The Meaning of Numbers 14:45 Explained

Numbers 14:45

KJV: Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.

YLT: And the Amalekite and the Canaanite who are dwelling in that mountain come down and smite them, and beat them down -- unto Hormah.

Darby: And the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt on that hill, came down and smote them, and cut them to pieces, as far as Hormah.

ASV: Then the Amalekite came down, and the Canaanite who dwelt in that mountain, and smote them and beat them down, even unto Hormah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then the Amalekites  came down,  and the Canaanites  which dwelt  in that hill,  and smote  them, and discomfited  them, [even] unto Hormah. 

What does Numbers 14:45 Mean?

Context Summary

Numbers 14:26-45 - The Penalty Of Unbelief And Rashness
The old translation in Numbers 14:34 was unfortunate. "Breach of promise" is rendered in r.v. "my alienation." It is still better to notice the marginal reading, "the revoking of my promise." But even this hardly gives us the true meaning of the words, which teach us that God's promises are conditional on our faith. He cannot do what we fail to trust Him to do.
The key of faith will unlock every drawer and cupboard in the divine treasury, but we must use it. If we will not trust God with our life we shall be left to perish in the wilderness of drought, of restlessness and of peril. Unbelief paralyzes God's arm. See Matthew 13:58, And let us learn from the closing paragraph that the might of our own right hand will never avail to accomplish what is forfeited by unbelief. "It shall not prosper." [source]

Chapter Summary: Numbers 14

1  The people murmur at the news
6  Joshua and Caleb labor to still them
11  God threatens them
13  Moses intercedes with God, and obtains pardon
26  The Murmurers are debarred from entering into the land
36  The men who raised the evil report die by a plague
40  The people that would invade the land against the will of God are smitten

What do the individual words in Numbers 14:45 mean?

And came down the Amalekite and the Canaanite who dwelt in mountain that and attacked them and drove them back as far as Hormah -
וַיֵּ֤רֶד הָעֲמָלֵקִי֙ וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י הַיֹּשֵׁ֖ב בָּהָ֣ר הַה֑וּא וַיַּכּ֥וּם וַֽיַּכְּת֖וּם עַד־ הַֽחָרְמָֽה פ

וַיֵּ֤רֶד  And  came  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
הָעֲמָלֵקִי֙  the  Amalekite 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲמָלֵקִי  
Sense: descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau.
וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֔י  and  the  Canaanite 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: כִּנְעָן 
Sense: descendant of inhabitant of Canaan n.
הַיֹּשֵׁ֖ב  who  dwelt 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בָּהָ֣ר  in  mountain 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
הַה֑וּא  that 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
וַיַּכּ֥וּם  and  attacked  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural, third person masculine plural
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
וַֽיַּכְּת֖וּם  and  drove  them  back 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural, third person masculine plural
Root: כָּתַת  
Sense: to beat, crush by beating, crush to pieces, crush fine.
עַד־  as  far  as 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
הַֽחָרְמָֽה  Hormah 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: חָרְמָה  
Sense: a town of the Canaanites, conquered by Joshua, allotted to Judah, and located in the south of Judah.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation