Numbers 13

Spies Sent into Canaan

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 g "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them." 3 So Moses sent them from h the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. 4 And these 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 i from the tribe of Judah, j Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, k 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 (that is, 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 were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called k Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.

17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, "Go up into l the Negeb and go up into m the hill country, 18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, 19 and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, 20 and whether the land is n rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. o Be of good courage and bring 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 p from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, q near Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up into m the Negeb and came to r Hebron. s Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the t descendants of Anak, were there. ( u Hebron was built seven years before u Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And v they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, 1 because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.

Report of the Spies

25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at w Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, "We came to the land to which you sent us. It x flows with milk and honey, y and this is its fruit. 28 z However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 a The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. b And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan."

30 But c Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." 31 d Then the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are." 32 So e they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, "The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and f all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the g Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the g Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves h like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them."

  1. Cross References
    Numbers 32:8
    Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
    Deuteronomy 1:22 - 25
    Then all of you came near me and said, 'Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.
  2. Cross References
    Numbers 13:26
    And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
    Numbers 12:16
    After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.
    Numbers 32:8
    Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
    Deuteronomy 1:19
    Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea.
    Deuteronomy 9:23
    And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, 'Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,' then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God and did not believe him or obey his voice.
  3. Cross References
    Numbers 34:19
    These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
    1 Chronicles 4:15
    The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the son of Elah: Kenaz.
  4. Cross References
    Numbers 13:30
    But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and s...
    Numbers 14:6
    And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of ...
    Numbers 14:30
    Not one shall come into the land where I swore ...
    Numbers 26:65
    For the Lord had said of them, "They shall die ...
    Numbers 32:12
    None except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Keni...
    Deuteronomy 1:36
    Except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see...
    Joshua 14:6 - 15
    Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilg...
    Joshua 15:13 - 18
    According to the commandment of the Lord to Jos...
    Judges 1:12 - 15
    And Caleb said, "He who attacks Kiriath-sepher ...
  5. Cross References
    Numbers 13:16
    These were the names of the men whom Moses sent...
    Numbers 11:28
    And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Mos...
    Numbers 14:6
    And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of ...
    Numbers 14:30
    Not one shall come into the land where I swore ...
    Numbers 14:38
    Of those men who went to spy out the land, only...
    Exodus 24:13
    So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Mo...
    Deuteronomy 32:44
    Moses came and recited all the words of this so...
    Nehemiah 8:17
    And all the assembly of those who had returned ...
  6. Cross References
    Numbers 13:8
    From the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.
  7. Cross References
    Numbers 13:22
    They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. ( Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
    Numbers 13:29
    The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.
    Numbers 21:1
    When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.
    Joshua 15:19
    She said to him, "Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water." And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
    Judges 1:15
    She said to him, "Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water." And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
  8. Cross References
    Numbers 13:29
    The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.
    Judges 1:9
    And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland.
    Judges 1:19
    And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.
  9. Cross References
    Nehemiah 9:25
    And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness.
    Nehemiah 9:35
    Even in their own kingdom, and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works.
    Ezekiel 34:14
    I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.
  10. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 31:6 - 7
    Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.
    Deuteronomy 31:23
    And the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.
  11. Cross References
    Numbers 20:1
    And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there.
    Numbers 33:36
    And they set out from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh).
    Numbers 34:3
    Your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east.
    Joshua 15:1
    The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward to the boundary of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south.
  12. Cross References
    Numbers 34:8
    From Mount Hor you shall draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad.
  13. Cross References
    Numbers 13:17
    Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, "Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country.
  14. Cross References
    Joshua 14:15
    Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war.
  15. Cross References
    Joshua 15:14
    And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the descendants of Anak.
    Judges 1:10
    And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
  16. Cross References
    Numbers 13:33
    And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.
    Deuteronomy 1:28
    Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, "The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there."
    Deuteronomy 2:10
    ( The Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim.
    Deuteronomy 9:2
    A people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?
    Joshua 11:21 - 22
    And Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities.
  17. Cross References
    Psalms 78:12
    In the sight of their fathers he performed wond...
    Psalms 78:43
    When he performed his signs in Egypt and his ma...
    Isaiah 19:11
    The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wi...
    Isaiah 19:13
    The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the ...
    Isaiah 30:4
    For though his officials are at Zoan and his en...
    Ezekiel 30:14
    I will make Pathros a desolation and will set f...
  18. Cross References
    Psalms 78:12
    In the sight of their fathers he performed wond...
    Psalms 78:43
    When he performed his signs in Egypt and his ma...
    Isaiah 19:11
    The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wi...
    Isaiah 19:13
    The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the ...
    Isaiah 30:4
    For though his officials are at Zoan and his en...
    Ezekiel 30:14
    I will make Pathros a desolation and will set f...
  19. Cross References
    Numbers 32:9
    For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the Lord had given them.
    Deuteronomy 1:24 - 25
    And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out.
  20. Cross References
    Numbers 20:1
    And the people of Israel, the whole congregatio...
    Numbers 20:16
    And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voi...
    Numbers 32:8
    Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Ka...
    Numbers 33:36
    And they set out from Ezion-geber and camped in...
    Deuteronomy 1:19
    Then we set out from Horeb and went through all...
    Joshua 14:6 - 7
    Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilg...
  21. Cross References
    Exodus 3:8
    And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
  22. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 1:25
    And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, 'It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.
  23. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 1:28
    Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, "The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.
    Deuteronomy 9:1 - 2
    Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves, cities great and fortified up to heaven.
  24. Cross References
    Numbers 14:43
    For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.
    Exodus 17:8
    Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
  25. Cross References
    Numbers 14:25
    Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.
  26. Cross References
    Numbers 14:6
    And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
    Numbers 14:24
    But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.
  27. Cross References
    Numbers 32:9
    For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the Lord had given them.
    Deuteronomy 1:28
    Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, "The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.
    Joshua 14:8
    But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God.
  28. Cross References
    Numbers 14:36 - 37
    And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land -
  29. Cross References
    Amos 2:9
    Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.
  30. Cross References
    Genesis 6:4
    The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
  31. Cross References
    Genesis 6:4
    The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
  32. Cross References
    Isaiah 40:22
    It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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