Explorers Sent to Canaan
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men, that they may explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. Of every tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”
3 Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of the Lord. All of them were men who were heads of the Israelites. 4 These were their names:
Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.
9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.
11 Of the tribe of Joseph, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
16 These are the names of the men who Moses sent to explore the land. Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
Instructions to the Explorers
17 Moses sent them to explore the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up this way by the South, and go up into the hill country. 18 See the land, what it is and the people who dwell in it, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many. 19 What is the land like that they dwell in? Is it is good or bad? Are the cities in which they dwell camps or fortresses? 20 What is the land like? Is it is fertile or poor? Is there wood in it, or not? Be courageous and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” Now it was the time of the first-ripe grapes.
The Israelites Explore Canaan
21 So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath. 22 They went up by the South and came to Hebron, and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 They came to the valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a staff between the two of them, and they also brought back pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol because of the cluster which the Israelites cut down from there.
The Reports of the Explorers
25 They returned from exploring the land after 40 days. 26 They came back to Moses, to Aaron, and to the whole community of the Israelites, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh and brought back word to them and to the whole community. They showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They told him, “We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 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 Caleb quieted 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 went up with him said, “We aren’t able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 They brought up a bad report to the Israelites, of the land which they had explored, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to explore is a land that eats up its inhabitants, and all the people who we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the Nephilim, the descendants of Anak, who come from the Nephilim. We looked like grasshoppers in our own sight, and also in their sight.”