Numbers 13:1-20 ▼

1 Later, the LORD told Moses,

2 |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.|

3 So that's just what Moses did, sending them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the LORD's instructions. All of the men were Israeli leaders.

4 These were their names: From Reuben's tribe, Zaccur's son Shammua;

5 From Simeon's tribe, Hori's son Shaphat;

6 From Judah's tribe, Jephunneh's son Caleb;

7 from Issachar's tribe, Joseph's son Igal;

8 From Ephraim's tribe, Nun's son Hoshea;

9 From Benjamin's tribe, Raphu's son Palti;

10 from Zebulun's tribe, Sodi's son Gaddiel;

11 from Joseph's tribe of Manasseh, Susi's son Gaddi;

12 From Dan's tribe, Gemalli's son Ammiel;

13 from Asher's tribe, Michael's son Sethur;

14 from Naphtali's tribe, Vophsi's son Nahbi;

15 and from Gad's tribe, Machi's son Geuel.

16 These are the names of the men sent by Moses to explore the land. Moses renamed Nun's son Hoshea to Joshua.

17 Then he sent them out to explore the land of Canaan. He instructed them, |Go up from here through the Negev, then ascend to the hill country.

18 See what the land is like. Observe whether the people who live there are strong or weak, or whether they're few or numerous.

19 Look to see whether the land where they live is good or bad, and whether the cities in which they live are merely tents or if they're fortified.

20 Examine the farmland, whether it's fertile or barren, and see if there are fruit-bearing trees in it or not. Be very courageous, and bring back some samples of the fruit of the land.| As it was, that time of year was the season for the first fruits of the grape harvest.