Numbers 13

AND the LORD spake unto Moses In answer to the peoples petition about it, as is evident from Deut. 1. 22. And it is probable from the following story, that the people desired it out of diffidence of Gods promise, and providence, though Moses liked of it as a prudent course to learn where or how to make the first invasion. And God granted their desire for their trial and punishment, as well knowing from what root it came., saying,

Send thou men Do as the people press thee to do., that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers (i. e.) Which comes from their several parents or Patriarchs. shall ye send a man, every one a ruler A person of wisdom and authority which might make his witness more considerable with the people. among them.

And Moses, by the commandment of the LORD, sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.

And these were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.

Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.

Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.

Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea Called also Ioshua, ver. 16. the son of Nun.

Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palto the son of Raph....

Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.

Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh (i. e.) Of that part of the tribe of Ioseph, which is peculiarly called the tribe of Manasseh, the other part of it was called the tribe of Ephraim, ver. 8. The name of Ioseph is elsewhere appropriated to Ephraim, as Ezek. 37. 16, 19. Rev. 7. 8. here to Manesseh, possibly to aggravate the sin of the ruler of this tribe, who did so basely degenerate from his noble ancestor, Ioseph., Gaddi the son of Susi.

Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.

Of the tribe of Asher, Shether the son of Michael.

Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.

Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land: and Moses called Oshea the son of Nun, Jehoshua Oshea notes a desire of Salvation, signifying, Save we pray thee, but Iehoshua, or Ioshua includes a promise of Salvation, that he should save, or that God by his hands should save the people. So this was a prophecy of his succession to Moses in the government and of the success of his arms..

And Moses sent them to spie out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get ye up this way southward (i. e.) Into the Southern part of Canaan, which was the nearest part, and the worst too, being dry and desert, Ios. 15. 1, 3. Iudg. 1. 15. Psal. 126. 4. and therefore fittest for them to enter and pass through with less observation., and go up into the mountain (i. e.) Into the mountainous country, and thence into the valleys, and so take an exact survey of the whole land.:

And see the land what it is Both for largeness, and for nature and quality as is more particularly expressed ver. 19, 20., and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many:

And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad Healthful, or unwholesome, fruitful or barren., and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents As the Arabians did, or in unwalled Villages, which, like tents, are exposed to an enemy. or in strong holds:

And what the land is, whether it be fat Rich and fertile. or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage Doubt not but God will preserve you in this dangerous journey, and be not dismayed nor discouraged if you find the people numerous and potent and well fortified., and bring of the fruit of the land, (now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.)

So they went up, and searched the land, from the wilderness of Zin In the south of Canaan, Numb. 34. 3. Jos. 15. 3. differing from the wilderness of Sin, which was nigh unto Egypt, Exod. 16. 1., unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath (i. e.) From the South they passed through the whole land even to the Northern parts of it, Rehob, a city in the North-west part, Ios. 19. 28. Iudg. 1. 31. and Hemath, a city in the North-east part, Ios. 19. 35. Ezek. 47. 17. And that they might more expeditiously and securely perform this office it is probable, that they divided themselves into several small parties, and informed themselves not only by their eye, but also by their ear and the information of persons of whom they enquired about the nature and condition of their land..

And they ascended by the south Here Moses having generally described their progress and course from South to North, now returns more particularly to relate some memorable places and passages, as that having entred the land in the southern parts, they travelled then till they came to Hebron., and came Heb. He came, to wit, Caleb, as appears from Ios. 14. 9, 12, 14. For, as was now intimated, the spies distributed their work among them, and went either severally, or by pairs, and, it seems, the survey of this part was left to Caleb. unto Hebron: where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak A famous giant so called, whose children these are called, either more generally, as all giants sometimes were, or rather more specially, because Arbah, from whom Hebron was called Kiriath-arbah, was the father of Anak, Ios. 15. 13. And this circumstance is mentioned as an evidence of the goodness of that land and soil, because the giants chose it for their habitation. were: (now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt A famous giant so called, whose children these are called, either more generally, as all giants sometimes were, or rather more specially, because Arbah, from whom Hebron was called Kiriath-arbah, was the father of Anak, Ios. 15. 13. And this circumstance is mentioned as an evidence of the goodness of that land and soil, because the giants chose it for their habitation.) u This seems to be noted to confront the Egyptians who vainly boasted of the antiquity of their city Zoan above all places.

And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff Either for the weight of it, considering the length of the way they were to carry it, or for the preservation of it whole and entire. In those Eastern and Southern countries there are vines and grapes of an extraordinary bigness as Strabo and Pliny affirm., and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.

And they returned from searching of the land after fourty days.

And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh So called by way of abbreviation, which is frequent in Hebrew names, for Kadesh-barnea, Deut. 1. 19. which some rashly confound with Kadesh in the wilderness of Sin, Numb. 20. 1. and 27. 14. and 33. 16. into which they came not till the 40th. year after their coming out of Egypt, as appears from Numb. 33. 37, 38. whereas they were in this Kadesh in the second year and before they received the sentence of their forty years abode in the wilderness., and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.

And they told him In the audience of the people, as appears from ver. 30., and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey They craftily begin their relation with commendations that their following slanders might be more easily believed., and this is the fruit of it.

Nevertheless, the people, be strong Potent both for the strength of their body and the valour of their minds. that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover, we saw the children of Anak there.

The Amalekite dwelleth in the land of the south Where we are to enter the land, and they who were so eager and fierce against us that they came into the wilderness to fight with us, will without doubt oppose us when we come close by their land and are about to settle in their neighbourhood, the rather, to revenge themselves for their former loss and shame received by us. Therefore they mention them, though they were no Canaanites.: and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwelleth in the mountains (i. e.) In the mountainous country in the South-east part of the land, so that you cannot enter there without great difficulty both because of the noted strength and valour of those people, and because of the advantage they have from the mountains.: and the Canaanite dwelleth by the sea Not the midland Sea, which is commonly understood by that expression, but the salt or dead sea, as appears, 1. because it is that sea which is next to Iordan, as here follows: 2. because the Canaanites dwelt principally in those parts and not near the mid-land sea. So these guard the entrance on the east-side, as the others do on the South., and by the coast of Jordan.

And Caleb Together with Ioshua, as is manifest from Numb. 14. 6, 7, 30. but Caleb alone is here mentioned, possibly because he spake first and most, which he might better do, because he might be presumed to be more impartial than Ioshua, who being Moses his Minister might be thought to speak only what he knew his master would like. stilled the people Which implies either that they had began to murmur, or that by their looks and carriages they discovered that grief and anger which boiled in their breasts. before Moses Or, towards Moses, against whom they were incensed, as the man who had brought them into such sad circumstances., and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it Partly in moral probability, because we are one people united under one head, whereas they are divided into several nations and governments of differing counsels and interests and inclinations, and principally because of the assistance of the almighty God..

But the men that went up with him All of them, Ioshua excepted., said, We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we Both in stature of body and numbers of people. Thus they wickedly question the power and truth and goodness of God, of all which they had such ample testimonies..

And they brought up Heb. brought forth, to wit, out of their mouthes: they uttered a reproach or reproachful words. an evil report of the land (i. e.) Against, or, concerning the land. It is the genitive case of the object, as Mat. 10. 1. and 14. 1., which they had searched, unto the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof Not so much by civil wars, as most think, for that was likely to make their conquest more easie; nor by the barrenness of the soil, which consumed the people with the excessive pains it required to make it fruitful, as others think, for they confessed the excellency of the land, ver. 27. but rather by the unwholesomness of the air and place which they guesse... from the many funerals, which, as some Hebrew Writers not without probability affirm, they observed in their travels through it: though that came to pass from another cause, even from the singular providence of God, which, to facilitate the Israelites conquest, cut off vast numbers of the Canaanites either by a plague, or by the hornet sent before them, as is expressed, Ios. 24. 12. or some other way.: and all the people that we saw in it, are men of a great stature.

And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grashoppers (i. e.) Small and contemptible., and so we were in their sight.