Numbers 13:26-33

Report about Canaan

26 The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land.^[a]

27 They reported to Moses: "We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey,^[b] and here is some of its fruit.

28 However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified.^[c] We also saw the descendants of Anak^[d] there.

29 The Amalekites^[e] are living in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan."

30 Then Caleb^[f] quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, "We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!"

31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, "We can't go up against the people because they are stronger than we are!"

32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: "The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.

33 We even saw the Nephilim^[g] there." (The offspring of Anak were descended from the Nephilim.^[h]) "To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them."

Numbers 13:26-33 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 13

In this chapter an order is given by the Lord, to send twelve men into the land of Canaan, to search and spy it, and which was accordingly executed, Nu 13:1-3; and the names of the twelve persons are given, Nu 13:4-16; the instructions they received from Moses, what part of the land they should enter into first, and what observations they should make on it, Nu 13:17-20; which they attended to, and on their return brought some of the fruit of the land with them, Nu 13:21-26; and gave an account of it, that it was a very fruitful land, but the inhabitants mighty, and their cities walled, Nu 13:27-29; which threw the people into confusion, but that they were stilled by Caleb, one of the spies, who encouraged them, Nu 13:30; but all the rest, excepting Joshua, brought an ill report of it, as not to be subdued and conquered by them, Nu 13:31-33.

Footnotes

• [a]. Nm 32:9; Dt 1:24-25
• [b]. Nm 14:8; 16:13-14; Ex 3:8; Lv 20:24
• [c]. Dt 1:28; 3:5; 9:1; Jos 14:12
• [d]. Nm 13:33; Dt 1:28; 2:10-11,21
• [e]. Nm 14:25,43,45; Ex 17:8-16; Dt 25:17-19
• [f]. Nm 14:6,24,30,38; 26:65
• [g]. Possibly means "fallen ones"; traditionally, giants; Gn 6:4
• [h]. Dt 2:10-11,20-21