Numbers 13:29

13:29 The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the banks 1  of the Jordan.” 2 

Numbers 14:40

14:40 And early 3  in the morning they went up to the crest of the hill country, 4  saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place that the Lord commanded, 5  for we have sinned.” 6 

1 tn Heb “by the side [hand] of.”

2 sn For more discussion on these people groups, see D. J. Wiseman, ed., Peoples of Old Testament Times.

3 tn The verb וַיַּשְׁכִּמוּ (vayyashkimu) is often found in a verbal hendiadys construction: “They rose early…and they went up” means “they went up early.”

4 tn The Hebrew text says literally “the top of the hill,” but judging from the location and the terrain it probably means the heights of the hill country.

5 tn The verb is simply “said,” but it means the place that the Lord said to go up to in order to fight.

6 sn Their sin was unbelief. They could have gone and conquered the area if they had trusted the Lord for their victory. They did not, and so they were condemned to perish in the wilderness. Now, thinking that by going they can undo all that, they plan to go. But this is also disobedience, for the Lord said they would not now take the land, and yet they think they can. Here is their second sin, presumption.