Numbers 14:9

9 nolite rebelles esse contra Dominum neque timeatis populum terrae huius quia sicut panem ita eos possumus devorare recessit ab illis omne praesidium Dominus nobiscum est nolite metuere

Numbers 14:9 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 14:9

Only rebel not ye against the Lord
Nothing, it is suggested, could hinder them from the, possession of it but their rebellion against the Lord; which might provoke him to cut them off by his immediate hand, or to deliver them into the hands of their enemies; for rebellion is a dreadful sin, and highly provoking, ( 1 Samuel 15:23 ) ;

neither fear ye the people the land;
on account of their number, strength, the walled cities they dwell in; they had nothing to fear from them, so be it they feared the Lord, and were not disobedient to him:

for they [are] bread for us;
as easy to be cut to pieces, and to be devoured, consumed, and destroyed as thoroughly, as bread is when eaten; and their fields, vineyards, all they have without and within, even all their substance, will be a prey to us, and furnish out sufficient provision for us, on which we may pleasantly and plentifully live, as on bread: see ( Psalms 14:4 ) ;

their defence is departed from them;
they had no heart nor spirit left in them; no courage to defend themselves, and therefore the strength of their bodies and their walled towns would be of no avail unto them; see ( Joshua 2:9-11 ) ; or "their shadow" ^F18, which covered and protected them, the providence of God which was over them, and continued them in the land, and quiet possession of it, until the measure of their iniquity was filled up, and the time come for his people Israel to inhabit it; but now it was departed:

and the Lord [is] with us;
as was evident by the cloud upon the tabernacle, and by the manna being spread around their camp every morning: the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan are,

``the Word of the Lord is for our help:''

fear them not;
the Canaanites, notwithstanding the strength of their bodies, or of their cities, the Lord is mightier than they.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 (Mlu) "umbra eorum", Montanus, Tigurine version, Fagius, Vatablus; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Numbers 14:9 In-Context

7 et ad omnem multitudinem filiorum Israhel locuti sunt terram quam circuivimus valde bona est

8 si propitius fuerit Dominus inducet nos in eam et tradet humum lacte et melle manantem

9 nolite rebelles esse contra Dominum neque timeatis populum terrae huius quia sicut panem ita eos possumus devorare recessit ab illis omne praesidium Dominus nobiscum est nolite metuere

10 cumque clamaret omnis multitudo et lapidibus eos vellet opprimere apparuit gloria Domini super tectum foederis cunctis filiis Israhel

11 et dixit Dominus ad Mosen usquequo detrahet mihi populus iste quousque non credent mihi in omnibus signis quae feci coram eis