20:1; Num_27:14; Num_33:36; Num_34:3-4; Deu_32:51; Jos_15:1; Jos_15:3.

Unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.—Or, unto Rehob, at the entrance of Hamath. Rehob is supposed to be identical with the Beth-rehob of Jdg_18:28, in the tribe of Naphtali, which was near Dan-Laish. “The entrance of Hamath” formed the northern boundary of the land assigned to the Israelites (Num_34:8).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. the wilderness of Zin] The geographical statements regarding the tracts south of Judah are vague. In Num_13:26 Paran and Kadesh are placed by the compiler in juxtaposition, but in Num_20:1 Zin and Kadesh. See prelim, note on ch. 20.

Rehob] Probably the same as Beth-rehob (Jdg_18:28) near the sources of the Jordan.

the entrance of Hamath] Hamath (a district mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions) lay to the north of Palestine; and the ‘entrance’ to it seems to have been a well-known pass, formed by a depression between Lebanon and Hermon. It was, according to P , a point on the northern border of Israel’s possessions in Canaan (Num_34:8).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they told him,.... Moses, who was the chief ruler whom they addressed, and to whom they directed their speech:

and said, we came unto the land whither thou sentest us; the land of Canaan, which they were sent by Moses to spy; this was said by ten of them or by one of them as their mouth; for Caleb and Joshua did not join with them in the following account, as appears from Num 13:30,

and surely it floweth with milk and honey; they own that the land answered to the description which the Lord had given of it when it was promised them by him, Exo 3:8,

and this is the fruit of it; pointing to the bunch of grapes, the pomegranates and figs; not that these were a proof of its flowing with milk and honey, at least in a literal sense, but of the goodness and fruitfulness of the land: though the luxury of Bacchus, the god of wine, is by the poet (m) described, not only by a fountain of wine, but by rivers of milk and flows of honey.

(m) "Vinique fontem", &c. Horat. Carmin. l. 2. Ode 19.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The wilderness of Zin was the northeastern portion of the wilderness of Paran.

Rehob (“mod.” Khurbeh) was probably the Beth-rehob of Jdg 18:28, near Dan-Laish; and apparently to the north of it, since it gave its name to a Syrian kingdom 2Sa 8:3. The southern approach to Hamath from the plain of Coele-Syria, lay between those two ranges of Lebanon called Libanus and Antilibanus. A low screen of hills connects the northernmost points of these two ranges; and through this screen the Orontes bursts from the upper Coele-Syrian hollow into the open plain of Hamath.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

First ripe (præcoquæ:) Hebrew literally, "the first-born." Septuagint, "the days of spring, forerunners of the grape." In Madeira, grapes ripen in March. Some suppose the messengers departed in June, others in July. In Palestine, they have fresh grapes from the end of June till Martinmas [memorial day of St. Martin of Tours, November 11?], and three vintages, in August, and in each of the two following months.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The wilderness of Zin, in the south of Canaan, Num 34:3; Jos 15:3; differing from the wilderness of Sin, which was nigh unto Egypt, Exo 16:1.

To Hamath; i.e. from the south they passed through the whole land even to the northern parts of it,

Rehob, a city in the northwest part, Jos 19:28; Jdg 1:31; and Hamath, a city in the north-east part, Jos 19:35; Eze 47:17. And that they might more expeditiously and securely perform this office, it is probable that they divided themselves into several shall parties, and informed themselves not only by their eye, but also by their ear, and the information of persons, of whom they inquired about the nature and condition of their land.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

From the wilderness of Zin. The extreme southern boundary of the promised land. (Num_34:3, 4 Jos_15:1, Jos_15:3) There seems to be but one marked natural feature which could have been chosen for that purpose the broad sandy depression called the Wady Murreh, which divides the mountain mass of the Azazimeh from the Rakhmah plateau, the southern extremity of the highlands of Judah. The plain of Kudes communicates with it at its upper or western end, and maybe counted a part of it. Unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. Septuagint, ewv Roonwn Aimay . Hamath, now Hamah, was in Greek times Epiphaneia, on the Orontes, outside the limits of Jewish rule. The southern entrance to it lay between the ranges of Libanus and Anti-libanus. (see note on Num_34:8) The Rehob here mentioned is not likely to have been either of the Rehobs in the territory of Asher, (Jos_19:28-30) but the Beth-rehob further to the east, and near to where Dan-Laish was afterwards built. (Jud_1:18:28) It lies on the route to Hamath, and was at one time a place of some importance in the possession of the Syrians. (2Sa_10:6)

Vers. 21-29. The search and the report.

I THE SEARCH. The land passed over is indicated in a somewhat indefinite way. Contrast it with the definiteness of the tribal boundaries in Joshua (chapters 13-19). These were forty days of speculative and dangerous wandering, with no guiding cloud, though doubtless God protected them even when they felt not the protection; if for nothing else, for the sake of the faithful two who would yet serve his purposes and confirm his word. Forty days too of waiting in the wilderness of Paran days, one may imagine, of much conjecture, full of apprehension to some, while by others ninny airy castles would be built, how soon to tremble at the first breath of God"s approaching anger! Forty days was not much time to see even so small a land, geographically speaking, as Canaan. We know by our own land the ludicrous mistakes of travelers passing through it, and their sometimes serious mistakes; how they exalt exceptions into rules, and the eccentricities of the individual into the character and habits of the race. Live in a land, and then you shall report on it with the authority of experience. We have heard the story of the traveler who visited a Carthusian monastery in Italy. He admired the situation, and said to one of the monks, "What a fine residence!" "Transeuntibus," was the sad, satiric reply. If we wish to know the fatness, the beauty, and the safety of the land in which God"s people dwell, we must have something more than forty days of superficial rambling. It is not Saul, with eyesight lost, and waiting at Damascus, crushed in spirit, for Ananias, who shall tell us how Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; but rather such a one as Paul the aged, thirty years later, sounding from the fullness of his experience, "I know whom I have believed". (2Ti_1:12)

II THE REPORT. After forty days riley came back, bearing on a staff between two of them the cluster of grapes bearing it thus, as some think, because of its weight; as others, that the fruit might keep its shapeliness and bloom. And, indeed, along" with the pomegranates and figs, which were doubtless choice samples, this fruit was God"s own beautiful testimony. Human messengers might differ and deceive, but these sweet silent messengers seemed to intimate that God had been making ready the land for his own people. So much for what the spies brought in their hands. But as to the verbal report, what a meager thing it is! As to the quality of the land, they content themselves with saying, Surely it floweth with milk and honey." Yes. God had said this very thing to Moses long before: it was the highest poetry of promise to speak thus; it was meant to excite large anticipations of something fertile and beautiful; but men who had been over the land for a personal inspection might have said something more prosaic and exact. Then as to the strong people, the walled towns, and the giants, God had indicated these very things as being in the future of his people, when he caused the fighting men to be numbered not long before. The report was meager, we may well believe, because not otherwise could it have been unanimous. As long as they kept to certain bare facts, and did not proceed to advise, the spies could agree, and yet it very speedily appeared how hollow their agreement was. Caleb and Joshua had to strike out their own path, no longer wasting time in trying to sustain vain compromises. Y.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Zin - In the south of Canaan, differing from the wilderness of Sin, which was nigh unto Egypt. To Hamath - From the south they passed through the whole land to the northern parts of it; Rehob was a city in the northwest part, Hamath, a city in the northeast.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The Exploration of the Spies and Their Report

v. 21. So they went up and searched the land from the Wilderness of Zin, as the northern end of the Wilderness of Paran was called, unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath, in the extreme northern part of Canaan, not far from Laish, which was later known as Dan. After this general statement a more detailed account is given.

v. 22. And they ascended by the south, after leaving the camp of the Israelites, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. ) These three princes of the Anakim were descendants of Arbah, the founder of Hebron, for its original name was Kiriath-arbah. This was a very old city, as Moses indicates by comparing its age with that of Zoan in Egypt, which the children of Israel knew so well.

v. 23. And they came unto the brook, or valley, of Eshcol, north of Hebron, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes (this was undoubtedly an incident of their return trip), and they bare it between two upon a staff, for its great weight made this necessary; and they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs, for the valley was known, even at a later period, for the extraordinary richness and excellence of its fruits.

v. 24. The place was called the brook, or valley, Eshcol (grape-cluster), because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.

v. 25. And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.

v. 26. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, to whom they officially reported their return, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, who assembled when the news of their return was spread, unto the Wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh, where the encampment of the Israelites was, and brought back word unto them and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. They were the returned heroes, and the people very likely surged about them and plied them with questions, a process which is apt to destroy the balance even of men with humble tendencies.

v. 27. And they told him, Moses, in their official report, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, a clever phrase by which the responsibility is placed upon Moses, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, Exo 3:8; and this is the fruit of it, they had visible evidence of the extraordinary fruitfulness of the soil of Canaan.

v. 28. Nevertheless, and here the glowing report is rapidly tempered by the element of personal feelings which the majority of the spies introduced, the people be strong that dwell in the land, both in numbers and in courage, not to speak of physical strength, and the cities are walled and very great, mighty, fortified, and inaccessible; and, moreover, we saw the children of Anak there, people known for their great power.

v. 29. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south; and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jordan. Cf Gen 36:12; Gen 10:15-16; Gen 13:7. No sooner, however, had this majority report been made than a very emphatic minority report was presented.

v. 30. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, for the form and the tendency of the spies’ report naturally produced great excitement, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. Thus Caleb voiced the opinion of himself and Joshua.

v. 31. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. Their cowardly hearts measured outward numbers only, seeing nothing but obstacles on every hand, forgetting entirely the almighty power of the Lord and His gracious promises.

v. 32. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, its position and its fertility made it so desirable as a possession that the inhabitants, in endless feuds, were grinding one another to pieces; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature, men whose great size reminded them of the dreadful giants that lived before the Flood, Gen 6:4.

v. 33. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. Thus the exaggerations of the cowards rose to a climax in this last extravagant statement, their purpose being to fill the hearts of all the people with the same senseless fear which possessed their own hearts. "Truly an expressive type of the lying fear with which worldly-mindedness has ever depicted the difficult approaches to the kingdom of God. " Matters have reached an unfortunate stage in the Church when the men who are called to be the leaders of the congregations lose courage and dread the battle with the powers of darkness. But God always has some witnesses and servants that encourage His people and promise certain victory by the help of the Lord.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Zin ... Rehob ... Zoan

These are names of places. (See: How to Translate Names)

the wilderness of Zin

The word "Zin" here is the Hebrew name of the wilderness. (See: Copy or Borrow Words)

Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt

This can be stated in active form. AT: "the Canaanites had built Hebron 7 years before the Egyptians built Zoan" (See: Active or Passive and Numbers)

Ahiman ... Sheshai ... Talmai

These are names of clans that were named after their ancestors. (See: How to Translate Names)

Anak

This is the name of a man. (See: How to Translate Names)

translationWords

desert

Hamath

Negev

Hebron

clan

year

Egypt

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ממדבר צן עד רחב לבא חמת [SO THEY WENT UP AND SEARCHED THE LAND] FROM THE DESERT OF ZIN UNTO REHOB, AS MEN COME TO HAMATH — They went along its (the Land’s) boundaries lengthwise and broadwise in the form of a gamma (the third letter of the Greek alphabet, Γ), viz., they went along the side which forms the southern boundary from its eastern corner to the western corner, just as Moses had bidden them, (v. 17) “Go up this way southwards”, i.e. the way of the south border from its eastern Point up to the Mediterranean Sea, for the Sea is the western boundary of the Land. From there they turned and went along the entire western boundary on the sea-coast up to the point whence one goes on to Hamath which is situated near Mount Hor in the North-western corner, as is set forth in the section dealing with the “boundaries of the Land” in the Sedrah אלה מסעי (Numbers 34:7—8).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.