Numbers 13:2
New International Version
“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”

New Living Translation
“Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.”

English Standard Version
“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.”

Berean Standard Bible
“Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”

King James Bible
Send 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 ruler among them.

New King James Version
“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

New American Standard Bible
“Send out men for yourself to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”

NASB 1995
“Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”

NASB 1977
“Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”

Legacy Standard Bible
“Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”

Amplified Bible
“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel. From each of their fathers’ tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

Christian Standard Bible
“Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.”

American Standard Version
Send thou men, that they may spy out 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 prince among them.

Contemporary English Version
"Choose a leader from each tribe and send them into Canaan to explore the land I am giving you."

English Revised Version
Send thou men, that they may spy out 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 prince among them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Send men to explore Canaan, which I'm giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of their ancestors' tribes."

Good News Translation
"Choose one of the leaders from each of the twelve tribes and send them as spies to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites."

International Standard Version
"Send men to explore the land of Canaan that I'm about to give to the Israelis. Send one man to represent each of his ancestor's tribes, every one of them a distinguished leader among them."

Majority Standard Bible
“Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”

NET Bible
"Send out men to investigate the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a leader among them."

New Heart English Bible
"Send men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel. Of every tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a prince among them."

Webster's Bible Translation
Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.

World English Bible
“Send men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel. Of every tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a prince among them.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
“Send men for yourself, and they spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel; one man—you send one man for the tribe of his fathers, everyone a prince among them.”

Young's Literal Translation
'Send for thee men, and they spy the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel; one man, one man for the tribe of his fathers ye do send, every one a prince among them.'

Smith's Literal Translation
Send for thyself men, and they shall search out the land of Canaan, which I give to the sons of Israel: one man, one man for the tribe of his fathers shall ye send, all chiefs among them.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Send men to view the land of Chanaan, which I will give to the children of Israel, one of every tribe, of the rulers.

Catholic Public Domain Version
“Send men, who may examine the land of Canaan, which I will give to the sons of Israel, one from the rulers of each tribe.”

New American Bible
Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, every one a leader among them.

New Revised Standard Version
“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites; from each of their ancestral tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Send men that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel; of every tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, every one a chief among them.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
“Send men; they shall explore the land of Canaan that I give to the children of Israel; every Leader that is among them, send one man from the tribe of his fathers.”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Send thou men, that they may spy out 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 prince among them.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Send for thee men, and let them spy the land of the Chananites, which I give to the sons of Israel for a possession; one man for a tribe, thou shalt send them away according to their families, every one of them a prince.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Spies Explore Canaan
1And the LORD said to Moses, 2“Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.” 3So at the consent of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 1:22-23
Then all of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us to search out the land and bring us word of what route to follow and which cities to enter.” / The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.

Joshua 2:1-24
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. / And it was reported to the king of Jericho: “Behold, some men of Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.” / So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they have come to spy out the whole land.” ...

Hebrews 3:16-19
For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? / And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? / And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed? ...

Deuteronomy 9:23
And when the LORD sent you out from Kadesh-barnea, He said, “Go up and possess the land that I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You neither believed Him nor obeyed Him.

Joshua 14:7-8
I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back to him an honest report. / Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to the LORD my God.

Nehemiah 9:13-15
You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments. / You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses. / In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land that You had sworn to give them.

Psalm 106:24-25
They despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His promise. / They grumbled in their tents and did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 1:8
See, I have placed the land before you. Enter and possess the land that the LORD swore He would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants after them.”

Exodus 3:8
I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Deuteronomy 7:1
When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—

Acts 7:45
And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David,

Hebrews 4:1-2
Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it. / For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it.

Deuteronomy 11:24
Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.

Exodus 23:20-23
Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. / Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him. / But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. ...

Joshua 1:11
“Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you will cross the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’”


Treasury of Scripture

Send you men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, every one a ruler among them.

send thou

Numbers 32:8
Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.

Deuteronomy 1:22-25
And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come…

Joshua 2:1
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

of every

Numbers 1:4
And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers.

Numbers 34:18
And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance.

a ruler

Numbers 11:16
And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

Exodus 18:25
And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

Deuteronomy 1:15
So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.

Jump to Previous
Ancestral Canaan Children Explore Israel Israelites Prince Ruler Search Spy Tribe Tribes
Jump to Next
Ancestral Canaan Children Explore Israel Israelites Prince Ruler Search Spy Tribe Tribes
Numbers 13
1. The names of the men who were sent to search the land
17. Their instructions
21. Their acts
26. Their relation














Send out for yourself men
The Hebrew word for "send" is "שָׁלַח" (shalach), which implies a commissioning or dispatching with authority. This directive from God to Moses is not merely a suggestion but a command with divine authority. The phrase "for yourself" indicates that Moses is to take personal responsibility in this mission, emphasizing the importance of leadership and accountability in God's work. The act of sending men to spy reflects a strategic approach, acknowledging the need for preparation and understanding before taking possession of God's promises.

to spy out the land of Canaan
The Hebrew term for "spy" is "תּוּר" (tur), meaning to explore or scout. This exploration was not just for military purposes but also to understand the land's resources and inhabitants. Canaan, the land promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was a land of great significance, representing God's faithfulness and the fulfillment of His covenant. Historically, Canaan was a region of diverse cultures and peoples, and this reconnaissance mission was crucial for the Israelites to assess the challenges and opportunities ahead.

which I am giving to the Israelites
The phrase "I am giving" underscores God's sovereignty and the certainty of His promise. The Hebrew verb "נָתַן" (natan) conveys a sense of a gift or grant, emphasizing that the land is a divine inheritance for the Israelites. This promise is rooted in the Abrahamic covenant, highlighting God's unchanging nature and His commitment to His people. The Israelites' possession of the land is not based on their merit but on God's grace and faithfulness.

From each of their fathers’ tribes
This phrase highlights the tribal structure of Israel, which was central to their identity and organization. Each tribe, descending from the sons of Jacob, had its unique role and inheritance within the nation. By selecting representatives from each tribe, the mission ensured that the entire community was involved and invested in the process. This also reflects the biblical principle of unity and shared responsibility among God's people.

send one man who is a leader among them
The Hebrew word for "leader" is "נָשִׂיא" (nasi), meaning a prince or chief. This indicates that the men chosen were not only representatives but also individuals of influence and authority within their tribes. Leadership in the biblical context is characterized by wisdom, courage, and a heart aligned with God's purposes. The selection of leaders for this mission underscores the importance of godly leadership in guiding and inspiring the community to trust in God's promises and act in faith.

(2) Every one a ruler among them.--Or, a prince among them, as in Numbers 1:16. A comparison of the names which follow with those which are given in Numbers 1:5-15 will show that the persons selected were not the tribal princes who are mentioned in connection with the census. The tribe of Levi, as in the former case, is not represented, as the Levites were to have no inheritance in the land, and the number of twelve, as in Numbers 1, is. made up by the division of the tribe of Joseph into the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Verse 2. - Send thou men, that they may search the land. If this account of the mission of the spies be compared with that given in Deuteronomy 1:20-25, it may be seen in a striking instance how entirely different a colour may be put upon the same circumstances by two inspired narratives. No one indeed will affirm that the two records are contradictory, or even inconsistent, and yet they leave an entirely different impression upon the mind; and no doubt were intended to. It is important to note that the Divine inspiration did not in the least prevent two sacred authors (cf. 2 Samuel 24:1 with 1 Chronicles 21:1), or even the same author at different times, from placing on record very distinct and even strongly contrasted aspects of the same facts, according to the point of view from which he was led to regard them. In Deuteronomy 1, Moses reminds the people that on their arrival at Kadesh he had bidden them go up and take possession; that they had then proposed to send men before them to examine the land; that the proposal had pleased him so well that he had adopted it and acted upon it. It is unquestionably strange that facts so material should have been omitted in the historical Book of Numbers. It is, however, to be considered -

1. That there is no contradiction between the two accounts. We may be certain from many a recorded example that Moses would not have acted on the popular suggestion without referring the matter to the Lord, and that it would be the Divine command (when given) which would really weigh with him.

2. That the recital in Deuteronomy is distinctly ad populum, and that therefore their part in the whole transaction is as strongly emphasized as is consistent with the truth of the facts.

3. That the narrative of Numbers is fragmentary, and does not profess to give a full account of matters, especially in such particulars as do not directly concern the Divine government and guidance of Israel. It is not, therefore, a serious difficulty that the record only begins here at the point when God adopted as his own what had been the demand of the people. If we ask why he so adopted it, the probable answer is that he knew what secret disaffection prompted it, and to what open rebellion it would lead. It was better that such disaffection should be allowed to ripen into rebellion before they entered their promised land. Miserable as the desert wandering might be, it was yet a discipline which prepared the nation for better things; whereas the invasion of Canaan without strong faith, courage, and self-restraint (such as they showed under Joshua) could but have ended in national disaster and destruction. Of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man. This was not part of the original proposition (Deuteronomy 1:22), but was agreeable to the general practice in matters of national concern, and was no doubt commanded in order that the whole people might share in the interest and responsibility of this survey. Every one a ruler among them. This does not mean that they were to be the tribe princes (as the names show), for they would not be suitable in respect of age, nor could they be spared for this service. They were "heads of the children of Israel" (verse 3), i.e., men of position and repute, but also no doubt comparatively young and active, as befitted a toilsome and hazardous excursion.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Send
שְׁלַח־ (šə·laḥ-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

men
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

to spy
וְיָתֻ֙רוּ֙ (wə·yā·ṯu·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8446: To meander, about, for, trade, reconnoitring

out the land
אֶ֣רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 776: Earth, land

of Canaan,
כְּנַ֔עַן (kə·na·‘an)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3667: Canaan -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their land West of the Jordan

which
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

I
אֲנִ֥י (’ă·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

am giving
נֹתֵ֖ן (nō·ṯên)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

to the Israelites.
לִבְנֵ֣י (liḇ·nê)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

From each
כֹּ֖ל (kōl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

of their fathers'
אֲבֹתָיו֙ (’ă·ḇō·ṯāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1: Father

tribes
לְמַטֵּ֤ה (lə·maṭ·ṭêh)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4294: A staff, rod, shaft, branch, a tribe

send
תִּשְׁלָ֔חוּ (tiš·lā·ḥū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

one
אֶחָד֩ (’e·ḥāḏ)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

man
אִ֨ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

who is a leader
נָשִׂ֥יא (nā·śî)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5387: An exalted one, a king, sheik, a rising mist

among them.”
בָהֶֽם׃ (ḇā·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew


Links
Numbers 13:2 NIV
Numbers 13:2 NLT
Numbers 13:2 ESV
Numbers 13:2 NASB
Numbers 13:2 KJV

Numbers 13:2 BibleApps.com
Numbers 13:2 Biblia Paralela
Numbers 13:2 Chinese Bible
Numbers 13:2 French Bible
Numbers 13:2 Catholic Bible

OT Law: Numbers 13:2 Send you men that they may spy (Nu Num.)
Numbers 13:1
Top of Page
Top of Page