Numbers 13
1 The Lord told Moses,
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,
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 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 Moses did as the Lord had ordered and sent the men out from the Desert of Paran. They were all leaders of the Israelites.
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 Their names were: Shammua son of Zaccur, from the tribe of Reuben.
These were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5 Shaphat, son of Hori, from the tribe of Simeon.
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6 Caleb, son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah.
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7 Igal, son of Joseph, from the tribe of Issachar.
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8 Hoshea, son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim.
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9 Palti son of Raphu, from the tribe of Benjamin.
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10 Gaddiel, son of Sodi, from the tribe of Zebulun.
from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11 Gaddi, son of Susi, from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph).
from the tribe of Joseph (that is to say, from the tribe Manasseh), Gaddi son of Susi;
12 Ammiel, son of Gemalli, from the tribe of Dan.
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13 Sethur, son of Michael, from the tribe of Asher.
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14 Nahbi, son of Vophsi, from the tribe of Naphtali.
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15 Geuel, son of Machi, from the tribe of Gad.
from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16 These were the names of the men that Moses sent to explore the country. Moses called Hoshea 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 Moses sent them out to explore the land of Canaan, telling them, “Go through the Negev and on 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 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?
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 Is the land where they're living good or bad? Are their towns like open camps, or do they have defensive walls?
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 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.)
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 the men went and explored the land all the way from the Desert of Zin to Rehob, bear Lebo-hamath.
So the men went up and examined the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo 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.
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 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.
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 (The place was named the Valley of Eshcol because of the bunch of grapes they 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 Forty days later the men returned from exploring the country.
After forty days, they returned from examining the land.
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.
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 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!
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 there are strong, and their towns are big and have defensive walls. We also saw some descendants 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 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.”
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 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!”
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 with him disagreed. “We can't go and fight these people! They're much stronger than us!”
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 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!
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 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!”
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.”
