13The LORD now said to Moses,H3068H1696H4872H5592"Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes."H7971H582H8446H776H3667H5414H1121H3478H376H4294H1H7971H259H53873So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.H4872H6310H3068H7971H4057H6290H582H1992H7218H1121H34784These were the tribes and the names of their leaders: Reuben Shammua son of ZaccurH8034H4294H7205H8051H1121H21395Simeon Shaphat son of HoriH4294H8095H8202H1121H27536Judah Caleb son of JephunnehH4294H3063H3612H1121H33127Issachar Igal son of JosephH4294H3485H3008H1121H31308Ephraim Hoshea son of NunH4294H669H1954H1121H51269Benjamin Palti son of RaphuH4294H1144H6406H1121H750510Zebulun Gaddiel son of SodiH4294H2074H1427H1121H547611Manasseh son of Joseph Gaddi son of SusiH4294H3130H4294H4519H1426H1121H548512Dan Ammiel son of GemalliH4294H1835H5988H1121H158213Asher Sethur son of MichaelH4294H836H5639H1121H431714Naphtali Nahbi son of VophsiH4294H5321H5147H1121H205815Gad Geuel son of MakiH4294H1410H1345H1121H435216These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)H8034H582H4872H7971H8446H776H4872H7121H1954H1121H5126H309117Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: "Go north through the Negev into the hill country.H4872H7971H8446H776H3667H559H5927H5045H5927H202218See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many.H7200H776H5971H3427H2389H7504H4592H722719See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps?H776H3427H2896H7451H5892H3427H2007H4264H401320Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see." (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)H776H8082H7330H3426H6086H2388H3947H6529H776H3117H3117H1061H602521So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.H5927H8446H776H4057H6790H7340H935H257422Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.)H5927H5045H935H2275H289H8344H8526H3211H6061H2275H1129H7651H8141H6440H6814H471423When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs.H935H5158H812H3772H2156H259H811H6025H5375H8147H4132H7416H838424That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means "cluster"), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.H4725H7121H5158H812H182H811H1121H3478H3772
The Scouting Report
25After exploring the land for forty days, the men returnedH7725H8446H776H7093H705H311726to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.H3212H935H4872H175H5712H1121H3478H4057H6290H6946H7725H1697H5712H7200H6529H77627This was their report to Moses: "We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.H5608H559H935H776H7971H2100H2461H1706H652928But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!H657H5971H5794H3427H776H5892H1219H3966H1419H7200H3211H606129The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley."H6002H3427H776H5045H2850H2983H567H3427H2022H3669H3427H3220H3027H338330But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. "Let's go at once to take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!"H3612H2013H5971H4872H559H5927H5927H3423H3201H320131But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. "We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!"H582H5927H559H3201H5927H5971H238932So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: "The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge.H3318H1681H776H8446H1121H3478H559H776H5674H8446H776H398H3427H5971H7200H8432H582H406033We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that's what they thought, too!"H7200H5303H1121H6061H5303H5869H2284H5869
and along the Jordan Valley."H6002
