Numbers 13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 13
The Twelve Scouts. 1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, every one a leader among them. 3 (A)So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, at the direction of the Lord. All of them were leaders among the Israelites. 4 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;
8 for the Josephites, 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 for the Josephites, 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 are the names of the men whom Moses sent to reconnoiter the land. But Hoshea, son of Nun, Moses called Joshua.[a]
17 In sending them to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, Moses said to them, “Go up there in the Negeb, up into the highlands, 18 and see what kind of land it is and whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the country in which they live good or bad? Are the towns in which they dwell open or fortified? 20 Is the soil fertile or barren, wooded or clear? And do your best to get some of the fruit of the land.” It was then the season for early grapes.
21 So they went up and reconnoitered the land from the wilderness of Zin[b] as far as where Rehob adjoins Lebo-hamath. 22 (B)Going up by way of the Negeb, they reached Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, descendants of the Anakim,[c] were. (Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 They also reached the Wadi Eshcol,[d] where they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes on it, which two of them carried on a pole, as well as some pomegranates and figs. 24 It was because of the cluster the Israelites cut there that they called the place Wadi Eshcol.(C)
Their Report. 25 They returned from reconnoitering the land forty days later. 26 (D)Proceeding directly to Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, they made a report to them and to the whole community, showing them the fruit of the land. 27 They told Moses: “We came to the land to which you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit. 28 However, the people who are living in the land are powerful, and the towns are fortified and very large.(E) Besides, we saw descendants of the Anakim there. 29 Amalekites live in the region of the Negeb; Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites dwell in the highlands, and Canaanites along the sea and the banks of the Jordan.”
30 Caleb, however, quieted the people before Moses and said, “We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly prevail over it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We cannot attack these people; they are too strong for us.” 32 They spread discouraging reports(F) among the Israelites about the land they had reconnoitered, saying, “The land that we went through and reconnoitered is a land that consumes its inhabitants. And all the people we saw there are huge. 33 (G)There we saw the Nephilim[e] (the Anakim are from the Nephilim); in our own eyes we seemed like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them.”
Footnotes
- 13:16 Joshua: in Hebrew, “Jehoshua,” which was later modified to “Jeshua,” the Hebrew name for “Jesus.” Hoshea and Joshua are variants of one original name meaning “the Lord saves.” Cf. Mt 1:21.
- 13:21 The wilderness of Zin: north of Paran and southwest of the Dead Sea. It is quite distinct from “the wilderness of Sin” near the border of Egypt (Ex 16:1; 17:1; Nm 33:11). Lebo-hamath: a town near Riblah (Jer 39:5–6) at the southern border of Hamath, an independent kingdom in southern Syria. David’s conquests extended as far as Hamath (2 Sm 8:9–11), and Lebo-hamath thus formed the northern border of the ideal extent of Israel’s possessions (Nm 34:7–9; Ez 47:15; 48:1). This may suggest that this verse was inserted precisely to extend the scope of the reconnaissance; cf. Dt 1:24.
- 13:22, 28 Anakim: an aboriginal race in southern Palestine, largely absorbed by the Canaanites. Either because of their tall stature or because of the massive stone structures left by them, the Israelites regarded them as giants.
- 13:23 Eshcol: means “cluster.”
- 13:33 Nephilim: i.e., “fallen ones” (in the Septuagint, “giants”), a reference to fallen heroes of old. Cf. Gn 6:4.
Numbers 13
New King James Version
Spies Sent into Canaan(A)
13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 (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.”
3 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. 4 Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 (D)from the tribe of Judah, (E)Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, [a]Hoshea the son of Nun; 9 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
- Numbers 13:8 LXX, Vg. Oshea
- Numbers 13:16 secretly search
- Numbers 13:16 LXX, Vg. Oshea
- Numbers 13:20 fertile or barren
- Numbers 13:23 Wadi
- Numbers 13:24 Lit. Cluster
- Numbers 13:27 Has an abundance of food
- Numbers 13:33 Heb. nephilim
- Numbers 13:33 As mere insects
Numbers 13
Tree of Life Version
Parashat Shlach
Twelve Scouts and the Bad Report
13 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 2 “Send some men on your behalf to investigate the land of Canaan, which I am giving to Bnei-Yisrael. Each man you are to send will be a prince of the tribe of his fathers, a man from each tribe.”
3 So according to the word of Adonai, Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran. All the men were princes of Bnei-Yisrael. 4 These are 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 of Manasseh, part of the tribe of Joseph, 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 are the names of the men Moses sent to investigate the land. (Now he gave Hoshea son of Nun, the name Joshua.) 17 As he sent them to explore the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there through the Negev, then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and the people living there, whether they might be strong or weak, few or many. 19 In what kind of land are they living? Is it good or bad? Also, what about the cities in which they are living? Are they unwalled or do they have fortifications? 20 How is the soil—fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob the entrance of Hamath. 22 They continued on up through the Negev and came to Hebron. There lived Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, descendants of Anak. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23 When they reached as far as the Valley of Eshcol, they cut a single branch with a cluster of grapes. It was carried on a pole between two of them. They also cut some pomegranates and some figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster cut by Bnei-Yisrael. 25 They returned from investigating the land after 40 days.
26 They traveled and returned to Moses, Aaron and the entire community of Bnei-Yisrael at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They gave their report to them and the entire assembly. They showed the land’s fruit. 27 They gave their account to him and said, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey—this is some of its fruit. 28 Except, the people living in the land are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw the sons of Anak there! 29 Amalek is living in the land of the Negev, the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites are living in the mountains, and the Canaanites are living near the sea and along the bank of the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “We should definitely go up and capture the land, for we can certainly do it!”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We cannot attack these people, because they are stronger than we.” 32 They spread among Bnei-Yisrael a bad report about the land they had explored, saying, “The land through which we passed to explore devours its residents. All the people we saw there are men of great size! 33 We also saw there the Nephilim. (The sons of Anak are from the Nephilim.) We seemed like grasshoppers in our eyes as well as theirs!”
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