Numbers 13
Moses sent 12 men, one from each tribe, to explore the land of Canaan, which God had promised to the Israelites. The men were instructed to examine the land, its people, and its cities, and to bring back some of its fruits. After 40 days, the men returned and reported that the land was fertile and abundant, but its occupants were strong and the cities were walled. However, Caleb encouraged the Israelites to take possession of the land, while the other men discouraged them, describing the inhabitants as giants and the land as devouring its inhabitants.
1And there, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying2"Send men, who may examine the land of Canaan, which I will give to the sons of Israel, one from the rulers of each tribe.3Moses did what the Lord had commanded, sending, from the desert of Paran, leading men, whose names are these4from the tribe of Ruben, Shammua the son of Zaccur5from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori6from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh7from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph8from the tribe of Ephraim, Hosea the son of Nun9from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu10from the tribe of Zebulon, Gaddiel the son of Sodi11from the tribe of Joseph, of the scepter of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi12from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli13from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael14from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi15from the tribe of Gad, Guel the son of Machi16These are the names of the men, whom Moses sent to examine the land. And he called Hosea, the son of Nun, Joshua17And so, Moses sent them to examine the land of Canaan, and he said to them: "Ascend by the south side. And when you arrive at the mountains18consider the land, as to what kind it may be, and the people, who are its inhabitants, whether they may be strong or weak, whether they may be few in number or many19and the land itself, whether it is good or bad, what kind of cities, walled or without walls20the soil, rich or barren, forested or without trees. Be strong, and bring us some of the fruits of the land." Now it was the time when the first ripe grapes were ready to be eaten21And when they had ascended, they explored the land from the desert of Sin, all the way to Rehob, as one enters into Hamath22And they ascended by the south side. And they arrived at Hebron, where there were Ahiman and Shishai and Talmai, the sons of Anak. For Hebron was founded seven years before Tanis, the city of Egypt23And continuing on as far as the Torrent of the Cluster of Grapes, they cut off a vine with its grapes, which two men carried on a board. Likewise, they took from the pomegranates and the figs of that place24which was called Nehel Eshcol, that is, the Torrent of the Cluster of Grapes, because the sons of Israel had carried a cluster of grapes from there25And those exploring the land returned after forty days, having circulated through the entire region26And they went to Moses and Aaron, and to the entire assembly of the sons of Israel in the desert of Paran, which is in Kadesh. And speaking to them, and to the entire multitude, they showed them the fruits of the land27And they explained, saying: "We went into the land, to which you sent us, which, it is true, flows with milk and honey, as one can know by these fruits28But it has very strong occupants, and the cities are great and also walled. We saw the race of Anak there29Amalek lives in the south. The Hethite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite live in the mountains. And truly, the Canaanite stays near the sea and around the streams of the Jordan.30During these events, Caleb, to restrain the murmuring of the people who rose up against Moses, said, "Let us ascend and possess the land, for we will be able to obtain it.31Yet truly, the others, who had been with him, were saying, "By no means are we able to ascend to this people, because they are stronger than we are.32And before the sons of Israel they disparaged the land, which they had inspected, saying: "The land, which we viewed, devours its inhabitants. The people, upon whom we gazed, were of lofty stature33There, we saw some monsters among the sons of Anak, of the race of giants; by comparison with them, we seemed like locusts.
Share this chapter