Numbers 13:11-21

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

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

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

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

15 from 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; but Moses called ¹Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

17 When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, "Go up there into ²the Negev; then go up into the hill country.

18 "See what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many.

19 "How is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they like open camps or with fortifications?

20 "³How is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? Make an ⁴effort then to get some of the fruit of the land." Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

21 So they went up and spied out the land from ⁵the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, ⁶at Lebo-hamath.

Numbers 13:11-21 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.

Cross References

• 1. Numbers 13:8; Deuteronomy 32:44
• 2. Genesis 12:9; Genesis 13:1, 3
• 3. Deuteronomy 1:24, 25
• 4. Deuteronomy 31:6, 23
• 5. Numbers 20:1; Numbers 27:14; Numbers 33:36
• 6. Joshua 13:5

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "here"
• [b] I.e. South country, and so throughout the ch
• [c] Lit "in"
• [d] Lit "Use your strength"
• [e] Or "to the entrance of Hamath"