Numbers 13, Explore the Land

(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)

The Israelites approach the land of Canaan.

Numbers 13:1-2, Send out some men

The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."

Moses is told to bring together some leaders, in preparation for exploring the land of Canaan.

Numbers 13:3-16, Twelve men   

So at the LORD's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. These are their names: 

from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;

from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;

from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;

from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;

from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;

from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;

from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;

from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;

from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;

from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;

from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.

These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)

 

Twelve men are selected to explore the land.  Caleb and Hoshea/Joshua will play an important part in the next forty years. 

Numbers 13:17-20, Take notes

When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)

The twelve men are to go through the land and take notes on its people, its fertility and crops, any information that will help the Israelites prepare for their upcoming conquest.

Numbers 13:21-24, Grapes, pomegranates, figs

So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there.

The twelve travel through the land, bringing back, among other thins, a giant cluster of grapes.

Numbers 13:25-29, Report

At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.

They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."

The report on the land is that it is abundant, that is "does flow with milk and honey." But also that the people are scary and the cities fortified. Indeed, the "descendants of Anak" live there. There is considerable danger in attacking this land!

Numbers 13:30, Caleb responds

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."

Caleb responds that the Israelites should go into the land. It can be conquered. 

Numbers 13:31-33, Like grasshoppers

But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are."

And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

The other ten disagree with Caleb and overrule him. They spread their views throughout the camp. "We seemed like grasshoppers," they say.

First published September 15, 2025; updated September 15, 2025