As Numbers 13 opens, it is the summer of the second year of the exodus and the children of Israel are camped just south of Canaan. In Numbers 13:1-2, God instructs Moses to send a delegation of twelve leaders, one from each tribe (other than Levi), on a fact-finding mission to Canaan.
Experienced Bible students know that more details are given in Deut 1:19-23, where Moses recalls this moment from the vantage point of 38 and a half years later. He remembers that Israelites had requested that he authorize such a mission, and that he had been in favor of the idea.
One textual tradition, preserved in the Samaritan Pentateuch, places Deut 1:20-23a after Num 12 and before Num 13:1. This tradition favors a sequence of events in which Israelites had requested a fact-finding mission, Moses asked God about the matter, and God than gave his permission/approval for such a mission.
In light of how things turned out, the advisability of the plan to spy out the land has been questioned. Certainly there was no requirement for such a plan. God was leading them and knew everything they would need to know about their destination. On the other hand, the plan had considerable upside. If the twelve leaders liked what they saw and became excited about the prospects of life in Canaan, they would communicate their excitement to their tribes, and the people might unite behind Moses.
In Num 13:4-15, the tribes are listed in an order that intersperses sons of Leah with sons of Rachel. The ordering may emphasize the importance of unity among the tribes.
The plan can also be seen as a kind of test. If the Israelites were ready to enter the Promised Land, they would catch Moses' vision of the good land that lay before them. If they were not yet ready to enter the Promised Land, they might shrink back in fear, indicating that they needed more training and preparation.
There was plenty in Canaan to create excitement among the spies. Early in their trip they reached Hebron, where their forefathers had spent much time. Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah were buried nearby at Machpelah (Gen 23). It would have been a thrill to set foot in this special place where their ancestors had lived.
This was a land where great agricultural production was possible, as evidenced by the huge cluster of grapes that the spies brought back.
There were also challenges to be faced. The land contained a number of warring city states with fortifications, and the inhabitants included giants who were descended from the Nephilim, the offspring of angels and people mentioned in Gen 6:4. These giants might have the assistance of evil supernatural powers.
Two of the delegation, Joshua and Caleb, were energized by the opportunities they saw. "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it," Caleb encouraged the people (Num 13:30).
Sadly, ten of the twelve members of the delegation were driven to despair by the challenges ahead.. "We seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them," they lamented (v 33). In their fear they lost sight of the God who was with them. A midrash on this verse has God saying, "How do you know how you seemed to them? Perhaps I made you seem to them like angels." In fact, there was widespread fear of the Israelites among the inhabitants of Canaan, a fear that was still present 38 years later (Josh 2:9).
The negative report of the spies caused despair in the camp on the night of their return, a night traditionally identified as the Ninth of Ab, a day connected with a number of calamities in Israel's history. The next day there were threats of mutiny, as many wanted to turn around and go back to Egypt (Num 14:2-4,10).
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