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13 And the Lord said to Moses,

Send men to explore and scout out [for yourselves] the land of Canaan, which I give to the Israelites. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader or head among them.

So Moses by the command of the Lord sent scouts from the Wilderness of Paran, all of them men who were heads of the Israelites.

These were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;

Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;

Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;

Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;

Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea [that is, Joshua] son of Nun;

Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;

10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;

11 Of the tribe of Joseph, that is, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi son of Susi;

12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;

13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;

15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.

16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to explore and scout out the land. And Moses called Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua.

17 Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, and said to them, Get up this way by the South (the Negeb) and go up into the hill country,

18 And see what the land is and whether the people who dwell there are strong or weak, few or many,

19 And whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the cities they dwell in are camps or strongholds,

20 And what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there is timber on it or not. And be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

21 So they went up and scouted through the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.

22 And then went up into the South (the Negeb) and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai [probably three tribes of] the sons of Anak were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

23 And they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two [of them]; they brought also some pomegranates and figs.

24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol [cluster] because of the cluster which the Israelites cut down there.

25 And they returned from scouting out the land after forty days.

26 They came to Moses and Aaron and to all the Israelite congregation in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, and brought them word, and showed them the land’s fruit.

27 They told Moses, We came to the land to which you sent us; surely it flows with milk and honey. This is its fruit.

28 But the people who dwell there are strong, and the cities are [a]fortified and very large; moreover, there we saw the sons of Anak [of great stature and courage].

29 Amalek dwells in the land of the South (the Negeb); the Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwell in the hill country; and the Canaanite dwells by the sea and along by the side of the Jordan [River].

30 Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; we are well able to conquer it.

31 But his fellow scouts said, We are not able to go up against the people [of Canaan], for they are stronger than we are.

32 So they brought the Israelites an evil report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, The land through which we went to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.

33 There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 13:28 The scouts probably had not seen walled cities before, having lived their childhood in Goshen in Egypt. Those who forgot God’s power to help them naturally found the situation formidable, as happens in the lives of most people. “ ‘But God’ makes all the difference between cowards and Calebs.”

Spies Sent into Canaan(A)

13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (B)“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

So Moses sent them (C)from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; (D)from the tribe of Judah, (E)Caleb the son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, [a]Hoshea the son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to [b]spy out the land. And Moses called (F)Hoshea[c] the son of Nun, Joshua.

17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to (G)the mountains, 18 and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 whether the land is [d]rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. (H)Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

21 So they went up and spied out the land (I)from the Wilderness of Zin as far as (J)Rehob, near the entrance of (K)Hamath. 22 And they went up through the South and came to (L)Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of (M)Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 (N)Then they came to the [e]Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. 24 The place was called the Valley of [f]Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. 25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.

26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at (O)Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly [g]flows with (P)milk and honey, (Q)and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the (R)people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of (S)Anak there. 29 (T)The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”

30 Then (U)Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

31 (V)But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they (W)gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and (X)all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the [h]giants ((Y)the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were (Z)like[i] grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were (AA)in their sight.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 13:8 LXX, Vg. Oshea
  2. Numbers 13:16 secretly search
  3. Numbers 13:16 LXX, Vg. Oshea
  4. Numbers 13:20 fertile or barren
  5. Numbers 13:23 Wadi
  6. Numbers 13:24 Lit. Cluster
  7. Numbers 13:27 Has an abundance of food
  8. Numbers 13:33 Heb. nephilim
  9. Numbers 13:33 As mere insects

13 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Send thou anashim, that they may spy out Eretz Kena’an, which I give unto the Bnei Yisroel: of every tribe of their avot shall ye send a man, every one a nasi among them.

And Moshe by the mouth of Hashem sent them from the Midbar Paran; all those men were Roshei Bnei Yisroel.

And these were their shmot: of the tribe of Reuven, Shammua ben Zaccur.

Of the tribe of Shim’on, Shaphat ben Chori.

Of the tribe of Yehudah, Kalev ben Yephunneh.

Of the tribe of Yissakhar, Yigal ben Yosef.

Of the tribe of Ephrayim, Hoshea ben Nun.

Of the tribe of Binyamin, Palti ben Raphu.

10 Of the tribe of Zevulun, Gaddiel ben Sodi.

11 Of the tribe of Yosef, namely, of the tribe of Menasheh, Gaddi ben Susi.

12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel ben Gemalli.

13 Of the tribe of Asher, Setur ben Michael.

14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nachbi ben Vophsi.

15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel ben Machi.

16 These are the shmot of the men which Moshe sent to spy out the land. And Moshe called Hoshea ben Nun Yehoshua [See Zecharyah 6:11-12 on the personal name of Moshiach in prophecy].

17 And Moshe sent them to spy out Eretz Kena’an, and said unto them, Get you up to the Negev, and go up into the mountain;

18 And see the land, what it is like, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;

19 And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strongholds;

20 And what the land is, whether it be fertile or barren, whether there be 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 searched the land from the midbar of Tzin unto Rechov, as men come to Chamat.

22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Chevron; where Achiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the Anak, were. (Now Chevron was built seven shanim before Tzoan in Mitzrayim.)

23 And they came unto the Wadi Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with cluster of anavim echad, and they bore it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

24 The place was called the Wadi Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the Bnei Yisroel cut down from thence.

25 And they returned from searching of the land after arba’im days.

26 And they went and came to Moshe, and to Aharon, and to all the congregation of the Bnei Yisroel, unto the Midbar Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto Kol HaEdah, and showed them the pri ha’aretz.

27 And they told him, and said, We came unto ha’aretz where thou didst send us, and truly it floweth with cholov and devash; and this is the fruit of it.

28 Nevertheless the people are strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and gedolot me’od; and moreover we saw the Anak there.

29 The Amalek dwell in the eretz of the Negev; and the Chitti, and the Yevusi, and the Emori, dwell in the hills; and the Kena’ani dwell by the yam, and by the bank of the Yarden.

30 And Kalev silenced HaAm before Moshe, and said, Let us go up at once, and take possession of it; for we are well able to overcome it.

31 But the anashim that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are chazak (stronger) than we.

32 And they spread an evil report of HaAretz which they had explored unto the Bnei Yisroel, saying, HaAretz, through which we have gone to explore it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.

33 And there we saw the Nephilim, the Bnei Anak, which come of the Nephilim; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.