Numbers 13
New American Standard Bible
Spies View the Land
13 Then (A)the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “(B)Send out men for yourself to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the [a]command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel. 4 These then were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, (C)Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, (D)Hoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 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 and 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 (E)Hoshea the son of Nun, [b]Joshua.
17 When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into (F)the [c]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 And how is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are the people in open camps or in fortifications? 20 And (G)how is the land, is it [d]productive or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? And (H)show yourselves courageous and get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and spied out the land from (I)the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, [e](J)at Lebo-hamath. 22 When they had gone up into (K)the Negev, [f]they came to Hebron where (L)Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the [g]descendants of (M)Anak were. (Hebron was built seven years before (N)Zoan in Egypt.)
23 Then they came to the [h]Valley of [i](O)Eshcol, and from there they cut off a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of [j]Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut off from there.
The Spies’ Reports
25 When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, 26 they went on and came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, [k]in the wilderness of Paran at (P)Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 So they reported to him and said, “We came into the land where you sent us, and (Q)it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and (R)this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless, (S)the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And indeed, we saw (T)the [l]descendants of Anak there! 29 Amalek is living in the land of (U)the Negev, the Hittites, the Jebusites, and (V)the Amorites are living in the hill country, and (W)the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people [m]before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will certainly prevail over it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “(X)We are not able to go up against the people, because they are too strong for us.” 32 So they brought (Y)a bad report of the land which they had spied out to the sons of Israel, saying, “The land through which we have gone to spy out is (Z)a land that devours its inhabitants; and (AA)all the people whom we saw in it are people of great stature. 33 We also saw the [n](AB)Nephilim there (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and (AC)we were like [o]grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 13:3 Lit mouth
- Numbers 13:16 In Heb Yehoshua
- Numbers 13:17 I.e., South country, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 13:20 Lit fat or gaunt
- Numbers 13:21 Or to the entrance of Hamath
- Numbers 13:22 Most mss one came
- Numbers 13:22 Lit sons
- Numbers 13:23 Or wadi
- Numbers 13:23 I.e., cluster (of grapes)
- Numbers 13:24 I.e., cluster
- Numbers 13:26 Lit to
- Numbers 13:28 Lit sons
- Numbers 13:30 Lit toward
- Numbers 13:33 Lit fallen ones; LXX giants
- Numbers 13:33 Or locusts
Numbers 13
King James Version
13 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
3 And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children 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, Oshea 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 which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
18 And see the land, what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
19 And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
20 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood 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 searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare 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 children of Israel cut down from thence.
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 children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30 And 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 be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Numbers 13
Living Bible
13 Jehovah now instructed Moses, 2 “Send spies into the land of Canaan—the land I am giving to Israel; send one leader from each tribe.”
3-15 (The Israelis were camped in the wilderness of Paran at the time.) Moses did as the Lord had commanded and sent these twelve tribal leaders:
Shammua, son of Zaccur, from the tribe of Reuben;
Shaphat, son of Hori, from the tribe of Simeon;
Caleb, son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah;
Igal, son of Joseph, from the tribe of Issachar;
Hoshea,[a] son of Nun, from the half-tribe of Ephraim;
Palti, son of Raphu, from the tribe of Benjamin;
Gaddiel, son of Sodi, from the tribe of Zebulun;
Gaddi, son of Susi, from the tribe of Joseph (actually, the half-tribe of Manasseh);
Ammiel, son of Gemalli, from the tribe of Dan;
Sethur, son of Michael, from the tribe of Asher;
Nahbi, son of Vophsi, from the tribe of Naphtali;
Geuel, son of Machi, from the tribe of Gad.
16 It was at this time that Moses changed Hoshea’s name to Joshua.[b]
17 Moses sent them out with these instructions: “Go northward into the hill country of the Negeb, 18 and see what the land is like; see also what the people are like who live there, whether they are strong or weak, many or few; 19 and whether the land is fertile or not; and what cities there are, and whether they are villages or are fortified; 20 whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are many trees. Don’t be afraid, and bring back some samples of the crops you see.” (The first of the grapes were being harvested at that time.)
21 So they spied out the land all the way from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob near Hamath. 22 Going northward, they passed first through the Negeb and arrived at Hebron. There they saw the Ahimanites, Sheshites, and Talmites, all families descended from Anak. (By the way, Hebron was very ancient, having been founded seven years before Tanis[c] in Egypt.) 23 Then they came to what is now known as the valley of Eshcol where they cut down a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also took some samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24 The Israelis named the valley “Eshcol” at that time (meaning “Cluster”) because of the cluster of grapes they found!
25 After forty days of exploration they returned from their tour. 26 They made their report to Moses, Aaron, and all the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, and they showed the fruit they had brought with them.
27 This was their report: “We arrived in the land you sent us to see, and it is indeed a magnificent country—a land ‘flowing with milk and honey.’ Here is some fruit we have brought as proof. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their cities are fortified and very large; and what’s more, we saw Anakim giants there! 29 The Amalekites live in the south, while in the hill country there are the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites; down along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and in the Jordan River Valley are the Canaanites.”
30 But Caleb reassured the people as they stood before Moses. “Let us go up at once and possess it,” he said, “for we are well able to conquer it!”
31 “Not against people as strong as they are!” the other spies said. “They would crush us!”
32 So the majority report of the spies was negative: “The land is full of warriors, the people are powerfully built, 33 and we saw some of the Anakim there, descendants of the ancient race of giants. We felt like grasshoppers before them, they were so tall!”
Footnotes
- Numbers 13:3 Hoshea, or “Joshua.” See v. 16.
- Numbers 13:16 Moses changed Hoshea’s name to Joshua. Hoshea means “salvation”; Joshua means “Jehovah is salvation.” Joshua is the same name in Hebrew as the Greek name “Jesus.”
- Numbers 13:22 Tanis, or “Zoan,” also known as “Avaris,” was built ca. 1700 B.C.
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