Numbers 13

1 And the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] said [to speak, communicate, or command] to Moses [the Israelite leader, born to Amram and Jochebed], word study 2 “Send out for yourself [choose and appoint] men [leaders, princes] to spy out [explore, search] the land [territory, region] of Canaan [the promised land], which I am giving [bestowing, granting] to the Israelites [the descendants of Jacob]. From each of their fathers’ [ancestors’, forefathers’] tribes send one man [a leader, a chief] who is a leader [a prince, a ruler] among them.” word study 3 So at the consent [by the commandment, according to the will] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], Moses [the Israelite leader] sent them out [dispatched, commissioned] from the Wilderness [desert, open field] of Paran [a desert area in Arabia]. All [every one, the entire group] the men [leaders, heads] were leaders [heads, chiefs] of the Israelites [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people], word study 4 and these [specific individuals, those men] were their names: From the tribe [family group, ancestral division] of Reuben [the firstborn son of Jacob], Shammua [a leader] son [descendant, offspring] of Zaccur [mindful, one who remembers]; word study 5 from the tribe [family group] of Simeon [Shimeon, the second son of Jacob], Shaphat [meaning judge, or ruler] son [a descendant, or offspring] of Hori; word study 6 from the tribe [a group of people] of Judah [the region, the descendants of Judah], Caleb [a faithful follower, the son of Jephunneh] son [a descendant, a child] of Jephunneh; word study 7 from the tribe [a tribe of Israel] of Issachar [there is recompense], Igal [He redeems] son [a descendant, or offspring] of Joseph [Jehovah has added]; word study 8 from the tribe [a family or group of families] of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a son of Joseph], Hoshea [a common name, meaning salvation] son [a descendant or offspring] of Nun [meaning fish or posterity, the father of Joshua]; word study 9 from the tribe [a group of people with a common ancestor] of Benjamin [son of the right hand], Palti [delivered, set free] son [a male descendant, offspring] of Raphu [healed, restored]; word study 10 from the tribe [a group of people] of Zebulun [a son of Jacob and founder of one of the twelve tribes], Gaddiel [meaning God is my fortune] son [a descendant, or offspring] of Sodi; word study 11 from the tribe [group of people] of Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob, an ancestor of a large tribe] (a tribe [group of people] of Joseph [Jehovah has added]), Gaddi [an Israelite who lived during the time of the Wilderness] son [a descendant, a male child] of Susi [an Israelite who lived during the time of the wilderness]; word study 12 from the tribe [a group of people united by ancestry and heritage] of Dan [a son of Jacob and founder of one of the twelve tribes of Israel], Ammiel [my kinsman is God] son [a male descendant, offspring] of Gemalli [meaning’camel driver’, a leader of caravans]; word study 13 from the tribe [a group of people] of Asher [the eighth son of Jacob, one of the twelve tribes of Israel], Sethur [an Israelite spy, sent to explore Canaan] son [a descendant, or one born of] of Michael [who is like God, an archangel or a name of several Israelites]; word study 14 from the tribe [a group of people] of Naphtali [a son of Jacob, one of the twelve tribes of Israel], Nahbi [an Israelite, a spy] son [a descendant, a child] of Vophsi [a father, an Israelite living during the time of the wilderness]; word study 15 and from the tribe [a group of people] of Gad [the seventh son of Jacob], Geuel [an Israelite leader] son [a descendant, or offspring] of Machi [a father, or ancestor]. word study 16 These [specific individuals] were the names [identities, reputations] of the men [male persons, leaders] Moses [the Israelite leader, prophet] sent [dispatched, commissioned] to spy out [explore, reconnoiter] the land [territory, region]; and Moses [the leader, guide] gave [bestowed, assigned] to Hoshea [Oshea, salvation] son [descendant, heir] of Nun [posterity, fish] the name [designation, title] Joshua [Jehoshua, Yahweh is salvation]. word study 17 When Moses [the Israelite leader] sent them to spy out [explore, reconnoiter] the land [territory, region] of Canaan [the promised land], he told them, “Go up [ascend, rise] through the Negev [the southern district, south country] and into the hill country [mountain, high land]. word study 18 See [what it is, to know its nature] what the land [the earth, a country] is like and whether its people [a nation, a group of individuals] are strong [powerful, mighty] or weak [feeble, without strength], few [a small number, a little] or many [a large number, numerous]. word study 19 Is the land [country, territory, or region] where they live [dwell, reside, or abide] good [pleasant, beneficial, or desirable] or bad [evil, adverse, or distressing]? Are the cities [towns, or settlements] where they dwell [live, or remain] open camps [tent-circles, or unfortified areas] or fortifications [strongholds, or fortified places]? word study 20 Is the soil fertile [fertile or barren, productive or unproductive] or unproductive? Are there trees [wood or forest] in it or not? Be [of good courage, strong and courageous] courageous, and bring back some of the fruit [produce or harvest] of the land [country or territory].” (It was the season [time or period] for the first ripe [first-ripe or initial] grapes.) word study 21 So they went up [ascended to a higher place] and spied out [explored, searched thoroughly] the land [earth, territory] from the Wilderness [desert, barren region] of Zin [a desert region near the Dead Sea] as far as [till, up to] Rehob [a city in Syria], toward [in the direction of, approaching] Lebo-hamath [the entrance to Hamath, a city in Syria]. word study 22 They went up [ascended, rose] through the Negev [the southern district, south country] and came to Hebron [a city in Palestine], where Ahiman [a descendant of Anak], Sheshai [a giant, son of Anak], and Talmai [a Canaanite, son of Anak], the descendants [born, children] of Anak [a Canaanite man, father of giants], dwelled [lived, resided]. It had been built [established, constructed] seven years before Zoan [an ancient city, Tanis] in Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa]. word study 23 When they came [arrived, went] to the Valley [brook, riverbed] of Eshcol [a valley in Palestine, named after an Amorite, meaning cluster], they cut down [chopped down, harvested] a branch [small branch, twig] with a single [one, unique] cluster [bunch, group] of grapes [a type of fruit], which they carried [lifted, bore] on a pole [yoke, staff] between two men [two, a pair]. They also took [brought, picked] some pomegranates [a fruit or tree, used as an ornament] and figs [the fig tree or its fruit, a common food source]. word study 24 Because of the cluster [bunch of grapes, a large quantity of fruit] of grapes the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] cut [harvested, gathered] there, that place [location, region] was called [named, designated] the Valley [brook, river valley] of Eshcol [meaning cluster, a valley in Palestine]. word study 25 After [at the end of, following] forty [a significant period of time, often used for testing or preparation] days [a period of twenty-four hours, a literal or figurative space of time] the men [those who were sent to spy, the scouts] returned [to turn back, come back] from [the process of] spying out [exploring, searching] the land [the earth, a country or region], word study 26 and they went back [to return, to turn back] to Moses [the Israelite leader, prophet], Aaron [the first high priest], and the whole [all, everything] congregation [gathering, community] of Israel [God’s chosen people] in the Wilderness [desert, open field] of Paran [a desert area in Arabia] at Kadesh [a holy place, a city in southern Judah]. They brought back [to report, to give an account] a report [word, news] for the whole [all, everything] congregation [gathering, community] and showed them the fruit [produce, result] of the land [earth, territory]. word study 27 And they gave this account [reported, recounted] to Moses: “We went [came, entered] into the land [territory, region] to which you sent [dispatched, commissioned] us, and indeed, it is flowing [abundant, overflowing] with milk and honey [a sweet and valuable food]. Here is some of its fruit [produce, harvest]! word study 28 Nevertheless, the people [strong and fierce] living in the land [the soil or ground, a country or territory] are strong [powerful, intense], and the cities [towns with walls or a watchman] are large [great in size or importance] and fortified [gathered or restrained for defense]. We even saw [looked after] the descendants [born, children] of Anak [a Canaanite man, an ancestor] there [in that place]. word study 29 The Amalekites [descendants of Esau, enemies of Israel] live in the land [earth, territory] of the Negev [south country, southern district]; the Hittites [sons of Heth], Jebusites [inhabitants of Jebus, early Jerusalem], and Amorites [Canaanite tribe, descendants of Canaan] live in the hill country [mountains, highlands]; and the Canaanites [inhabitants of Canaan, merchants and traders] live by the sea [Mediterranean, large body of water] and along the Jordan [key location, river running from Lebanon to the Dead Sea].” word study 30 Then Caleb [stilled, quieted the people] quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up [at once, immediately] and take possession [occupy, overcome] of the land, for we can certainly [thoroughly] conquer [overcome, defeat] it!” word study 31 But the men [who had gone up as scouts] who had gone up with him replied, “We [are not able, lack the power] cannot go up against the people [a strong and numerous nation], for they are [much] stronger [more powerful, severe] than we are [in comparison to us]!” word study 32 So they gave the Israelites a bad [evil, slanderous] report about the land [territory, region] that they had spied out: “The land [earth, ground] we explored [searched, investigated] devours [eats up, consumes] its inhabitants [residents, dwellers], and all the people [nations, tribes] we saw there are great [tall, of large stature] in stature [height, measure]. word study 33 We even saw the Nephilim [giants, bullies] there—the descendants [sons, offspring] of Anak [a Canaanite man, father of a giant tribe] that come from the Nephilim [tyrants, giants]! We seemed like [as small as] grasshoppers [locusts, insignificant insects] in our own sight [eye, perception], and we must have seemed the same [thus, in like manner] to them [in their eye, opinion]!” word study