Numbers 13 · WEB
The Twelve Spies Sent into Canaan
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2"Send men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a ruler among them."
3Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of Yahweh. All of them were men who were heads of the children of Israel.
4These were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
5Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
6Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
7Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
8Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.
9Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
10Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.
11Of the tribe of Joseph, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
12Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
13Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
14Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
15Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
16These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
17Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, "Go up into the Negev, and then go up into the hill country,
18and see what the land is, whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many,
19and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they dwell in, whether in camps or in strongholds;
20and what the land is, whether it is fertile or poor, whether there are forests in it or not. Be courageous, and bring some of the fruit of the land." Now the season was the season of the first ripe grapes.
21So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.
22They went up into the Negev, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23They came to the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some of the pomegranates and of the figs.
24That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from there.
25They returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days.
26They went and came to Moses, to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
27They told him and said, "We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is its fruit.
28However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the children of Anak there.
29Amalek dwells in the land of the Negev. The Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwell in the hill country. The Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the side of the Jordan."
30Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, "Let's go up at once, and possess it! For we are well able to overcome it!"
31But the men who went up with him said, "We aren't able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are."
32They brought an evil report of the land which they had spied to the children of Israel, saying, "The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.
33There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim. We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
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Summary
At God's command, twelve leaders — one from each tribe — are sent to scout the land of Canaan (modern Israel/Palestine). They spend forty days exploring the land from the Negev desert in the south to Hamath in the north, and return with extraordinary produce. Ten of the twelve give a fearful report, focusing on the large, fortified cities and giant inhabitants; only Caleb (and Joshua) urges Israel to trust God and advance. The ten spies' report ends with Israel feeling like "grasshoppers" compared to the Canaanites.
Themes
- Faith versus fear as the defining divide in God's people
- Seeing obstacles through the lens of God's power versus human limitation
- The reality of the Promised Land — both its goodness and its challenges
- Leadership courage in the face of majority fear
- Identity and self-perception shaping what we believe is possible
Key verses
- Num 13:27 — “We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is its fruit.”
- Num 13:30 — “Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, 'Let's go up at once, and possess it! For we are well able to overcome it!' ”
- Num 13:33 — “We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
Context & background
The spies were sent from Kadesh (likely near modern Ein el-Qudeirat in northeastern Sinai/southern Israel border) into Canaan (modern Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and parts of Syria). They traveled the length of the land — from the Negev desert (modern southern Israel) northward to the region of Hamath (modern Syria). The Valley of Eshcol, where they cut the massive cluster of grapes, is near Hebron in the southern hill country (modern West Bank). The "Nephilim" or Anakim were a legendary giant people group whose presence terrified the spies. Caleb's courage here ultimately earns him Hebron as his inheritance when the land is divided (Josh 14:6-14).
Cross-references
- 1 Sam 17:26-37 — David's faith before Goliath echoes Caleb's faith before the Anakim
- 2 Cor 5:7 — "We walk by faith, not by sight" — the opposite of the ten spies' approach
- Deut 1:19-25 — Moses's retelling of the spies' mission, emphasizing Israel's initiative in requesting the spies
- Heb 3:7-19 — The author of Hebrews warns against repeating Israel's unbelief, using this story as a cautionary example
- Josh 14:6-14 — Caleb inherits Hebron forty-five years later, specifically because of his faith here