Numbers 13

Chapter 13

Twelve Scouts Explore Canaan

1 The LORD now said to Moses,2 “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.”3 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.

4 These were the tribes and the names of their leaders:
TribeLeader
ReubenShammua son of Zaccur5 SimeonShaphat son of Hori6 JudahCaleb son of Jephunneh7 IssacharIgal son of Joseph8 EphraimHoshea son of Nun9 BenjaminPalti son of Raphu10 ZebulunGaddiel son of Sodi11 Manasseh son of JosephGaddi son of Susi12 DanAmmiel son of Gemalli13 AsherSethur son of Michael14 NaphtaliNahbi son of Vophsi15 GadGeuel son of Maki

16 These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)
17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country.18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many.19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps?

20 Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.22 Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.)23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs.

24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.

The Scouting Report

25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.27 This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!

29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Seat and along the Jordan Valley.”

30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge.

33 We even saw giantst there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

NUMBERS 13

Twelve Men Are Sent //into Canaan

(Deuteronomy 1.19-33)

1 The [Lord] said to Moses,

2 “Choose a leader from each tribe and send them into Canaan to explore the land I am giving you.”
3 So Moses sent twelve tribal leaders from Israel's camp in the Paran Desert

4-16 with orders to explore the land of Canaan. And here are their names:
Shammua son of Zaccur
from Reuben,
Shaphat son of Hori
from Simeon,
Caleb son of Jephunneh
from Judah,
Igal son of Joseph
from Issachar,
Joshua son of Nun
from Ephraim, t
Palti son of Raphu
from Benjamin,
Gaddiel son of Sodi
from Zebulun,
Gaddi son of Susi
from Manasseh,
Ammiel son of Gemalli
from Dan,
Sethur son of Michael
from Asher,
Nahbi son of Vophsi
from Naphtali,
and Geuel son of Machi
from Gad.

17 Before Moses sent them into Canaan, he said:
After you go through the Southern Desert of Canaan, continue north into the hill country 18 and find out what those regions are like. Be sure to remember how many people live there, how strong they are,

19-20 and if they live in open towns or walled cities. See if the land is good for growing crops and find out what kinds of trees grow there. It's time for grapes to ripen, so try to bring back some of the fruit that grows there.
21 The twelve men left to explore Canaan from the Zin Desert in the south all the way to the town of Rehob near Lebo-Hamath in the north. 22 As they went through the Southern Desert, they came to the town of Hebron, which was seven years older than the Egyptian town of Zoan. In Hebron, they saw the three Anakimt clans of Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai.

23-24 When they got to Bunch Valley, t they cut off a branch with such a huge bunch of grapes, that it took two men to carry it on a pole. That's why the place was called Bunch Valley. Along with the grapes, they also took back pomegranatest and figs.

The Men Report Back //to the People

27 and said:
Look at this fruit! The land we explored is rich with milk and honey. 28 But the people who live there are strong, and their cities are large and walled. We even saw the three Anakimt clans.

29 Besides that, the Amalekites live in the Southern Desert; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites are in the hill country; and the Canaanitest live along the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

30 Caleb calmed down the crowd and said, “Let's go and take the land. I know we can do it!”
31 But the other men replied, “Those people are much too strong for us.” 32 Then they started spreading rumors and saying, “We won't be able to grow anything in that soil. And the people are like giants. 33 t In fact, we saw the Nephilim who are the ancestors of the Anakim. They were so big that we felt as small as grasshoppers.”