Numbers 13:1-25
World English Bible
13 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel. Of every tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a prince among them.”
3 Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of Yahweh. All of them were men who were heads of the children of Israel. 4 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, 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 who Moses sent to spy out the land. Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua. 17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way by the South, and go up into the hill country. 18 See the land, what it is; and the people who 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 fertile or poor, whether there is wood therein, or not. Be courageous, 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 spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath. 22 They went up by the South, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 They came to the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it on a staff between two. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from there. 25 They returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days.
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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 chapterFootnotes
- 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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