Numbers 13:6

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Highlights

2 first appearances in the Hebrew Bible

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Word by word

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יְפֻנֶּֽה

Yᵉphunneh

H3312

“Jephunneh”

Noun, Proper

Appears 16× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears here

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H6437

TWOT: None

Jephunneh = "He will be facing" - a Kenezite and father of Caleb the spy from the tribe of Judah - son of Jether and descendant of Asher

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

5: words
5: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is יְפֻנֶּֽה Jephunneh H3312 — appearing just 16 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

First appearance in Scripture

These words make their first canonical appearance in the Hebrew Bible here:

כָּלֵ֖ב Caleb H3612
יְפֻנֶּֽה Jephunneh H3312

Shared distinctive vocabulary

יְפֻנֶּֽה Jephunneh H3312 occurs in 16 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

5 nouns

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 10 words from the Hebrew and 10 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — the same length.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 5 Hebrew tokens and 6 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Numbers 13:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Numbers 14:6 Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of those who spied out the land, tore their clothes:
Numbers 34:19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
Numbers 13:30 Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
Numbers 14:30 surely you shall not come into the land, concerning which I swore that I would make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
Joshua 14:6–15 Then the children of Judah drew near to Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, You know the thing that Yahweh spoke to Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning you in Kadesh-barnea.
Numbers 14:24 but my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully, him will I bring into the land into which he went; and his seed shall possess it.
Numbers 26:65 For Yahweh had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. There was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
1 Chronicles 4:15 The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the sons of Elah; and Kenaz.

Numbers 14:38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, remained alive of those men who went to spy out the land.
Numbers 27:15–23 Moses spoke to Yahweh, saying,
Deuteronomy 31:7–17 Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of good courage: for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it.
Joshua 15:13–19 To Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of Yahweh to Joshua, even Kiriath Arba, [which Arba was] the father of Anak (the same is Hebron).
Judges 1:12–15 Caleb said, He who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.
Luke 1:10–15 The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Numbers 13:6 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

לְמַטֵּ֣ה יְהוּדָ֔ה כָּלֵ֖ב בֶּן יְפֻנֶּֽה

Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 13:6 Septuagint · lemma form

ὁ φυλή ιουδα χαλεβ υἱός ιεφοννη

Of the tribe of Symeon, Saphat the son of Suri.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

On this verse, Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary discusses the Septuagint’s reading. Read the note in Commentary ↓

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

לְשִׁבְטָא דִיהוּדָה כָּלֵבּ בַּר יְפֻנֶה

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

לְשִׁבְטָא דִיהוּדָה עַזְגָד כָּלֵב בַּר יְפֻנֶה

for Jehudah, Kaleb bar Jephunneh;

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Numbers 13:6 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Num 13:6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

Ver. 6. Caleb.] A hearty man, according to his name; as Bishop Hooper, martyr, was called hearty Hooper; and as one of our Richards was called Coeur-de-lion. It is now but two days since, from a sweet friend, {a} living at Hartford in New England, I received a loving letter, dated Sept. 12, 1659, and therein this following passage, "Old Mr John Wilson, pastor at Boston, {b} is in very good health, a hearty old good man still." A hearty good man indeed; I have for forty years almost known him to be a cordial Caleb, one who from his youth up, hath "fulfilled after God - followed him fully," and been of "another spirit" than the most are found to be. And to hear that the Lord still lengtheneth out his life, and keepeth up his young zeal with his old discretion, which was Mr Greenham’s great desire to his last, as it is no small comfort unto me; so, for the good respect I do deservedly bear to that good old man, I could not but here tell my reader so. Oh how well may he, with a very little variation, take up Caleb’s words to Joshua, hic fidus Achates, and say, "Forty years old was I" when many worthy zealots of old England "sent me to espy out this good land, and I brought them word again, as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me, made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And now behold the Lord hath kept me alive these forty and five years. And now, lo, I am well toward fourscore year old: As yet I am as strong this day as I was many years since: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now for the Lord’s wars, both to go out and to come in." {Jos 14:7-8; Jos 14:10-11} I add no more but, Go forth in this thy might, thou valiant man: and do thou still "worthily in Ephrata," and be "famous in Bethlehem." Serus in coelum redeas, Iohannes; come thou to thy grave in a lusty old age, {c} "like as a shock of corn cometh in his season." {Job 5:26}

{a} That religious matron Mrs Mary Willis, of Hertford, in Connecticut. This was written Nov. 25, 1659.

{b} Mr Wilson was one of the first that went over to plant there. At his return he encouraged and drew over not a few.

{c} εν ευγηρια.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Caleb the son of Jephunneh.—In three places—viz., in Num_32:12; and in Jos_14:6; Jos_14:14—Caleb is described as the Kenezite (or rather, the Kenizzite). Now in Gen_15:19 the Kenizzites are mentioned as one of the Canaanite tribes, and in Gen_36:11; Gen_36:15, Kenaz occurs as an Edomite name. It has been conjectured from these facts, but, as it should seem, on insufficient grounds, that Caleb was of foreign origin, and that he had been incorporated into the tribe of Judah.

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

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

6. Caleb the son of Jephunneh] See note on Num_14:24.

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.

John Gill's Exposition

Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. See Gill on Num 13:4.

.

Numbers 13:9

num 13:9

num 13:9

num 13:9Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. See Gill on Num 13:4.

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

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Huri: Septuagint, "Souri." None of the tribe of Levi, the third son of Jacob, are sent; but two represent the different branches of the tribe of Joseph, ver. 9, 12. The tribe of Ephraim comes out of its natural order, and has been overlooked by Calmet. (Haydock)

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 Pulpit Commentary

Caleb the son of Jephunneh. In Num_32:12 he is called "the Kenezite" (yZniQh), which appears in Gen_15:19 as the name of one of the ancient races inhabiting the promised land. It is possible that Jephunneh may have been connected by descent or otherwise with this race; it is more likely that the similarity of name was accidental. The younger son of Jephunneh, the father of Othniel, was a Kenaz (znq), and so was Caleb"s grandson. (see on Jos_15:17 1Ch_4:13, 1Ch_4:15) Kenaz was also an Edomitish name.

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

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Numbers, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 5 words (5 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is Yᵉphunneh (“Jephunneh”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word Yᵉphunneh carries the sense “Jephunneh.” How does it shape the verse?
2 words here appear for the first time in Scripture. What is being introduced at this debut?
Numbers 14:6 shares the word «Jephunneh» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

2 words make their first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
This verse counts 5 Hebrew ↔ 6 Greek words.
5 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 5 words in this verse.