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Tanach (JPS): Numbers: Numbers Chapter 14

Book of ChroniclesHebrew Bible TranslationJewish Publication Society Bible

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This is a passage of sacred scripture — specifically Numbers 14 from the Hebrew Bible (Tanach), rendered in the 1917 Jewish Publication Society translation. It recounts the Israelites' rebellion after the twelve spies return from Canaan: the people despair at the prospect of conquest, wish they had died in Egypt, and move to appoint a new leader and turn back. The central theological drama is God's furious response — threatening to destroy the entire people — and Moses' intercessory prayer, which argues that slaughtering Israel would damage God's reputation among surrounding nations. God relents from mass destruction but pronounces a severe collective punishment: the entire generation of adults who witnessed the Exodus will die in the wilderness over forty years, one year per day the spies spent in Canaan, with only Caleb and Joshua exempted for their faithfulness. The passage ends with a darkly ironic reversal: the people, now repentant, attempt unauthorized conquest and are routed, having lost divine support through their earlier disobedience. Distinctively, Moses' intercession works not by appealing to God's mercy alone but to God's self-interest in maintaining a credible reputation before Egypt and Canaan — a notably transactional theological argument embedded within this foundational narrative of covenant, faithlessness, and consequence.

Tanach (JPS): Numbers: Numbers Chapter 14

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