Numbers13

The LORD commanded Moses to send twelve leaders, one from each tribe, to spy out the land of Canaan. After forty days, they returned with fruit, confirming the land's fertility, but ten of the spies reported that the inhabitants were strong giants and the cities were greatly fortified. Caleb, however, urged the people to go up and possess the land, believing they were well able to overcome it.
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The Command to Send Spies

1
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
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Send thou men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a prince among them. ​
3
And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of Jehovah: all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. ​
4
And these were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
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Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
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Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ​
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Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
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Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.
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Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
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Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.
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Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
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Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
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Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
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Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
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Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
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These are the names of the men that Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua. ​

Instructions for the Mission

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And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way by the South, and go up into the hill-country:
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and see the land, what it is; and the people that dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many;
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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;
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and what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there is wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first-ripe grapes. ​
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So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath. ​
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And they went up by the South, and came unto Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ​
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And they came unto the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it upon a staff between two; they brought also of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
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That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
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And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days.

The Spies Return to Kadesh

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And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. ​
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And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us; and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. ​
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Howbeit the people that dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. ​
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Amalek dwelleth in the land of the South: and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, dwell in the hill-country; and the Canaanite dwelleth by the sea, and along by the side of the Jordan.

The Conflicting Reports

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And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. ​
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But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
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And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. ​
33
And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. ​

Study Notes for Numbers 13

Verse 2

While presented here as a divine command, Deuteronomy 1:22 indicates the people themselves requested this reconnaissance mission. God permitted the mission, but it was not strictly necessary for possession, as the land was already promised.

Verse 3

The wilderness of Paran served as the primary staging area for Israel following their departure from Mount Sinai. Sending these 'heads' (rulers) emphasized the importance and official nature of the mission.

Verse 6

Caleb, representing the powerful tribe of Judah, is one of only two spies (along with Joshua) who maintained faith and survived the forty years of wandering to enter the Promised Land (Num 14:24).

Verse 16

Moses changes Oshea (meaning 'salvation') to Jehoshua or Joshua (meaning 'The LORD is salvation'). This renaming emphasizes that Israel’s success in conquest depends entirely on divine intervention, not merely human effort or military strategy.

Verse 20

The instruction to bring back fruit served as tangible proof of the land's fertility, confirming the promise that it 'flowed with milk and honey.' The timing corresponds to the season of the first ripe grapes, highlighting the abundance.

Verse 21

The spies covered the entire length of Canaan, from the southern wilderness of Zin all the way north to Rehob near Hamath, confirming the vastness of the territory God promised.

Verse 22

Hebron was an ancient and historically significant city, later becoming the site of the patriarchal burial cave (Machpelah). The mention of the Anakim (giants) immediately introduces the formidable threat that would paralyze the Israelites with fear.

Verse 26

The return to Kadesh marks a critical turning point in Israel's history; the decisions made here determine the fate of that generation.

Verse 27

The spies confirm the physical blessing of the land, using the traditional covenant phrase 'floweth with milk and honey.' This affirms God’s faithfulness in providing a rich inheritance, even before noting the difficulties.

Verse 28

This verse marks the shift from objective report to fearful assessment. The focus moves from the goodness of the land to the size and strength of the inhabitants, particularly the Anakim (descendants of giants).

Verse 30

Caleb’s immediate, faithful interjection attempts to counter the rising panic. His response, 'We are well able to overcome it,' emphasizes reliance on God’s power rather than a purely human military calculation.

Verse 32

The 'evil report' exaggerates the danger; the description of the land 'eating up the inhabitants' is hyperbolic rhetoric designed to spread terror and justify their refusal to obey God’s command.

Verse 33

The comparison of themselves to 'grasshoppers' reveals a complete failure of faith and a loss of identity. By focusing on the enemy's size, they forget the immense power of the God who delivered them from Egypt.

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