Numbers 14:38 (LSB)

Passage

But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Nearby Context

Numbers 14:36 As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land,

Numbers 14:37 even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before Yahweh.

Numbers 14:38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Numbers 14:39 Then Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.

Numbers 14:40 In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Here we are; we will go up to the place which Yahweh has promised because we have indeed sinned.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "joshua", "caleb", "jephunneh", "remained", "alive", "went", and "land". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "joshua" and "caleb", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 37's "even those men who brought out the..." into verse 39's "Then Moses spoke these words to all...", so "joshua" and "caleb" belong inside that flow. In Numbers context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "joshua" and "caleb" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.