Numbers 13:1-25
New Living Translation
Twelve Scouts Explore Canaan
13 The Lord now said to Moses, 2 “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” 3 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. 4 These were the tribes and the names of their leaders:
Tribe | Leader |
---|---|
Reuben | Shammua son of Zaccur |
5 Simeon | Shaphat son of Hori |
6 Judah | Caleb son of Jephunneh |
7 Issachar | Igal son of Joseph |
8 Ephraim | Hoshea son of Nun |
9 Benjamin | Palti son of Raphu |
10 Zebulun | Gaddiel son of Sodi |
11 Manasseh son of Joseph | Gaddi son of Susi |
12 Dan | Ammiel son of Gemalli |
13 Asher | Sethur son of Michael |
14 Naphtali | Nahbi son of Vophsi |
15 Gad | Geuel son of Maki |
16 These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)
17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? 20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) 23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.
The Scouting Report
25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned
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Numbers 13:1-25
International Standard Version
The Twelve Explorers(A)
13 Later, the Lord told Moses, 2 “Send men to explore the land of Canaan that I’m about to give to the Israelis. Send one man to represent each of his ancestor’s tribes, every one of them a distinguished leader[a] among them.”
3 So that’s just what Moses did, sending them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the Lord’s instructions. All of the men were Israeli leaders. 4 These were their names: From Reuben’s tribe, Zaccur’s son Shammua; 5 From Simeon’s tribe, Hori’s son Shaphat; 6 From Judah’s tribe, Jephunneh’s son Caleb; 7 from Issachar’s tribe, Joseph’s son Igal; 8 From Ephraim’s tribe, Nun’s son Hoshea; 9 From Benjamin’s tribe, Raphu’s son Palti; 10 from Zebulun’s tribe, Sodi’s son Gaddiel; 11 from Joseph’s tribe of Manasseh, Susi’s son Gaddi; 12 From Dan’s tribe, Gemalli’s son Ammiel; 13 from Asher’s tribe, Michael’s son Sethur; 14 from Naphtali’s tribe, Vophsi’s son Nahbi; 15 and from Gad’s tribe, Machi’s son Geuel. 16 These are the names of the men sent by Moses to explore the land.
Moses Issues Orders to the Explorers
Moses renamed Nun’s son Hoshea to Joshua. 17 Then he[b] sent them out to explore the land of Canaan. He instructed them, “Go up from here through the Negev,[c] then ascend to the hill country. 18 See what the land is like. Observe whether the people who live there are strong or weak, or whether they’re few or numerous. 19 Look to see whether the land where they live is good or bad, and whether the cities in which they live are merely tents or if they’re fortified. 20 Examine the farmland,[d] whether it’s fertile or barren, and see if there are fruit-bearing trees in it or not. Be very courageous, and bring back some samples of the fruit of the land.”
As it was, that time of year[e] was the season for the first fruits of the grape harvest. 21 So they went to explore the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob, and as far as the outskirts of Hamath. 22 They went through the Negev[f] and reached Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak lived. (Hebron had been constructed seven years before Zoan in Egypt had been built).[g] 23 Soon they arrived in the valley of Eshcol, where they cut a single branch of grapes and carried it on a pole between two men,[h] along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 The entire place was called the Eshcol Valley on account of the cluster of grapes that the men of Israel had taken from there.
The Explorers Return
25 At the end of 40 days, they all returned from exploring the land,
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Numbers 13:2 Lit. them one lifted up
- Numbers 13:17 Lit. Moses
- Numbers 13:17 I.e. the southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Numbers 13:20 Lit. land
- Numbers 13:20 The Heb. lacks of year
- Numbers 13:22 I.e. the southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Numbers 13:22 The Heb. lacks had been built
- Numbers 13:23 The Heb. lacks men
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