Numbers 13

1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

2 Send thou men, that they may search out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel. Ye shall send a man of every tribe of his fathers, each a prince among them.

3 And Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran: according to the commandment of Jehovah, all of them heads of the children of Israel.

4 And these are their names: for the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;

5 for the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;

6 for the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;

7 for the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;

8 for the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun;

9 for the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu;

10 for the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;

11 for the tribe of Joseph, for the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi;

12 for the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;

13 for the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael;

14 for the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;

15 for the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to search out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Jehoshua.

17 And Moses sent them to search out the land of Canaan, and said to them, Go up this way by the south and go up into the hill-country,

18 and ye shall see the land, what it is; and the people that dwell in it, whether they are strong or weak, few or many;

19 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;

20 and what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there are trees in it, or not. And take courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first grapes.

21 And they went up, and searched out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, where one comes towards Hamath.

22 And they went up by the south, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.

23 And they came as far as the valley of Eshcol, and cut down thence a branch with one bunch of grapes, and they bore it between two upon a pole; and [they brought] of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the grapes which the children of Israel had cut down there.

25 And they returned from searching out the land after forty days.

26 And they came, and went to Moses and to Aaron, and to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word to them, and to the whole assembly; and shewed them the fruit of the land.

27 And they told him, and said, We came to the land to which thou didst send us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

28 Only, the people are strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, very great; moreover we saw the children of Anak there.

29 Amalek dwells in the land of the south; and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill-country; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the side of the Jordan.

30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up boldly and possess it, for we are well able to do it.

31 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.

32 And they brought to the children of Israel an evil report of the land which they had searched out, saying, The land, which we have passed through to search it out, is a land that eateth up its inhabitants; and all the people that we have seen in it are men of great stature;

33 and there have we seen giants -- the sons of Anak are of the giants -- and we were in our sight as grasshoppers, and so we were also in their sight.

Numbers 13 Commentary

Chapter 13

Twelve men sent to search the land of Canaan, Their instructions. (1-20) Their proceedings. (21-25) Their account of the land. (26-33)

Verses 1-20 A memorable and melancholy history is related in this and the following chapter, of the turning back of Israel from the borders of Canaan, and the sentencing them to wander and perish in the wilderness, for their unbelief and murmuring. It appears, ( Deuteronomy 1:22 ) , that the motion to search out the land came from the people. They had a better opinion of their own policy than of God's wisdom. Thus we ruin ourselves by believing the reports and representations of sense rather than Divine revelation. We walk by sight not by faith. Moses gave the spies this charge, Be of good courage. It was not only a great undertaking they were put upon, which required good management and resolution; but a great trust was reposed in them, which required that they should be faithful. Courage in such circumstances can only spring from strong faith, which Caleb and Joshua alone possessed.

Verses 21-25 The searchers of the land brought a bunch of grapes with them, and other fruits, as proofs of the goodness of the country; which was to Israel both the earnest and the specimen of all the fruits of Canaan. Such are the present comforts we have in communion with God, foretastes of the fulness of joy we expect in the heavenly Canaan. We may see by them what heaven is.

Verses 26-33 We may wonder that the people of Israel staid forty days for the return of their spies, when they were ready to enter Canaan, under all the assurances of success they could have from the Divine power, and the miracles that had hitherto attended them. But they distrusted God's power and promise. How much we stand in our own light by our unbelief! At length the messengers returned; but the greater part discouraged the people from going forward to Canaan. Justly are the Israelites left to this temptation, for putting confidence in the judgment of men, when they had the word of God to trust in. Though they had found the land as good as God had said, yet they would not believe it to be as sure as he had said, but despaired of having it, though Eternal Truth had engaged it to them. This was the representation of the evil spies. Caleb, however, encouraged them to go forward, though seconded by Joshua only. He does not say, Let us go up and conquer it; but, Let us go and possess it. Difficulties that are in the way of salvation, dwindle and vanish before a lively, active faith in the power and promise of God. All things are possible, if they are promised, to him that believes; but carnal sense and carnal professors are not to be trusted. Unbelief overlooks the promises and power of God, magnifies every danger and difficulty, and fills the heart with discouragement. May the Lord help us to believe! we shall then find all things possible.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit. 'men, heads.'
• [b]. Deliverance.
• [c]. Jehovah [is] Saviour.
• [d]. Or 'by the south country:' see Gen. 12.9.
• [e]. Or 'at the entrance of.'
• [f]. Valley of the bunch of grapes.

Chapter Summary

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.