Numbers 13
1 The Lord told Moses,
Yahweh spoke 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, 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 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 according to the commandment of Yahweh. All of them were men who were heads of the children of Israel.
4 Their names were: Shammua son of Zaccur, from the tribe of Reuben.
These were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
5 Shaphat, son of Hori, from the tribe of Simeon.
Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
6 Caleb, son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah.
Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
7 Igal, son of Joseph, from the tribe of Issachar.
Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
8 Hoshea, son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim.
Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.
9 Palti son of Raphu, from the tribe of Benjamin.
Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
10 Gaddiel, son of Sodi, from the tribe of Zebulun.
Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.
11 Gaddi, son of Susi, from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph).
Of the tribe of Joseph, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
12 Ammiel, son of Gemalli, from the tribe of Dan.
Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
13 Sethur, son of Michael, from the tribe of Asher.
Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
14 Nahbi, son of Vophsi, from the tribe of Naphtali.
Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
15 Geuel, son of Machi, from the tribe of Gad.
Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the 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 who Moses sent to spy out the land. Moses called Hoshea the 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.
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 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?
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 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 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 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 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 the men went and explored the land all the way from the Desert of Zin to Rehob, bear Lebo-hamath.
So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of 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 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 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.
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 (The place was named the Valley of Eshcol because of the bunch of grapes they took from there.)
That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from there.
25 Forty days later the men returned from exploring the country.
They returned 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.
They went and came to Moses, to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word to them and to all the congregation. They showed 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!
They told him, and said, “We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows 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.
However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the 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 dwells in the land of the South. The Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwell in the hill country. The Canaanite dwells by the sea, and along 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!”
Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “Let’s go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome 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 men who went up with him said, “We aren’t able to go up against the people; for they are 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!
They brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out to the children of Israel, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people who we saw in it are men of great 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!”
There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim. We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
