UNROLL
At first light a camp of black tents beside a small green spring on the desert’s edge, with the pale hill country rising far to the north.

The Book of

Numbers 13

Twelve men go to see the land God promised. They all come back with the same fruit and two different stories.

33 verses≈ 5 min3 peopleBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

  1. 1–10Ready at SinaiCounted and ordered
  2. 11–14GrumblingTo Kadesh and refusalChapter 13
  3. 15–21Forty yearsRebellion and mercy
  4. 22–25BalaamA curse turned to blessing
  5. 26–36A new generationReady for the land

The Spies Explore Canaan

And the LORD said to Moses, “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.”

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The twelve

Twelve leaders sent

  1. Reuben: Shammua

    So at the command of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites, and these were their names:

    From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;

  2. Simeon: Shaphat

    from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;

  3. Judah: Caleb

    from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;

  4. Issachar: Igal

    from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;

  5. Ephraim: Hoshea

    from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;

  6. Benjamin: Palti

    from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;

  7. Zebulun: Gaddiel

    from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;

  8. Manasseh: Gaddi

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

  9. Dan: Ammiel

    from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;

  10. Asher: Sethur

    from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

  11. Naphtali: Nahbi

    from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;

  12. Gad: Geuel

    and from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Machi.

These were the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the land; and Moses gave to Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.

Question

Quick question

Twelve leaders were sent, one from each tribe. One of them was given a new name before he went.

What name did Moses give Hoshea son of Nun?

Moses

So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.

Wilderness of ParanWilderness of ZinNegevTo Lebo-hamathKadeshHebronRehob (site uncertain)

Stylised map · locations approximate

On the map

The spies’ route

The twelve set out from the Wilderness of Paran and came back to Kadesh. For forty days they went through the land “from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath”: its whole length, from the southern desert to the far north. On the way they came to Hebron in the hill country, and to the Valley of Eshcol near it. Rehob, the Wilderness of Zin and Eshcol are uncertain sites, and the dashed line is a sketch of the journey, not their road.

They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.

In a green valley of vineyards, two men carry one enormous cluster of grapes hanging from a pole on their shoulders; a third carries pomegranates and figs.

When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol.

Reflect

Bring back some of the fruit

Moses told the spies, “Be courageous and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” They came home with grapes so heavy it took two men to carry them: proof in their hands that God’s promise was good. What has God already let you taste of what He has promised you? Write it down, and write what that taste should do to the way you face what is still ahead.

The Reports of the Spies

At evening in the camp at Kadesh a crowd gathers close around a few travel-worn men laying out pomegranates, figs and a great grape cluster on a cloth.

After forty days the men returned from spying out the land, and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.

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Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

The ten spies

And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit! Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live 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.”

Caleb

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!”

The ten spies

But the men who had gone up with him replied, “We cannot go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are!”

We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!

Numbers 13:30

So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature. We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”

We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight

Numbers 13:33

Pray

Measured against God

The ten saw the same land and the same fruit as Caleb. But they measured the giants against themselves and said, “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight.” Caleb measured them against God and said, “we can certainly conquer it!” Name the giant in front of you. Then pray: Lord, give me eyes that measure every giant against You, not against me, and a heart that goes up when You say go.

You’ve experienced

Numbers 13

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A verse to carry with you

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!”

Numbers 13:30

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