Numbers 13
1 And the LORD said to Moses,
And there, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 “Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”
“Send men, who may examine the land of Canaan, which I will give to the sons of Israel, one from the rulers of each tribe.”
3 So at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,
Moses did what the Lord had commanded, sending, from the desert of Paran, leading men, whose names are these:
4 and these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
from the tribe of Ruben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hosea the son of Nun;
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
from the tribe of Zebulon, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
from the tribe of Joseph, of the scepter of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;
15 and from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.
from the tribe of Gad, Guel the son of Machi.
16 These were the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses gave to Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.
These are the names of the men, whom Moses sent to examine the land. And he called Hosea, the son of Nun, Joshua.
17 When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country.
And so, Moses sent them to examine the land of Canaan, and he said to them: “Ascend by the south side. And when you arrive at the mountains,
18 See what the land is like and whether its people are strong or weak, few or many.
consider the land, as to what kind it may be, and the people, who are its inhabitants, whether they may be strong or weak, whether they may be few in number or many,
19 Is the land where they live good or bad? Are the cities where they dwell open camps or fortifications?
and the land itself, whether it is good or bad, what kind of cities, walled or without walls,
20 Is the soil fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous, and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
the soil, rich or barren, forested or without trees. Be strong, and bring us some of the fruits of the land.” Now it was the time when the first ripe grapes were ready to be eaten.
21 So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.
And when they had ascended, they explored the land from the desert of Sin, all the way to Rehob, as one enters into Hamath.
22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
And they ascended by the south side. And they arrived at Hebron, where there were Ahiman and Shishai and Talmai, the sons of Anak. For Hebron was founded seven years before Tanis, the city of Egypt.
23 When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.
And continuing on as far as the Torrent of the Cluster of Grapes, they cut off a vine with its grapes, which two men carried on a board. Likewise, they took from the pomegranates and the figs of that place,
24 Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol.
which was called Nehel Eshcol, that is, the Torrent of the Cluster of Grapes, because the sons of Israel had carried a cluster of grapes from there.
25 After forty days the men returned from spying out the land,
And those exploring the land returned after forty days, having circulated through the entire region.
26 and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.
And they went to Moses and Aaron, and to the entire assembly of the sons of Israel in the desert of Paran, which is in Kadesh. And speaking to them, and to the entire multitude, they showed them the fruits of the land.
27 And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit!
And they explained, saying: “We went into the land, to which you sent us, which, it is true, flows with milk and honey, as one can know by these fruits.
28 Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there.
But it has very strong occupants, and the cities are great and also walled. We saw the race of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
Amalek lives in the south. The Hethite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite live in the mountains. And truly, the Canaanite stays near the sea and around the streams of the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!”
During these events, Caleb, to restrain the murmuring of the people who rose up against Moses, said, “Let us ascend and possess the land, for we will be able to obtain it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!”
Yet truly, the others, who had been with him, were saying, “By no means are we able to ascend to this people, because they are stronger than we are.”
32 So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature.
And before the sons of Israel they disparaged the land, which they had inspected, saying: “The land, which we viewed, devours its inhabitants. The people, upon whom we gazed, were of lofty stature.
33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
There, we saw some monsters among the sons of Anak, of the race of giants; by comparison with them, we seemed like locusts.”
