And ye came near unto me everyone of you
Not every individual of them, but the heads of their tribes, that represented them; this is not to be understood of the present generation personally, but of their fathers, who all died in the wilderness, save a very few of them; but they being the same people and nation, it is so expressed:
and said, we will send men before us;
that is, they thought it was proper and prudent so to do, and came to Moses to consult him about it; for we are not to suppose that they had determined upon it, whether he approved of it or not:
and they shall search us out the land:
that they might know what sort of land it was, whether good or bad, fruitful or not, and whether woody or not: see ( Numbers 13:19 Numbers 13:20 )
and bring us word again by what way we must go up;
or, "concerning the way F13 in which we must go"; which is the best way of entering it, most easy and accessible, where the passes are most open and least dangerous:
and into what cities we shall come;
which it would be the most proper to attack and subdue first.