Numbers 13:1-33

The Old Testament Book of Numbers

In the Desert

Numbers

Marion Adams

Chapter 13

Moses sends 12 men into the country called Canaan – Numbers 13:1-24

v1 The *LORD said to Moses, v2 ‘Choose a leader from each *tribe. Send them into the country called Canaan. They must explore the land that I am giving to you.’

v3 Moses obeyed the *LORD. He sent 12 leaders from *Israel’s camp in the Paran *desert. v4-15 This is a list of their names:

Shammua, Zaccur’s son, from Reuben’s *tribe.

Shaphat, Hori’s son, from Simeon’s *tribe.

Caleb, Jephunneh’s son, from Judah’s *tribe.

Igal, Joseph’s son, from Issachar’s *tribe.

Hoshea, Nun’s son, from Ephraim’s *tribe.

Palti, Raphu’s son, from Benjamin’s *tribe.

Gaddiel, Sodi’s son, from Zebulun’s *tribe.

Gaddi, Susi’s son, from Joseph’s *tribe (that is, from Manasseh’s *tribe).

Ammiel, Gemalli’s son, from Dan’s *tribe.

Sethur, Michael’s son, from Asher’s *tribe.

Nahbi, Vophsi’s son, from Naphtali’s *tribe.

Geuel, Machi’s son, from Gad’s *tribe.

v16 These are the names of the men that Moses sent to explore the land. At this time, Moses changed Hoshea’s name to Joshua.

v17 Moses sent them to look at the land in the country called Canaan. He said, ‘Go north from here. Go through the southern *desert of Canaan. Then continue north, into the country where there are hills. v18 Find out about those regions. Discover how many people live there. Discover whether they are strong or weak. v19 Find out whether their land is good or bad. Find out whether they live in open towns or cities with walls. v20 Find out whether the soil is good for crops. Discover whether trees grow there. Try to bring back some of the fruit that grows there.’ (It was time for *grapes to be ripe).

v21 The 12 men left. They explored the land, from the Zin *desert to Rehob near Lebo Hamath. (The Zin *desert was in the south and Rehob was in the north.) v22 As they went through the southern *desert, they came to the city called Hebron. They saw the *clans of Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai. These *clans were the *descendants of the giant people called the *Anakim. (The city called Hebron was 7 years older than the city called Zoan. Zoan was in the country called Egypt).

v23 When they reached the valley called Eshcol, they cut down just one *bunch of *grapes. But the *bunch was so large that two men carried it between them on a pole. Also they took some pomegranates and figs (two different kinds of fruit). v24 That place was called ‘Eshcol’, which means ‘*bunch’. This was because the *Israelites had taken that *bunch of *grapes from there.

Verses 1-15 The *Israelites had reached the borders of the *Promised Land. But they did not enter it for another 40 years! This was because they did not believe God’s promises. They did not trust God. Instead, they became afraid of the people who lived in the country called Canaan.

But before they entered the *Promised Land, the *Israelites wanted to know more about that country. So God allowed them to send some men there. God had not ordered the *Israelites to discover more about the country. Already he had given it to them. They should have gone in and lived there. It was the *Israelites’ idea to send men ahead in order to discover what was there. (Deuteronomy 1:20-25).

These men were leaders. But they were different leaders from the leaders in the lists for the *census (Numbers Chapter s 1, 2, 7 and 10). Probably, these men were younger and more healthy. They had to be able to walk a long distance.

There were 12 leaders. But 40 years later, only two of these leaders entered the *Promised Land with the *Israelites. The two leaders were Joshua and Caleb.

Verse 16 When Moses died, Joshua became the *Israelites’ leader. Before, he was called Hoshea, which means ‘(God) saves.’ Moses changed this name to Joshua, which means ‘the *LORD saves. The name Joshua (*Hebrew: Y’shua) included God’s name, Yahweh. God had told this name to Moses (Exodus 6:3).

Verses 17-20 The *Israelites were preparing to enter the country called Canaan. So they wanted to know several things about the land. They wanted to know whether many people lived there. They wanted to know if these people were strong or weak. Then they could prepare for any battles. Also, they wanted to know about the trees that grew there. Some kinds of trees had wood that they could use to build things. Other kinds of trees produced special oils. So they wanted to know if they could use the trees for themselves and for commerce.

‘It was time for *grapes to be ripe’ (verse 20). From this verse, we know that it was the end of the summer.

Verses 21-22 The 12 men travelled through the country called Canaan from the south to the north. They visited the city called Hebron. The graves of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were in this city. But the men did not seem to notice this. Instead, they noticed that the people were very tall. Also, they compared the city called Hebron with the city called Zoan (verse 22). Zoan was the capital city of the country called Egypt. Probably, they compared Zoan with Hebron because Hebron had many strong buildings too.

They noticed the size of the people and their city, as Moses had requested. But they did not seem to remember God’s promises that he would give this country to them.

Verses 23-24 The soil of the country was very good for crops. The men cut an enormous *bunch of *grapes as the proof. There was plenty of food and drink for everyone in the *Promised Land.

The 12 men report back to the *Israelites – Numbers 13:25-33

v25 The 12 men travelled in the country called Canaan for 40 days. v26 Then they returned to Kadesh in the Paran *desert. They told Moses, Aaron and all the *Israelites what they had seen. They showed the fruit to them. v27 They told Moses:

‘You sent us to this country. We entered it. We discovered that it is a very good land. The milk and honey that it produces are plentiful. It is rich and many crops grow there. Here is some of its fruit as proof. v28 But the people who live there are powerful. Their cities are large and strong walls protect them. We saw the *Anakim *clans there. v29 Also, the *Amalekites live in the southern *desert. The *Hittites, *Jebusites and *Amorites live in the hills. The *Canaanites live by the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan river.’

v30 Then Caleb insisted that the people should be silent in front of Moses. Caleb said, ‘We should enter the land. And we should take the land. I know that we can do this!’

v31 But the other men who had explored the land said, ‘We cannot attack these people. They are stronger than we are.’ v32 Then they spread a bad report about the *Promised Land among the people. They said, ‘We went through this country. It is a country that seems to eat its inhabitants! (see note). All the people that we saw there were huge. v33 In fact, we saw the *Nephilim, who were the *ancestors of the *Anakim. They were very tall. We felt as if we were very small, like insects! And that is how we seemed to them.’

Verses 25-29 When the 12 men returned, they gave a report about the *Promised Land to Moses and the *Israelites. They started with good news. The soil could produce good crops. The men had brought some fruit to prove this.

But then they said some bad things about the *Promised Land. The people who lived there were strong and powerful. The buildings in their cities were strong, too, to protect these people from an attack. The men mentioned the different groups of people who lived in the country (verse 29). The men were speaking the truth, but their intentions were wrong. The men were trying to oppose God, who had given the *Promised Land to them. The country was good. But the men were giving reasons why they should not enter it. They did not want to obey God. In fact, they were persuading the people not to obey God, too.

The *sin of the people against God was becoming worse. In chapter 11, they had been greedy. In chapter 12, Miriam and Aaron had said bad things about Moses. And in chapter 13, the people were not obeying God. They were *rejecting the land that he had given to them.

Verses 30-33 Caleb encouraged them to enter the land. This was because he believed God’s promises. He was humble and he trusted God completely. With God, it is possible to do anything. But the people did not listen to Caleb.

The other men said more bad things about the *Promised Land. They said that the *Promised Land ‘seems to eat its inhabitants’ (verse 32). They meant that it was a difficult and dangerous place to live. The men also mentioned the *Nephilim, the giant people who lived on the earth before the big flood (Genesis 6:4). This would make the people become even more afraid. They felt very small. They forgot that God was bigger than all their problems!

When we have problems, it is easy to worry or to be afraid. Like the *Israelites, we need to remember that God will look after us. We must believe that he can help us. Like Caleb, we must trust him and we must obey him always.

LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.

Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.

Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
desert ~ a dry region, or a region where there is just a little water. A few wild plants are able to grow in some deserts. So people who are travelling can live in these deserts in their tents. And they can lead animals through the desert. The Israelites lived in a desert for nearly 40 years.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
Anakim ~ a group of very tall people who lived in the country called Canaan. People thought that the Anakim were the *descendants of the Nephilim.

Nephilim ~ the giant people who lived on the earth before the flood (Genesis 6:4).
bunch ~ a group of things that join together. For example, a ‘bunch of *grapes’ means *grapes that are growing together.'Promised Land ~ the country that God promised to give to Abraham and his *descendants.
census ~ an official list which records the number of people in a particular place.
Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
Hittites ~ a group of people who lived in the country called Canaan.
Jebusites ~ a group of people who lived in the country called Canaan. Their city, Jebus, became Jerusalem, the capital city of the Israelites (2 Samuel 5:1-9).

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
Canaanites ~ a group of people who lived in the country called Canaan.
Nephilim ~ the giant people who lived on the earth before the flood (Genesis 6:4).
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.
reject ~ not to accept or not to believe in someone or something.