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Numbers 13
New English Translation

Spies Sent Out

13 [a] The Lord spoke[b] to Moses: 2 “Send out men to investigate[c] the land of Canaan, which I am giving[d] to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe,[e] each one a leader among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command[f] of the Lord. All of them were leaders[g] of the Israelites.

4 Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe[h] of Joseph, namely, the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vopshi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki. 16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to investigate the land. And Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.[i]

The Spies’ Instructions

17 When Moses sent[j] them to investigate the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev,[k] and then go up into the hill country 18 and see[l] what the land is like,[m] and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, few or many, 19 and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or fortified cities, 20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether or not there are forests in it. And be brave,[n] and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” Now it was the time of year[o] for the first ripe grapes.[p]

The Spies’ Activities

21 So they went up and investigated the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob,[q] at Lebo Hamath. 22 When they went up through the Negev, they[r] came[s] to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai,[t] descendants of Anak, were living. (Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan[u] in Egypt.) 23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a staff[v] between two men, as well as some of the pomegranates and the figs. 24 That place was called[w] the Eshcol Valley,[x] because of the cluster[y] of grapes that the Israelites cut from there. 25 They returned from investigating the land after forty days.

The Spies’ Reports

26 They came back[z] to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh.[aa] They reported[ab] to the whole community and showed the fruit of the land. 27 They told Moses,[ac] “We went to the land where you sent us.[ad] It is indeed flowing with milk and honey,[ae] and this is its fruit. 28 But[af] the inhabitants[ag] are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 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 banks[ah] of the Jordan.”[ai]

30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses, saying, “Let us go up[aj] and occupy it,[ak] for we are well able to conquer it.”[al] 31 But the men[am] who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against these people, because they are stronger than we are!” 32 Then they presented the Israelites with a discouraging report[an] of the land they had investigated, saying, “The land that we passed through[ao] to investigate is a land that devours[ap] its inhabitants.[aq] All the people we saw there[ar] are of great stature. 33 We even saw the Nephilim[as] there (the descendants of Anak came from the Nephilim), and we seemed like grasshoppers both to ourselves[at] and to them.”[au]

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 13:1 sn Chapter 13 provides the names of the spies sent into the land (vv. 1-16), their instructions (vv. 17-20), their activities (vv. 21-25), and their reports (vv. 26-33). It is a chapter that serves as a good lesson on faith, for some of the spies walked by faith, and some by sight.
  2. Numbers 13:1 tn The verse starts with the vav (ו) consecutive on the verb: “and….”
  3. Numbers 13:2 tn The imperfect tense with the conjunction is here subordinated to the preceding imperative to form the purpose clause. It can thus be translated “send…to investigate.”
  4. Numbers 13:2 tn The participle here should be given a future interpretation, meaning “which I am about to give” or “which I am going to give.”
  5. Numbers 13:2 tn Heb “one man one man of the tribe of his fathers.”
  6. Numbers 13:3 tn Heb “mouth.”
  7. Numbers 13:3 tn Heb “heads.”
  8. Numbers 13:11 tc Some scholars emend “tribe” to “sons.” Cf. Num 1:10.
  9. Numbers 13:16 sn The difference in the names is slight, a change from “he saves” to “the Lord saves.” The Greek text of the OT used Iesoun for Hebrew Yeshua.
  10. Numbers 13:17 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next verb of the same formation to express a temporal clause.
  11. Numbers 13:17 tn The instructions had them first go up into the southern desert of the land, and after passing through that, into the hill country of the Canaanites. The text could be rendered “into the Negev” as well as “through the Negev.”
  12. Numbers 13:18 tn The form is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; the word therefore carries the volitional mood of the preceding imperatives. It may be either another imperative, or it may be subordinated as a purpose clause.
  13. Numbers 13:18 tn Heb “see the land, what it is.”
  14. Numbers 13:20 tn The verb is the Hitpael perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, from the root חָזַק (khazaq, “to be strong”). Here it could mean “strengthen yourselves” or “be courageous” or “determined.” See further uses in 2 Sam 10:12; 1 Kgs 20:22; 1 Chr 19:13.
  15. Numbers 13:20 tn Heb “Now the days were the days of.”
  16. Numbers 13:20 sn The reference to the first ripe grapes would put the time somewhere at the end of July.
  17. Numbers 13:21 sn Zin is on the southern edge of the land, but Rehob is far north, near Mount Hermon. The spies covered all the land.
  18. Numbers 13:22 tc The MT has the singular, but the ancient versions and Smr have the plural.
  19. Numbers 13:22 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the following clause. The first verse gave the account of their journey over the whole land; this section focuses on what happened in the area of Hebron, which would be the basis for the false report.
  20. Numbers 13:22 sn These names are thought to be three clans that were in the Hebron area (see Josh 15:14; Judg 1:20). To call them descendants of Anak is usually taken to mean that they were large or tall people (2 Sam 21:18-22). They were ultimately driven out by Caleb.
  21. Numbers 13:22 sn The text now provides a brief historical aside for the readers. Zoan was probably the city of Tanis, although that is disputed today by some scholars. It was known in Egypt in the New Kingdom as “the fields of Tanis,” which corresponded to the “fields of Zoar” in the Hebrew Bible (Ps 78:12, 43).
  22. Numbers 13:23 tn The word is related etymologically to the verb for “slip, slide, bend, totter.” This would fit the use very well. A pole that would not bend would be hard to use to carry things, but a pole or stave that was flexible would serve well.
  23. Numbers 13:24 tn The verb is rendered as a passive because there is no expressed subject.
  24. Numbers 13:24 tn Or “Wadi Eshcol.” The translation “brook” is too generous; the Hebrew term refers to a river bed, a ravine or valley through which torrents of rain would rush in the rainy season; at other times it might be completely dry.
  25. Numbers 13:24 tn The word “Eshcol” is drawn from the Hebrew expression concerning the “cluster of grapes.” The word is probably retained in the name Burj Haskeh, two miles north of Damascus.
  26. Numbers 13:26 tn The construction literally has “and they went and they entered,” which may be smoothed out as a verbal hendiadys, the one verb modifying the other.
  27. Numbers 13:26 sn Kadesh is Ain Qadeis, about 50 miles (83 km) south of Beer Sheba. It is called Kadesh Barnea in Num 32:8.
  28. Numbers 13:26 tn Heb “They brought back word”; the verb is the Hiphil preterite of שׁוּב (shuv).
  29. Numbers 13:27 tn Heb “told him and said.” The referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  30. Numbers 13:27 tn The relative clause modifies “the land.” It is constructed with the relative and the verb: “where you sent us.”
  31. Numbers 13:27 sn This is the common expression for the material abundance of the land (see further, F. C. Fensham, “An Ancient Tradition of the Fertility of Palestine,” PEQ 98 [1966]: 166-67).
  32. Numbers 13:28 tn The word (אֶפֶס, ʾefes) forms a very strong adversative. The land was indeed rich and fruitful, but….”
  33. Numbers 13:28 tn Heb “the people who are living in the land.”
  34. Numbers 13:29 tn Heb “by the side [hand] of.”
  35. Numbers 13:29 sn For more discussion on these people groups, see D. J. Wiseman, ed., Peoples of Old Testament Times.
  36. Numbers 13:30 tn The construction is emphatic, using the cohortative with the infinitive absolute to strengthen it: עָלֹה נַעֲלֶה (ʿaloh naʿaleh, “let us go up”) with the sense of certainty and immediacy.
  37. Numbers 13:30 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive brings the cohortative idea forward: “and let us possess it”; it may also be subordinated to form a purpose or result idea.
  38. Numbers 13:30 tn Here again the confidence of Caleb is expressed with the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense: יָכוֹל נוּכַל (yakhol nukhal), “we are fully able” to do this. The verb יָכַל (yakhal) followed by the preposition lamed means “to prevail over, to conquer.”
  39. Numbers 13:31 tn The vav (ו) disjunctive on the noun at the beginning of the clause forms a strong adversative clause here.
  40. Numbers 13:32 tn Or “an evil report,” i.e., one that was a defamation of the grace of God.
  41. Numbers 13:32 tn Heb “which we passed over in it”; the pronoun on the preposition serves as a resumptive pronoun for the relative, and need not be translated literally.
  42. Numbers 13:32 tn The verb is the feminine singular participle from אָכַל (ʾakhal); it modifies the land as a “devouring land,” a bold figure for the difficulty of living in the place.
  43. Numbers 13:32 sn The expression has been interpreted in a number of ways by commentators, such as that the land was infertile, that the Canaanites were cannibals, that it was a land filled with warlike dissensions, or that it denotes a land geared for battle. It may be that they intended the land to seem infertile and insecure.
  44. Numbers 13:32 tn Heb “in its midst.”
  45. Numbers 13:33 tc The Greek version uses γίγαντας (gigantas, “giants”) to translate “the Nephilim,” but it does not retain the clause “the sons of Anak are from the Nephilim.”sn The Nephilim are the legendary giants of antiquity. They are first discussed in Gen 6:4. This forms part of the pessimism of the spies’ report.
  46. Numbers 13:33 tn Heb “in our eyes.”
  47. Numbers 13:33 tn Heb “in their eyes.”
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Números 13
Nueva Traducción Viviente

Doce espías exploran Canaán

13 El Señor le dijo a Moisés: 2 «Envía hombres a explorar la tierra de Canaán, la tierra que les daré a los israelitas. Envía a un jefe de cada una de las doce tribus de sus antepasados». 3 Entonces Moisés hizo lo que el Señor le ordenó y envió a doce hombres desde el campamento en el desierto de Parán, todos jefes de las tribus de Israel. 4 Estas eran las tribus y los nombres de sus jefes:

Tribu Jefe
de RubénSamúa, hijo de Zacur
5 de SimeónSafat, hijo de Hori
6 de JudáCaleb, hijo de Jefone
7 de IsacarIgal, hijo de José
8 de EfraínOseas, hijo de Nun
9 de BenjamínPalti, hijo de Rafú
10 de ZabulónGadiel, hijo de Sodi
11 de Manasés, hijo de JoséGadi, hijo de Susi
12 de DanAmiel, hijo de Gemali
13 de AserSetur, hijo de Micael
14 de NeftalíNahbi, hijo de Vapsi
15 de GadGeuel, hijo de Maqui

16 Estos son los nombres de los hombres que Moisés envió a explorar la tierra. (A Oseas, hijo de Nun, Moisés le dio el nombre de Josué).

17 Moisés envió a los hombres a explorar la tierra y les dio las siguientes instrucciones: «Vayan al norte a través del Neguev hasta la zona montañosa. 18 Fíjense cómo es la tierra y averigüen si sus habitantes son fuertes o débiles, pocos o muchos. 19 Observen cómo es la tierra en que habitan. ¿Es buena o mala? ¿Viven en ciudades amuralladas o sin protección, a campo abierto? 20 El terreno, ¿es fértil o estéril? ¿Abundan los árboles? Hagan todo lo posible por traer muestras de las cosechas que encuentren». (Era la temporada de la cosecha de las primeras uvas maduras).

21 Así que subieron y exploraron la tierra desde el desierto de Zin hasta Rehob, cerca de Lebo-hamat. 22 Yendo al norte, atravesaron el Neguev y llegaron a Hebrón donde vivían Ahimán, Sesai y Talmai, todos descendientes de Anac. (La antigua ciudad de Hebrón fue fundada siete años antes de la ciudad egipcia de Zoán). 23 Cuando llegaron al valle de Escol, cortaron una rama con un solo racimo de uvas, tan grande ¡que tuvieron que transportarlo en un palo, entre dos! También llevaron muestras de granadas e higos. 24 A ese lugar se le llamó el valle de Escol (que significa «racimo») por el racimo de uvas que los israelitas cortaron allí.

Informe de los espías

25 Después de explorar la tierra durante cuarenta días, los hombres regresaron 26 a Moisés, a Aarón y a toda la comunidad de Israel en Cades, en el desierto de Parán. Informaron a toda la comunidad lo que vieron y les mostraron los frutos que tomaron de la tierra. 27 Este fue el informe que dieron a Moisés: «Entramos en la tierra a la cual nos enviaste a explorar y en verdad es un país sobreabundante, una tierra donde fluyen la leche y la miel. Aquí está la clase de frutos que allí se producen. 28 Sin embargo, el pueblo que la habita es poderoso y sus ciudades son grandes y fortificadas. ¡Hasta vimos gigantes allí, los descendientes de Anac! 29 Los amalecitas viven en el Neguev y los hititas, los jebuseos y los amorreos viven en la zona montañosa. Los cananeos viven a lo largo de la costa del mar Mediterráneo[a] y a lo largo del valle del Jordán».

30 Pero Caleb trató de calmar al pueblo que se encontraba ante Moisés.

—¡Vamos enseguida a tomar la tierra!—dijo—. ¡De seguro podemos conquistarla!

31 Pero los demás hombres que exploraron la tierra con él, no estuvieron de acuerdo:

—¡No podemos ir contra ellos! ¡Son más fuertes que nosotros!

32 Entonces comenzaron a divulgar entre los israelitas el siguiente mal informe sobre la tierra: «La tierra que atravesamos y exploramos devorará a todo aquel que vaya a vivir allí. ¡Todos los habitantes que vimos son enormes! 33 Hasta había gigantes,[b] los descendientes de Anac. ¡Al lado de ellos nos sentíamos como saltamontes y así nos miraban ellos!».

Footnotes

  1. 13:29 En hebreo del mar.
  2. 13:33 En hebreo nefilim.
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