The Spies Explore Canaan
(Deuteronomy 1:19–25)
And the LORD said to Moses, “Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.” Deu 1:22-25Num 32:8Num 34:18Deu 1:15Exo 18:25Jos 2:1-24Num 1:4Num 11:16
So at the consent 1of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites, Num 12:16Num 32:8Deu 1:19Deu 9:23Deu 1:23 and these were their names:
From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; Num 14:6Num 34:19Jos 14:6-15Num 13:30Num 14:301Ch 4:15Num 14:24Num 26:65
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; Exo 24:13Num 11:28Deu 31:14Deu 31:23Deu 31:7-8Deu 32:44Deu 34:9Exo 17:9-13
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
and from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.
These were the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses gave to Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua. Num 13:8Exo 17:9Act 7:45Deu 32:44Heb 4:8Hos 1:1Mat 1:21-23Num 14:30
When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country. Jdg 1:9Gen 12:9Gen 13:1Jdg 1:15Jdg 1:19Jos 15:3Deu 1:44Gen 14:10 See what the land is like and whether its people are strong or weak, few or many. Exo 3:8Ezk 34:14 Is the land where they live good or bad? Are the cities where they dwell open camps or fortifications? Is the soil fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous, and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.) Deu 31:23Deu 31:6-8Ezk 34:14Neh 9:25Neh 9:351Ch 22:11Deu 1:25Heb 13:6
So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath. Num 20:1Num 33:36Num 27:14Jos 15:1Jos 13:52Sa 8:9Amo 6:2Deu 32:51 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. Psa 78:12Psa 78:43Isa 19:11Jos 15:13-14Isa 30:4Jdg 1:10Jos 11:21-222Sa 2:1
When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, 2 they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. Num 13:24Num 32:9Deu 1:24-25Jdg 16:4 Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol.
The Reports of the Spies
After forty days the men returned from spying out the land, Exo 34:28Exo 24:18Num 14:33-34 and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Num 32:8Num 20:1Deu 1:19Num 20:16Num 33:36Jos 14:6
And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit! Exo 3:8Exo 13:5Exo 3:17Exo 33:3Deu 26:9Deu 31:20Deu 1:25-33Deu 26:11-15 Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. Deu 1:28Deu 9:1-2Jos 11:22Num 13:33Deu 2:10-11Deu 2:21Deu 3:5Jos 15:14 The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.” Num 14:43Jdg 6:31Sa 14:481Sa 15:3-91Sa 30:1Exo 17:8-16Exo 3:17Exo 3:8
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!” Num 14:24Php 4:13Rom 8:31Psa 60:12Num 14:6-9Heb 11:33Isa 41:10-16Rom 8:37
But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!” Deu 1:28Jos 14:8Heb 3:19Deu 9:1Num 32:9
So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature. Amo 2:9Num 14:36-37Ezk 36:13-14Mat 23:132Sa 21:20Deu 1:281Ch 20:6Num 13:28 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!” Deu 1:28Gen 6:4Isa 40:221Sa 17:42Deu 9:2Deu 3:111Ch 11:231Sa 17:4-7