Numbers 13:28-33

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 13:28-33 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.