The Fourth Book of Moses, called Numbers
Numbers 13
Chapter XIII · Vol. I, pp. 435–436
1 The names of the men who were sent to search the land. 17 Their instructions. 21 Their acts. 26 Their relation.
1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Senda thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a b ruler among them.
a De. 1.20-23. ch. 34.18-28; 1.5-16.
b Ex. 18.25. ch. 11.16. De. 1.15. Such were most likely to be courageous, and their testimony to be credited.
3 And Moses, by the commandment of the LORD, sent them from the wilderness of 1 Paran: all those men were c heads of the children of Israel.
1 The wilderness of Paran extended, as has been stated, from the mountains of Sinai on the south to Palestine on the north. That portion of it in which the Israelites were encamped when they sent the spies to Canaan was beside Kadesh, see ver. 26, i.e. in the valley of Arabah, on the western border of Edom. In going from Hazeroth to Kadesh they probably marched down the sublime glens of Ain and Wetir to the shore of the gulf of Akabah; then along the shore to Ezion-gaber; then up the great valley to Kadesh.—P.
4 And these were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
6 Of the tribe of Judah, d Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
d 1 Ch. 4.15. ver. 30, 16; ch. 14.6,24,38; 26.65; 27.15-23. De. 31.7-17. Jos. 14.6-15; 15.13-19. Ju. 1.10-15.
7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, e Oshea2 the son of Nun.
e Ex. 17.9-13; 24.13; 32.17. ch. 27.18-22. De. 31.14,23. Jos. i.-xxiv.
2 'Oshea,' that is, save thou; 'Jehoshua,' he will save—an encouraging prophecy to men engaged in a dangerous service. It is in Hebrew what Jesus is in Greek—a saviour, Mat. 1.21.—C.
9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.
11 Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
16 These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea4 the son of Nun, f Jehoshua.
17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way g southward, and go up into the mountain:
18 And see the h land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
h Ne. 9.25,34. Ex. 3.8. Eze. 34.14.
19 And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
20 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein or not:5 and be ye of i good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. (Now the time was the time of the first-ripe grapes.6)
5 This is the first example of territorial statistics upon record. It comprises the following points of inquiry:—(1) The state of the population as to military strength and numbers. (2) Natural state of the soil, good or bad. (3) Habitations of the people, whether cities, tents, or fortifications. (4) Cultivated state of the soil, fat or lean. (Observe, in agriculture, a soil may be naturally good, yet through over-cropping, or want of manure, it may be lean, and therefore there are two inquiries into its qualities in ver. 18, 20.) (5) Whether the country was wooded or cleared. (6) An order for specimens of the soil and climate in some of the chief productions.—Note, Religion does not neglect temporal calculations, or unfit for civil affairs; but, on the contrary, by the habits of thought, prudence, and order which it generates and fosters, is the most efficient promoter of industry, improvement, and prosperity.—C.
i De. 31.6-8. Jos. 1.5-9. Ep. 6.10. 2 Ti. 2.1. 1 Co. 16.13.
6 The first-ripe grapes are gathered in the south of Palestine about the last week in July.—P.
21 So they went up, and searched the land, from the wilderness of k Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
k ch. 34.3, 4. Jos. 19.28; 13.5. Ju. 18.28. 2 Sa. 8.9. Am. 6.2.
22 And they ascended by the south,7 and came unto l Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were: (now Hebron was built seven years before m Zoan in Egypt.)
7 'By the Negeb.'—P.
l Ge. 35.27. Jos. 14.9-14; 11.21,22; 15.14. Ju. 1.10. ver. 28,33.
23 And they came unto the n brook of Eshcol,8 and cut down from thence a o branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two9 upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
n Valley. De. 1.24, 25.
8 More accurately 'the vale of Eshcol,' in which Hebron stands. It is still celebrated for the luxuriance of its vineyards.—P.
o Is. 4.2; 11.1; 53.2. Je. 23.5,6. Zec. 3.8; 6.12. Re. 22.2.
9 Modern travellers have seen clusters of grapes in the country searched, weighing upwards of twenty-five pounds. To carry such a weight through a mountainous country, and during a long journey, might well require two. Besides, the suspensory mode was necessary to preserve the delicate ripe grapes from being bruised in the carriage.—Note, The graces and enjoyments of the Spirit encourage and require communion; and must be managed with all delicacy and gentleness, lest they be injured or destroyed.—C.
24 The place was called the brook Eshcol,1 because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
1 That is, a cluster of grapes.
25 And they returned from searching of the land after p forty days.
p Ex. 24.18, with 34.28. ch. 14.33,34.
26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to q Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with r milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be s strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover, we saw the children of Anak there.
29 The t Amalekites dwell in the land of the south;2 and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
t Ge. 14.7; 10.15-19. Ex. 17.8-16. Ju. 6.3. 1 Sa. 15.7. ch. 34.3-12. Jos. 13.2-6.
2 'In the land of Negeb.'—P.
30 And Caleb u stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
u ch. 14.6,7,9. Jos. 14.7. Ps. 60.12; 118.10-12. Ro. 8.31. Is. 41.10,15,16.
31 But the men that went up with him said, x We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
x ch. 11.13,22,23. 1 Sa. 27.1. Eze. 37.11. Je. 2.25. Lu. 24.25. Is. 7.9,13.
32 And they brought up an evil y report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that z eateth up the inhabitants3 thereof: and all the people that we saw in it are a men of a great stature.
y Pr. 10.18. ch. 14.36,37.
z Eze. 36.13. Perhaps there was then a plague in the country.
3 'Eateth up the inhabitants,' that is, unhealthy. Yet this is immediately followed by an exaggerated description of the inhabitants, all are of great stature—giants. Every passion in weak and sinful man undervalues, exaggerates, or misrepresents, nor pauses at falsehoods or impossibilities. 'We were in our own sight as grasshoppers.' Surely if this may be excused as a figure expressing comparative littleness, it will not explain how they could tell the thoughts in the minds of the Anakims, with whom, as spies, it is not probable they sought to converse.—C.
a Heb. men of statures, 2 Sa. 21.20. 1 Ch. 11.23. Am. 2.9.
33 And there we saw b the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as c grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.4
b Jos. 14.12,15; 15.14. Ju. 1.10,20. De. 2.10; 9.2.
c Is. 40.22. 1 Sa. 17.42. De. 9.2.
4 There was some truth in this. The aboriginal inhabitants of the country were unquestionably men of extraordinary stature. The Rephaim are celebrated in Genesis. They seem, however, to have gradually died out. Og was the last of them east of the Jordan. On the west they existed down as late as the time of David, when Goliath of Gath defied the armies of Israel.—P.
Notes
Ver. 17. ['Go up there (or thither) by the Negeh, and ascend the mountain.' The Negeb was the proper name of the region lying along the southern border of Canaan. The mountain was also a descriptive name given to that tract which lay between Jerusalem and Hebron. In going to Canaan from Kadesh their direct course was up the Negeb to the mountain, or, as it is called in the New Testament, 'the hill country.' —P.]
Ver. 20. [There was need for courage of the highest order. It was a delicate, a difficult, and a dangerous mission. Great caution, close observation, and manly courage, such as would prevent the judgment from being influenced by fear, were all requisite. As it turned out, only two of the men selected were competent to the task. —P.]
Ver. 21. [This is a general description of their whole journey. The wilderness of Zin was a part of Paran. Rehob stood on the mountain side west of the great fountain of the Jordan at Dan; and the way to Hamath from the south was up the valley between Hermon and Lebanon. —P.]
Ver. 29. [The sea—the Mediterranean. The Philistines are here referred to. They had originally settlements in the Jordan valley as well as on the western plain. —P.]
Reflections.—It is hazardous to indulge our own senses and reasonings, rather than simply to submit to the revelations of God; for often the Lord chooses men's delusions, and permits them to be ensnared by their own unbelieving devices. How often are most of those who are employed in the most important transactions, evil and wicked; and get themselves remarked, chiefly to their lasting dishonour! Yea, the manifold experience of the power of God, and the frequent repetition of his promises, are of little avail with such as have abandoned themselves to the rage of their unbelief. The cowardly heart magnifies every object, and increases every difficulty: and unbelief obstinately concludes every enemy too mighty for us; while zeal for God dares every danger, and faith makes men confident of success. Credit therefore, O my soul, what the Lord hath spoken concerning the heavenly Canaan, and my entrance into it. Let me live by faith, not by sight. Let not unbelief and carnal sense, but faith and hope, be my spies, to enter within the veil. And let repeated tastes of grapes from Eshcol, repeated tastes of intimate fellowship with God, make my heart desire to depart, and be with Christ, which is far better.