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Scouting Canaan

13 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Send men to scout the land of Canaan, which I myself am giving to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a tribal chief among the people of Israel.”

Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the Lord’s command. All of these men were heads of the Israelites. These were their names:

From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur.
From the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori.
From the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh.
From the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph.
From the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun.
From the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu.
10 From the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi.
11 From the tribe of Joseph, that is, from 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 Vophsi.
15 From the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.

16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to scout the land. Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun “Joshua.”[a]

17 Moses sent them to scout the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up this way through the Negev[b] and go up into the hill country.[c] 18 See what the land is like. See if the people who live in the land are strong or weak. See if they are few or many. 19 See if the land that they live in is good or bad. See what kind of cities they live in. See if the cities are camps or fortified places. 20 See what the land is like. See if the land is fertile or poor. See if there are trees in the land or not. Be courageous and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” This happened at the season of the first ripe grapes.

21 So they went up and scouted the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 The scouts came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there they cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes. They carried it on a pole between two men, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 They named that place the Valley of Eshcol,[d] because of the cluster which the Israelites had cut down from there. 25 At the end of forty days, they returned from scouting the land.

The Report About Canaan

26 They came back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire community of the Israelites at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Paran. They brought back a report to them and to the entire community. They showed them some of the fruit of the land. 27 They reported to him and said, “We went to the land where you sent us. It really does flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit. 28 However, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites are living in the hill country. The Canaanites are living by the sea and along the Jordan.”

30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should go up now and take possession of it, because we can certainly conquer it!”

31 But the men who had gone up with Caleb said, “We are not able to go up against the people, because they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they spread a negative report to the Israelites about the land that they had scouted. They said, “The land that we explored and scouted is a land that eats up its inhabitants. All the people we saw in the land were huge. 33 We saw there the Nephilim[e] (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). In our own eyes we seemed like grasshoppers. We seemed like grasshoppers in their eyes too.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 13:16 Hoshea means he saves. Joshua means the Lord saves.
  2. Numbers 13:17 The Negev is the arid and semi-arid region south of the hill country of Judah.
  3. Numbers 13:17 Literally the mountain. The translation retains the traditional rendering hill country for the highland regions of Israel.
  4. Numbers 13:24 Eshcol means cluster.
  5. Numbers 13:33 Nephilim is simply a transliteration of the Hebrew word. Its meaning is uncertain. There cannot be any direct connection with the Nephilim in Genesis 6.

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.

Misión de los doce espías

(Dt. 1.19-33)

13 Y Jehová habló a Moisés, diciendo: Envía tú hombres que reconozcan la tierra de Canaán, la cual yo doy a los hijos de Israel; de cada tribu de sus padres enviaréis un varón, cada uno príncipe entre ellos. Y Moisés los envió desde el desierto de Parán, conforme a la palabra de Jehová; y todos aquellos varones eran príncipes de los hijos de Israel. Estos son sus nombres: De la tribu de Rubén, Samúa hijo de Zacur. De la tribu de Simeón, Safat hijo de Horí. De la tribu de Judá, Caleb hijo de Jefone. De la tribu de Isacar, Igal hijo de José. De la tribu de Efraín, Oseas hijo de Nun. De la tribu de Benjamín, Palti hijo de Rafú. 10 De la tribu de Zabulón, Gadiel hijo de Sodi. 11 De la tribu de José: de la tribu de Manasés, Gadi hijo de Susi. 12 De la tribu de Dan, Amiel hijo de Gemali. 13 De la tribu de Aser, Setur hijo de Micael. 14 De la tribu de Neftalí, Nahbi hijo de Vapsi. 15 De la tribu de Gad, Geuel hijo de Maqui. 16 Estos son los nombres de los varones que Moisés envió a reconocer la tierra; y a Oseas hijo de Nun le puso Moisés el nombre de Josué.

17 Los envió, pues, Moisés a reconocer la tierra de Canaán, diciéndoles: Subid de aquí al Neguev, y subid al monte, 18 y observad la tierra cómo es, y el pueblo que la habita, si es fuerte o débil, si poco o numeroso; 19 cómo es la tierra habitada, si es buena o mala; y cómo son las ciudades habitadas, si son campamentos o plazas fortificadas; 20 y cómo es el terreno, si es fértil o estéril, si en él hay árboles o no; y esforzaos, y tomad del fruto del país. Y era el tiempo de las primeras uvas.

21 Y ellos subieron, y reconocieron la tierra desde el desierto de Zin hasta Rehob, entrando en Hamat. 22 Y subieron al Neguev y vinieron hasta Hebrón; y allí estaban Ahimán, Sesai y Talmai, hijos de Anac. Hebrón fue edificada siete años antes de Zoán en Egipto. 23 Y llegaron hasta el arroyo de Escol, y de allí cortaron un sarmiento con un racimo de uvas, el cual trajeron dos en un palo, y de las granadas y de los higos. 24 Y se llamó aquel lugar el Valle de Escol,[a] por el racimo que cortaron de allí los hijos de Israel.

25 Y volvieron de reconocer la tierra al fin de cuarenta días. 26 Y anduvieron y vinieron a Moisés y a Aarón, y a toda la congregación de los hijos de Israel, en el desierto de Parán, en Cades, y dieron la información a ellos y a toda la congregación, y les mostraron el fruto de la tierra. 27 Y les contaron, diciendo: Nosotros llegamos a la tierra a la cual nos enviaste, la que ciertamente fluye leche y miel; y este es el fruto de ella. 28 Mas el pueblo que habita aquella tierra es fuerte, y las ciudades muy grandes y fortificadas; y también vimos allí a los hijos de Anac. 29 Amalec habita el Neguev, y el heteo, el jebuseo y el amorreo habitan en el monte, y el cananeo habita junto al mar, y a la ribera del Jordán.

30 Entonces Caleb hizo callar al pueblo delante de Moisés, y dijo: Subamos luego, y tomemos posesión de ella; porque más podremos nosotros que ellos. 31 Mas los varones que subieron con él, dijeron: No podremos subir contra aquel pueblo, porque es más fuerte que nosotros. 32 Y hablaron mal entre los hijos de Israel, de la tierra que habían reconocido, diciendo: La tierra por donde pasamos para reconocerla, es tierra que traga a sus moradores; y todo el pueblo que vimos en medio de ella son hombres de grande estatura. 33 También vimos allí gigantes,(A) hijos de Anac, raza de los gigantes, y éramos nosotros, a nuestro parecer, como langostas; y así les parecíamos a ellos.

Footnotes

  1. Números 13:24 Esto es, Valle del Racimo.