Scouting Out Canaan

1The LORD spoke to Moses: 2“Send men to scout out the land of Canaana I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.” 3Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the LORD’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel.b 4These were their names:

Shammua son of Zaccur from the tribe of Reuben;

5Shaphat son of Hori from the tribe of Simeon;

6Calebc son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;

7Igal son of Joseph from the tribe of Issachar;

8Hoshea son of Nund from the tribe of Ephraim;

9Palti son of Raphu from the tribe of Benjamin;

10Gaddiel son of Sodi from the tribe of Zebulun;

11Gaddi son of Susi from the tribe of Manasseh (from the tribe of Joseph);

12Ammiel son of Gemalli from the tribe of Dan;

13Sethur son of Michael from the tribe of Asher;

14Nahbi son of Vophsi from the tribe of Naphtali;

15Geuel son of Machi from the tribe of Gad.

16These were the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua.

17When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the •Negev, then go up into the hill country. 18See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19Is the land they live in goode or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications?f 20Is the land fertile or unproductive?g Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.h

21So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zini as far as Rehobj near the entrance to Hamath.k 22They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak,l were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoanm in Egypt. 23When they came to the Valley of Eshcol,n they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.o 24That place was called the Valley of Eshcolp because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. 25At the end of 40 daysq they returned from scouting out the land.

Report about Canaan

26The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land.r 27They reported to Moses: “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey,s and here is some of its fruit. 28However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified.t We also saw the descendants of Anaku there. 29The Amalekitesv are living 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 Jordan.”

30Then Calebw quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it! ”

31But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we are! ” 32So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. 33We even saw the Nephilimx, y there — the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim!z To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”