Numbers 13

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

2 Send thou men that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the sons of Israel; of every tribe of their fathers ye shall send a man, each one a prince among them.

3 And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran; all those men were princes of the sons of Israel.

4 And 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, Hosea, 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, namely, 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 whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hosea, the son of Nun, Joshua.

17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said unto them, Go up this way towards the Negev and go up into the mountain

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

19 and how the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad, and what cities there are that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds,

20 And what the land is, whether it is fertile or sterile, whether there are trees therein, or not. And be ye of good courage and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.

21 So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.

22 And they ascended by the Negev and came unto Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the sons of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and from there they cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs.

24 The place was called the brook Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

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

26 And they went and came to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran to Kadesh and brought back word unto them and unto all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.

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

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

29 Amalek dwells in the land of the Negev, and the Hittite and the Jebusite and the Amorite dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanite dwells by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.

30 Then Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

31 But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against that people, for they are stronger than we.

32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the sons of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone through to spy it out, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.

33 And there we saw giants, the sons of Anak, of the race of the giants; and we were in our own sight as locusts, and so we were 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.

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.