Numbers 13
1 And the Lord said to Moses,
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,
2 Send men to get knowledge about the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from every tribe of their fathers you are to send a man, every one a chief among them.
“Send some men to examine the land of Canaan, which I have given to the people of Israel. Send a man from every tribe of their ancestors. Each man must be a leader among them.”
3 And Moses sent them from the waste land of Paran as the Lord gave orders, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel.
Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, so that they might obey Yahweh's command. All of them were leaders among the people of Israel.
4 And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua, the son of Zaccur.
These were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat, the son of Hori.
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal, the son of Joseph.
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea, the son of Nun.
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti, the son of Raphu.
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel, the son of Sodi.
from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 Of the tribe of Joseph, that is of the family of Manasseh, Gaddi, the son of Susi.
from the tribe of Joseph (that is to say, from the tribe Manasseh), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel, the son of Gemalli.
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur, the son of Michael
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi, the son of Vophsi.
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 Of the tribe of Gad, Gevel, the son of Machi.
from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to get knowledge about the land. And Moses gave to Hoshea, the son of Nun, the name of Joshua.
These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to examine the land. Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name of Joshua.
17 So Moses sent them to have a look at the land of Canaan, and said to them, Go up into the South and into the hill-country;
Moses sent them to examine the land of Canaan. He said to them, “Approach from the Negev and go up into the hill country.
18 And see what the land is like; and if the people living in it are strong or feeble, small or great in number;
Examine the land to see what it is like. Observe the people who live there, whether they are strong or weak, and whether they are few or many.
19 And what sort of land they are living in, if it is good or bad; and what their living-places are, tent-circles or walled towns;
See what the land is like where they live. Is it good or bad? What cities are there? Are they like camps, or are they fortified cities?
20 And if the land is fertile or poor, and if there is wood in it or not. And be of good heart, and come back with some of the produce of the land. Now it was the time when the first grapes were ready.
See what the land is like, whether it is good for growing crops or not, and whether there are trees there or not. Be brave and bring back samples of the land's produce.” Now the time was the season for the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and got a view of the land, from the waste land of Zin to Rehob, on the way to Hamath.
So the men went up and examined the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo Hamath.
22 They went up into the South and came to Hebron; and Ahiman and Sheshai and Talmai, the children of Anak, were living there. (Now the building of Hebron took place seven years before that of Zoan in Egypt.)
They went up from the Negev and arrived at Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, clans descended from Anak, were there. Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
23 And they came to the valley of Eshcol, and cutting down a vine-branch with its grapes, two of them took it on a rod between them; and they took some pomegranates and figs.
When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut down a branch with a cluster of grapes. They carried it on a staff between two of their group. They also brought pomegranates and figs.
24 That place was named the valley of Eshcol because of the grapes which the children of Israel took from there.
That place was named the Valley of Eshkol, because of the grape cluster that the people of Israel cut down there.
25 At the end of forty days they came back from viewing the land.
After forty days, they returned from examining the land.
26 And they came back to Moses and Aaron and all the children of Israel, to Kadesh in the waste land of Paran; and gave an account to them and to all the people and let them see the produce of the land.
They came back to Moses, Aaron, and all the community of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the community, and showed them the produce from the land.
27 And they said, We came to the land where you sent us, and truly it is flowing with milk and honey: and here is some of the produce of it.
They told Moses, “We reached the land to which you sent us. It certainly flows with milk and honey. Here is some produce from it.
28 But the people living in the land are strong, and the towns are walled and very great; further, we saw the children of Anak there.
However, the people who make their homes there are strong. The cities are fortified and very large. We also saw descendants of Anak there.
29 And the Amalekites are in the South; and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill-country; and the Canaanites by the sea and by the side of Jordan.
The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites have their homes in the hill country. The Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan River.”
30 Then Caleb made signs to the people to keep quiet, and said to Moses, Let us go up straight away and take this land; for we are well able to overcome it.
Then Caleb silenced the people who were before Moses and said, “Let us go up and take possession of the land, for we are certainly able to conquer it.”
31 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.
But the other men who had gone with him said, “We are not able to attack the people because they are stronger than we are.”
32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad account of the land they had been to see, saying, This land through which we went is a land causing destruction to those living in it; and all the people we saw there are men of more than common size.
So they spread around a discouraging report to the people of Israel about the land that they had examined. They said, “The land that we looked at is a land that eats up its inhabitants. All the people whom we saw there are people of great height.
33 There we saw those great men, the sons of Anak, offspring of the Nephilim: and we seemed to ourselves no more than insects, and so we seemed to them.
There we saw giants, descendants of Anak, people who came from giants. In our own sight we were like grasshoppers in comparison with them, and this is what we were in their sight, too.”
