Numbers 13
New English Translation
Spies Sent Out
13 [a] The Lord spoke[b] to Moses: 2 “Send out men to investigate[c] the land of Canaan, which I am giving[d] to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe,[e] each one a leader among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command[f] of the Lord. All of them were leaders[g] of the Israelites.
4 Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe[h] of Joseph, namely, the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vopshi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki. 16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to investigate the land. And Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.[i]
The Spies’ Instructions
17 When Moses sent[j] them to investigate the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev,[k] and then go up into the hill country 18 and see[l] what the land is like,[m] and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, few or many, 19 and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or fortified cities, 20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether or not there are forests in it. And be brave,[n] and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” Now it was the time of year[o] for the first ripe grapes.[p]
The Spies’ Activities
21 So they went up and investigated the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob,[q] at Lebo Hamath. 22 When they went up through the Negev, they[r] came[s] to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai,[t] descendants of Anak, were living. (Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan[u] in Egypt.) 23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a staff[v] between two men, as well as some of the pomegranates and the figs. 24 That place was called[w] the Eshcol Valley,[x] because of the cluster[y] of grapes that the Israelites cut from there. 25 They returned from investigating the land after forty days.
The Spies’ Reports
26 They came back[z] to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh.[aa] They reported[ab] to the whole community and showed the fruit of the land. 27 They told Moses,[ac] “We went to the land where you sent us.[ad] It is indeed flowing with milk and honey,[ae] and this is its fruit. 28 But[af] the inhabitants[ag] are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the banks[ah] of the Jordan.”[ai]
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses, saying, “Let us go up[aj] and occupy it,[ak] for we are well able to conquer it.”[al] 31 But the men[am] who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against these people, because they are stronger than we are!” 32 Then they presented the Israelites with a discouraging report[an] of the land they had investigated, saying, “The land that we passed through[ao] to investigate is a land that devours[ap] its inhabitants.[aq] All the people we saw there[ar] are of great stature. 33 We even saw the Nephilim[as] there (the descendants of Anak came from the Nephilim), and we seemed like grasshoppers both to ourselves[at] and to them.”[au]
Footnotes
- Numbers 13:1 sn Chapter 13 provides the names of the spies sent into the land (vv. 1-16), their instructions (vv. 17-20), their activities (vv. 21-25), and their reports (vv. 26-33). It is a chapter that serves as a good lesson on faith, for some of the spies walked by faith, and some by sight.
- Numbers 13:1 tn The verse starts with the vav (ו) consecutive on the verb: “and….”
- Numbers 13:2 tn The imperfect tense with the conjunction is here subordinated to the preceding imperative to form the purpose clause. It can thus be translated “send…to investigate.”
- Numbers 13:2 tn The participle here should be given a future interpretation, meaning “which I am about to give” or “which I am going to give.”
- Numbers 13:2 tn Heb “one man one man of the tribe of his fathers.”
- Numbers 13:3 tn Heb “mouth.”
- Numbers 13:3 tn Heb “heads.”
- Numbers 13:11 tc Some scholars emend “tribe” to “sons.” Cf. Num 1:10.
- Numbers 13:16 sn The difference in the names is slight, a change from “he saves” to “the Lord saves.” The Greek text of the OT used Iesoun for Hebrew Yeshua.
- Numbers 13:17 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next verb of the same formation to express a temporal clause.
- Numbers 13:17 tn The instructions had them first go up into the southern desert of the land, and after passing through that, into the hill country of the Canaanites. The text could be rendered “into the Negev” as well as “through the Negev.”
- Numbers 13:18 tn The form is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; the word therefore carries the volitional mood of the preceding imperatives. It may be either another imperative, or it may be subordinated as a purpose clause.
- Numbers 13:18 tn Heb “see the land, what it is.”
- Numbers 13:20 tn The verb is the Hitpael perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, from the root חָזַק (khazaq, “to be strong”). Here it could mean “strengthen yourselves” or “be courageous” or “determined.” See further uses in 2 Sam 10:12; 1 Kgs 20:22; 1 Chr 19:13.
- Numbers 13:20 tn Heb “Now the days were the days of.”
- Numbers 13:20 sn The reference to the first ripe grapes would put the time somewhere at the end of July.
- Numbers 13:21 sn Zin is on the southern edge of the land, but Rehob is far north, near Mount Hermon. The spies covered all the land.
- Numbers 13:22 tc The MT has the singular, but the ancient versions and Smr have the plural.
- Numbers 13:22 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the following clause. The first verse gave the account of their journey over the whole land; this section focuses on what happened in the area of Hebron, which would be the basis for the false report.
- Numbers 13:22 sn These names are thought to be three clans that were in the Hebron area (see Josh 15:14; Judg 1:20). To call them descendants of Anak is usually taken to mean that they were large or tall people (2 Sam 21:18-22). They were ultimately driven out by Caleb.
- Numbers 13:22 sn The text now provides a brief historical aside for the readers. Zoan was probably the city of Tanis, although that is disputed today by some scholars. It was known in Egypt in the New Kingdom as “the fields of Tanis,” which corresponded to the “fields of Zoar” in the Hebrew Bible (Ps 78:12, 43).
- Numbers 13:23 tn The word is related etymologically to the verb for “slip, slide, bend, totter.” This would fit the use very well. A pole that would not bend would be hard to use to carry things, but a pole or stave that was flexible would serve well.
- Numbers 13:24 tn The verb is rendered as a passive because there is no expressed subject.
- Numbers 13:24 tn Or “Wadi Eshcol.” The translation “brook” is too generous; the Hebrew term refers to a river bed, a ravine or valley through which torrents of rain would rush in the rainy season; at other times it might be completely dry.
- Numbers 13:24 tn The word “Eshcol” is drawn from the Hebrew expression concerning the “cluster of grapes.” The word is probably retained in the name Burj Haskeh, two miles north of Damascus.
- Numbers 13:26 tn The construction literally has “and they went and they entered,” which may be smoothed out as a verbal hendiadys, the one verb modifying the other.
- Numbers 13:26 sn Kadesh is Ain Qadeis, about 50 miles (83 km) south of Beer Sheba. It is called Kadesh Barnea in Num 32:8.
- Numbers 13:26 tn Heb “They brought back word”; the verb is the Hiphil preterite of שׁוּב (shuv).
- Numbers 13:27 tn Heb “told him and said.” The referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Numbers 13:27 tn The relative clause modifies “the land.” It is constructed with the relative and the verb: “where you sent us.”
- Numbers 13:27 sn This is the common expression for the material abundance of the land (see further, F. C. Fensham, “An Ancient Tradition of the Fertility of Palestine,” PEQ 98 [1966]: 166-67).
- Numbers 13:28 tn The word (אֶפֶס, ʾefes) forms a very strong adversative. The land was indeed rich and fruitful, but….”
- Numbers 13:28 tn Heb “the people who are living in the land.”
- Numbers 13:29 tn Heb “by the side [hand] of.”
- Numbers 13:29 sn For more discussion on these people groups, see D. J. Wiseman, ed., Peoples of Old Testament Times.
- Numbers 13:30 tn The construction is emphatic, using the cohortative with the infinitive absolute to strengthen it: עָלֹה נַעֲלֶה (ʿaloh naʿaleh, “let us go up”) with the sense of certainty and immediacy.
- Numbers 13:30 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive brings the cohortative idea forward: “and let us possess it”; it may also be subordinated to form a purpose or result idea.
- Numbers 13:30 tn Here again the confidence of Caleb is expressed with the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense: יָכוֹל נוּכַל (yakhol nukhal), “we are fully able” to do this. The verb יָכַל (yakhal) followed by the preposition lamed means “to prevail over, to conquer.”
- Numbers 13:31 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive on the noun at the beginning of the clause forms a strong adversative clause here.
- Numbers 13:32 tn Or “an evil report,” i.e., one that was a defamation of the grace of God.
- Numbers 13:32 tn Heb “which we passed over in it”; the pronoun on the preposition serves as a resumptive pronoun for the relative, and need not be translated literally.
- Numbers 13:32 tn The verb is the feminine singular participle from אָכַל (ʾakhal); it modifies the land as a “devouring land,” a bold figure for the difficulty of living in the place.
- Numbers 13:32 sn The expression has been interpreted in a number of ways by commentators, such as that the land was infertile, that the Canaanites were cannibals, that it was a land filled with warlike dissensions, or that it denotes a land geared for battle. It may be that they intended the land to seem infertile and insecure.
- Numbers 13:32 tn Heb “in its midst.”
- Numbers 13:33 tc The Greek version uses γίγαντας (gigantas, “giants”) to translate “the Nephilim,” but it does not retain the clause “the sons of Anak are from the Nephilim.”sn The Nephilim are the legendary giants of antiquity. They are first discussed in Gen 6:4. This forms part of the pessimism of the spies’ report.
- Numbers 13:33 tn Heb “in our eyes.”
- Numbers 13:33 tn Heb “in their eyes.”
Numbers 13
American Standard Version
13 1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Send thou men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a prince among them. 3 And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of Jehovah: all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. 4 And these were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. 5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. 6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. 8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun. 9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. 10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. 11 Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi. 12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. 13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. 14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. 15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These are the names of the men that Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way [a]by the South, and go up into the hill-country: 18 and see the land, what it is; and the people that dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many; 19 and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strongholds; 20 and what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there is wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first-ripe grapes.
21 So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath. 22 And they went up by the South, and came unto Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And they came unto the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it upon a staff between two; they brought also of the pomegranates, and of the figs. 24 That place was called the valley of [b]Eshcol, because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
25 And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days. 26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us; and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28 Howbeit the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 29 Amalek dwelleth in the land of the South: and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, dwell in the hill-country; and the Canaanite dwelleth by the sea, and along by the side of the Jordan.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 And there we saw the [c]Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Footnotes
- Numbers 13:17 Or, into
- Numbers 13:24 That is, a cluster.
- Numbers 13:33 Or, giants
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