Bible Strands
Numbers 14:25
Now since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord addresses Moses following the spies’ report, issuing a command to retreat after the congregation’s refusal to enter Canaan.
The words — פְּנ֨וּ (pe.Nu) means turn, and וּ/סְע֥וּ (u./se.'U) means set out, forming the direct command to reverse direction. יוֹשֵׁ֣ב (yo.Shev) denotes dwelling, paired with בָּ/עֵ֑מֶק (ba./'E.mek) to specify the valley terrain.
The thread — This retreat instruction recurs in Deuteronomy 1:40 and echoes the earlier scout report in Numbers 13:29, while the people’s prior desire to return to Egypt appears in Numbers 14:4.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine direction overrides human fear, requiring immediate compliance with a commanded withdrawal rather than a forced advance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 1:40 But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”
- Numbers 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 Jordan.”
- Numbers 14:4 So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”
- Psalms 81:11 But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.
- Proverbs 1:31 So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.