Numbers 13:22 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Bible Comments

By the south Moses having described their progress from south to north, more particularly relates some memorable places and passages. They came Hebrew, He came; namely, Caleb, as appears from Joshua 14:9; Joshua 14:12; Joshua 14:14. For the spies distributed their work among them, and went either severally, or by pairs; and it seems the survey of this part was left to Caleb. Anak A famous giant, whose children these are called, either more generally, as all giants sometimes were, or rather more specially because Arbah, from whom Hebron was called Kiriath-arbah, was the father of Anak, Joshua 15:13. And this circumstance is mentioned as an evidence of the goodness of that land, because the giants chose it for their habitation. Before Zoan This seems to be noted to confront the Egyptians, who vainly boasted of the antiquity of their city Zoan above all places.

Numbers 13:22

22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)