Numbers 14:25

And now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley,.... By the Canaanites are meant the Amorites, as Aben Ezra, which were a principal people of the land of Canaan, and which may be

(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.

In the valley; beyond the mountain at the foot whereof they now were, . And this clause is added, either, 1. As an aggravation of Israel’ s misery and punishment, that being now ready to enter and take possession of the land, they are forced to go back into the wilderness; or, 2. As an argument to oblige them more willingly to obey the following command of returning into the wilderness, because their enemies were very near them, and severed from them only by that Idumean mountain, and if they did not speedily depart, their enemies would hear of them and fall upon them, and so the evil which before they causelessly feared would come upon them; they, their wives, and their children would become a prey to the Amalekites and Canaanites, because God had forsaken them, and would not assist nor defend them. The verse may be rendered thus, And, or But, for the present, the Amalekite and the Canaanite dwell in the valley; therefore (which particle is here understood, as it is in other places) to-morrow turn ye, & c. Though some knit these words to the former, and read the place thus, Caleb— and his seed shall possess it, to wit, the land near Hebron, and also the land of the Amalekites and of the Canaanites that dwell in the valley. Quest. But how are the Canaanites said to dwell in the valley here, when they dwelt in the hill, , and by the sea-coasts, ? Answ. 1. Part of them dwelt in one place, and part in other places. 2. The word Canaanite may here be understood more generally of all the inhabitants of Canaan. By the way of the Red Sea, i.e. that leadeth to the Red Sea, and to Egypt, the place whither you desire to return, ,4.

Numbers 14:25 (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.Ver. 25. Now the Amalekites.] There was but a mountain between: so they were close by the Promised Land, and yet could not enter because of unbelief. Thou art not far from God’ s kingdom? the greater is thine unhappiness, that fallest from so high hopes. By the way of the Red Sea.] Since you have such a mind to it, you shall have enough of it. "The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways."

(25) Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.—There is considerable difficulty in regard to the meaning and connection of these words. They may be attached to the words which precede: “And his seed shall possess it, and the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelling in the valley”—i.e., shall possess the land occupied by them. There are strong objections, however, to this rendering, as well as to the rendering adopted by the Authorised Version, if the latter be understood as an historical statement respecting the geographical position of the Amalekites and Canaanites, of which Moses can scarcely be supposed to have been ignorant, and which may be assigned with greater probability to the “hill” than to the “valley.” (Comp. Numbers 14:45 and Note; also Deuteronomy 1:44, where one or both of these races are spoken of under the name of Amorites or mountaineers.) The word which is rendered “dwelt” is often used in reference to a temporary sojourn, as, e.g., in Joshua 8:9 of the ambuscade sent by Joshua, which “abode” between Bethel and Ai, and in 1 Samuel 25:13 of a portion of David’s men who “abode by the stuff.” It is used also in Numbers 14:45 of this chapter in respect to the position of the Amalekites and Canaanites, whether temporary or permanent, in the “hill,” which appears to be used in contrast with the “valley.” The passage may be rendered thus: “Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites are abiding in the valley,” i.e., are lying in ambuscade in the valley, and waiting for an opportunity to attack the Israelites (comp. Numbers 14:43). If this interpretation of the words, which is that of Ibn Ezra, be adopted, they afford a strong reason for the command which follows:—“To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea”—i.e., do not fall into the snare which is laid for you, but turn and go in a contrary direction.

25. Now the Amalekite … were dwelling in the valley] This is a parenthesis inserted by the narrator or compiler. It is omitted in Deuteronomy 1:40 which corresponds to the remainder of the present verse. It cannot be from the same pen as Numbers 13:29, where the Canaanites are described as living in the lowlands by the Mediterranean and along the Jordan, while the Amalekites live in the Negeb. On the other hand ‘the valley’ is not necessarily at variance with ‘mountain’ (or rather ‘hill country’) in Numbers 14:45, since it denotes not a broad valley or plain but ‘a deep place’ (öֵ ?îֶ ?÷), a defile or declivity among the mountains. turn ye] They were to retrace their steps, moving S.E. towards the eastern arm of the Red Sea.

Render: And now the Amalekites and the Canaanites are dwelling (or abiding) in the valley: wherefore turn you, etc. (that so ye be not smitten before them).

25. Amalekites — See Numbers 13:29. Canaanites — In the wide meaning of the term, including all the inhabitants of Canaan exclusive of the Amorites dwelling in the southern mountains. Deuteronomy 1:44.