< Numbers 13 >

1 The Lord told Moses,
And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, the country I'm giving to the Israelites. Choose one of the leaders from each of the tribes to go and do this.”
“Send men for yourself, and they spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel; one man—you send one man for the tribe of his fathers, everyone a prince among them.”
3 Moses did as the Lord had ordered and sent the men out from the Desert of Paran. They were all leaders of the Israelites.
And Moses sends them from the wilderness of Paran by the command of YHWH; all of them [are] men, [and] they are heads of the sons of Israel,
4 Their names were: Shammua son of Zaccur, from the tribe of Reuben.
and these [are] their names: for the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5 Shaphat, son of Hori, from the tribe of Simeon.
for the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 Caleb, son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah.
for the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 Igal, son of Joseph, from the tribe of Issachar.
for the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 Hoshea, son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim.
for the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea son of Nun;
9 Palti son of Raphu, from the tribe of Benjamin.
for the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 Gaddiel, son of Sodi, from the tribe of Zebulun.
for the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 Gaddi, son of Susi, from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph).
for the tribe of Joseph (for the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 Ammiel, son of Gemalli, from the tribe of Dan.
for the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 Sethur, son of Michael, from the tribe of Asher.
for the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 Nahbi, son of Vophsi, from the tribe of Naphtali.
for the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vopshi;
15 Geuel, son of Machi, from the tribe of Gad.
for the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.
16 These were the names of the men that Moses sent to explore the country. Moses called Hoshea Joshua.
These [are] the names of the men whom Moses has sent to spy out the land; and Moses calls Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua.
17 Moses sent them out to explore the land of Canaan, telling them, “Go through the Negev and on into the hill country.
And Moses sends them to spy out the land of Canaan and says to them, “Go up this [way] into the south, and you have gone up the mountain,
18 See what the place looks like, and find out about the people living there—are they strong or weak? Are there many of them or only a few?
and have seen the land, what it [is], and the people which is dwelling on it, whether it [is] strong or feeble, [and] whether it [is] few or many;
19 Is the land where they're living good or bad? Are their towns like open camps, or do they have defensive walls?
and what the land [is] in which it is dwelling, whether it [is] good or bad; and what [are] the cities in which it is dwelling, whether in camps or in fortresses.
20 Is the soil productive or not? Is it forested? Be brave, and bring back some of the country's fruit.” (It was the beginning of the grape harvest.)
And what the land [is], whether it [is] fat or lean; whether there is wood in it or not; and you have strengthened yourselves, and have taken of the fruit of the land”; now the days [are] days of the first-fruits of grapes.
21 So the men went and explored the land all the way from the Desert of Zin to Rehob, bear Lebo-hamath.
And they go up and spy out the land, from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob at the going in to Hamath;
22 They went through the Negev and arrived in Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. This town was built seven years before the Egyptian town of Zoan.
and they go up by the south, and come to Hebron, and there [are] Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, children of Anak (and Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt),
23 When they arrived at the Valley of Eshcol they chopped down a branch that had just one bunch of grapes. They had to carry it on a pole held between two men. They also collected some pomegranates and figs.
and they come to the Brook of Eshcol, and cut down a branch and one cluster of grapes there, and they carry it on a staff by two, also [some] of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
24 (The place was named the Valley of Eshcol because of the bunch of grapes they took from there.)
That place has been called the Brook of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut from there.
25 Forty days later the men returned from exploring the country.
And they return from spying out the land at the end of forty days.
26 They went to see Moses and Aaron, and all the Israelites gathered there at their camp in Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They gave a report before everyone and showed them the fruit they had brought back from the country.
And they go and come to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and they bring them and all the congregation back word, and show them the fruit of the land.
27 This is the report they gave to Moses: “We went and explored the country you sent us to, and it is definitely very productive, as if it was flowing with milk and honey. Just look at some of its fruit!
And they recount to him, and say, “We came to the land to where you have sent us, and it is indeed flowing with milk and honey—and this [is] its fruit;
28 But the people living there are strong, and their towns are big and have defensive walls. We also saw some descendants of Anak there.
only, surely the people which is dwelling in the land [is] strong; and the cities are fortified [and] very great; and we have also seen children of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live on the sea coast and also beside the Jordan.”
Amalek is dwelling in the land of the south, and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite are dwelling in the hill country, and the Canaanite is dwelling by the sea, and by the side of the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb asked for quiet as the people stood before Moses and told them, “Let's go and take over the land. We can conquer the country, no doubt about it!”
And Caleb stills the people concerning Moses and says, “Let us certainly go up—and we have possessed it; for we are thoroughly able to [do] it.”
31 But the men who had gone with him disagreed. “We can't go and fight these people! They're much stronger than us!”
And the men who have gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for it [is] stronger than we”;
32 They spread a negative report among the Israelites about the country they had explored. They told people, “The country we explored destroys the people that live there. Plus everyone we saw was really big!
and they bring out an evil account of the land which they have spied out to the sons of Israel, saying, “The land into which we passed over to spy it out is a land eating up its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in its midst [are] men of stature;
33 We even saw giants there—people descended from Anak the giant! Compared to them we looked like grasshoppers, and we must have looked like that to them too!”
and there we saw the giants, sons of Anak, of the giants; and we are as grasshoppers in our own eyes—and so we were in their eyes.”

< Numbers 13 >