1Ug si Jehova misulti kang Moises, nga nagaingon: 2Magpadala ka ug mga tawo, aron sila maniid sa yuta sa Canaan, nga gihatag ko sa mga anak sa Israel: gikan sa tagsa ka banay sa ilang mga ginikanan magpadala kamo ug usa ka tawo, tagsatagsa maoy usa ka principe sa taliwala nila. 3Ug si Moises nagpadala kanila gikan sa kamingawan sa Paran sumala sa gisugo ni Jehova, silang tanan mga pangulo sa mga anak sa Israel. 4Kini mao ang ilang mga ngalan: Sa banay ni Ruben, mao si Sammua, ang anak nga lalake ni Saccur. 5Sa banay ni Simeon, mao si Safat, ang anak nga lalake ni Huri. 6Sa banay ni Juda, mao si Caleb, ang anak nga lalake ni Jephone. 7Sa banay ni Issachar, mao si Igal, ang anak nga lalake ni Joseph. 8Sa banay ni Ephraim, mao si Oseas, ang anak nga lalake ni Nun. 9Sa banay ni Benjamin, mao si Palti ang anak nga lalake ni Raphu. 10Sa banay ni Zabulon, mao si Gaddiel, ang anak nga lalake ni Sodi. 11Sa banay ni Jose, sa banay ni Manases, mao si Gaddi, ang anak nga lalake ni Susi. 12Sa banay ni Dan, mao si Ammiel, ang anak nga lalake ni Gemali. 13Sa banay ni Aser, mao si Setur, ang anak nga lalake ni Michael. 14Sa banay ni Nephtali, mao si Nahabi, ang anak nga lalake ni Bapsi. 15Sa banay ni Gad, mao si Geuel, ang anak nga lalake ni Maki. 16Kini mao ang mga ngalan sa mga tawo nga gipadala ni Moises sa pagpaniid sa yuta. Ug si Moises nagtawag kang Oseas, ang anak nga lalake ni Nun Josue. 17Ug gipadala sila ni Moises sa pagpaniid sa yuta sa Canaan, ug miingon kanila: Tumungas kamo dinhi dapit sa habagatan, ng tumungas kamo ngadto sa kabukiran. 18Ug tan-awon ninyo ang yuta kong unsa kana; ug ang katawohan nga nagapuyo niana, kong sila mga malig-on ba kun mahuyang, kong diriyut sila, kun daghan; 19Ug unsa ang yuta nga ginapuy-an nila kong kini maayo ba kun dautan; ug ang maong mga lungsod nga ginapuy-an nila, kong sa campo ba kun sa kuta; 20Ug kong unsa ang yuta, matambok ba kun kal-anan, kong didto adunay kakahuyan kun wala. Ug magmadasigon kamo, ug magdala kamo sa bunga sa kayutaan. Karon nga panahona mao ang panahon sa mga nahauna nga mga parras. 21Busa sila mitungas, ug gipanid-an nila ang yuta gikan sa kamingawan sa Zin ngadto sa Rehob, hangtud sa ganghaan sa Emath. 22Ug mitungas sila dapit sa habagatan, ug midangat sila hangtud sa Hebron; ug didto nanagpuyo si Aiman, ug si Sesai, ug si Talmai, ang mga anak ni Anac. (Karon ang Hebron natukod sa pito, ka tuig nga una pa kay sa Soan didto sa Egipto). 23Ug midangat sila hangtud sa walog sa Escol, ug didto miputol sila ug usa ka sanga uban ang usa ka bugway nga parras, ug giyayongan nila kini sa usa ka sungkod nga gidala sa duruha ka tawo; nanagdala usab sila ug mga granada ug sa mga igos. 24Kadtong dapita gihinganlan nila ug walog sa Escol, tungod sa bugway sa parras, nga giputol didto sa mga anak sa Israel. 25Ug namauli sila gikan sa pagpaniid sa yuta sa tapus ang kap-atan ka adlaw. 26Ug sila minglakaw, ug mingadto kang Moises, ug kang Aaron, ug sa tibook nga katilingban sa mga anak sa Israel, ngadto sa kamingawan sa Paran, ngadto sa Cades; ug nanagdala sa taho ngadto kanila, ug sa tibook nga katilingban, ug gipakita nila ang bunga sa maong yuta. 27Ug sila nanagsugilon kaniya, ug nanag-ingon: Midangat kami sa yuta, nga imong gipaadtoan kanamo; ug sa pagkatinuod, kini nagapaagay sa gatas ug dugos; ug kini mao ang bunga niini. 28Apan ang katawohan nga nagapuyo niadtong yutaa mga kusgan, ug ang mga kalungsoran mga malig-on ug mga dagku gayud: ug labut pa nakita namo didto ang mga anak ni Anac. 29Si Amalek nagapuyo sa yuta dapit sa Habagatan, ug ang Hetehanon ug ang Jebusehanon ug ang Amorehanon nagapuyo sa yuta sa kabungtoran; ug ang Canaanhon nagapuyo haduol sa dagat, ug sa daplin sa kiliran sa Jordan. 30Ug gipahilum ni Caleb ang katawohan sa atubangan ni Moises, ug miingon: Manungas kita gilayon, ug managiya niini; kay kita makahimo kaayo sa pagdaug niana. 31Apan ang mga tawo nga mingtungas uban kaniya ming-ingon: Dili kita makahimo sa pagtungas batok niadto nga katawohan; kay sila labi pang kusgan kay kanato. 32Ug sila nanagdala ug dautang taho mahitungod sa yuta nga ilang gipanid-an ngadto sa mga anak sa Israel, nga naga-ingon: Ang yuta nga among hiagian sa pagpaniid, mao ang yuta nga magalamoy sa mga pumoluyo niana; ug ang tanang mga tawo nga among nakita didto maoy mga tawo nga hatag-as kaayo. 33Ug didto nakita namo ang mga higante, ang mga anak nga lalake ni Anac, nga kagikan sa mga higante; ug kami sa among pagtan-aw, daw ingon sa mga dulon lamang : ug mao man kami sa ilang pagtan-aw kanamo.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE NAMES OF THE MEN WHO WERE SENT TO SEARCH THE LAND. (Num. 13:1-33)
The Lord spake unto Moses, Send thou men, that they may search the land, of Canaan--Compare
Deut 1:22, whence it appears, that while the proposal of delegating confidential men from each tribe to explore the land of Canaan emanated from the people who petitioned for it, the measure received the special sanction of God, who granted their request at once as a trial, and a punishment of their distrust.
3 those men were heads of the children of Israel--Not the princes who are named (
Num 10:14-
Num 10:16,
Num 10:18-
Num 10:20,
Num 10:22-
Num 10:27), but chiefs, leading men though not of the first rank.
16 Oshea--that is, "a desire of salvation." Jehoshua, by prefixing the name of God, means "divinely appointed," "head of salvation," "Saviour," the same as Jesus [
Matt 1:21, Margin].
17 Get you up this way . . . , and go up into the mountain--Mount Seir (
Deut 1:2), which lay directly from Sinai across the wilderness of Paran, in a northeasterly direction into the southern parts of the promised land.
20 Now the time was the time of the first grapes--This was in August, when the first clusters are gathered. The second are gathered in September, and the third in October. The spies' absence for a period of forty days determines the grapes they brought from Eshcol to have been of the second period.
21 So they . . . searched the land--They advanced from south to north, reconnoitering the whole land.
the wilderness of Zin--a long level plain, or deep valley of sand, the monotony of which is relieved by a few tamarisk and rethem trees. Under the names of El Ghor and El Araba, it forms the continuation of the Jordan valley, extending from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Akaba.
Rehob--or, Beth-rehob, was a city and district situated, according to some, eastward of Sidon; and, according to others, it is the same as El Hule, an extensive and fertile champaign country, at the foot of Anti-libanus, a few leagues below Paneas.
as men come to Hamath--or, "the entering in of Hamath" (
2Kgs 14:25), now the valley of Balbeck, a mountain pass or opening in the northern frontier, which formed the extreme limit in that direction of the inheritance of Israel. From the mention of these places, the route of the scouts appears to have been along the course of the Jordan in their advance; and their return was by the western border through the territories of the Sidonians and Philistines.
22 unto Hebron--situated in the heart of the mountains of Judah, in the southern extremity of Palestine. The town or "cities of Hebron," as it is expressed in the Hebrew, consists of a number of sheikdoms distinct from each other, standing at the foot of one of those hills that form a bowl round and enclose it. "The children of Anak" mentioned in this verse seem to have been also chiefs of townships; and this coincidence of polity, existing in ages so distant from each other, is remarkable [VERE MONRO]. Hebron (Kirjath Arba,
Gen 23:2) was one of the oldest cities in the world.
Zoan--(the Tanis of the Greeks) was situated on one of the eastern branches of the Nile, near the lake Menzala, and was the early royal residence of the Pharaohs. It boasted a higher antiquity than any other city in Egypt. Its name, which signifies flat and level, is descriptive of its situation in the low grounds of the Delta.
23 they came unto the brook of Eshcol--that is, "the torrent of the cluster." Its location was a little to the southwest of Hebron. The valley and its sloping hills are still covered with vineyards, the character of whose fruit corresponds to its ancient celebrity.
and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes--The grapes reared in this locality are still as magnificent as formerly--they are said by one to be equal in size to prunes, and compared by another to a man's thumb. One cluster sometimes weighs ten or twelve pounds. The mode of carrying the cluster cut down by the spies, though not necessary from its weight, was evidently adopted to preserve it entire as a specimen of the productions of the promised land; and the impression made by the sight of it would be all the greater because the Israelites were familiar only with the scanty vines and small grapes of Egypt.
26 they came . . . to Kadesh--an important encampment of the Israelites. But its exact situation is not definitely known, nor is it determined whether it is the same or a different place from Kadesh-barnea. It is supposed to be identical with Ain-el-Weibeh, a famous spring on the eastern side of the desert [ROBINSON], or also with Petra [STANLEY].
27 they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey--The report was given publicly in the audience of the people, and it was artfully arranged to begin their narrative with commendations of the natural fertility of the country in order that their subsequent slanders might the more readily receive credit.
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south--Their territory lay between the Dead and the Red Seas, skirting the borders of Canaan.
Hittites . . . dwell in the mountains--Their settlements were in the southern and mountainous part of Palestine (
Gen 23:7).
the Canaanites dwell by the sea--The remnant of the original inhabitants, who had been dispossessed by the Philistines, were divided into two nomadic hordes--one settled eastward near the Jordan; the other westward, by the Mediterranean.
32 a land that eateth up the inhabitants--that is, an unhealthy climate and country. Jewish writers say that in the course of their travels they saw a great many funerals, vast numbers of the Canaanites being cut off at that time, in the providence of God, by a plague or the hornet (
Josh 24:12).
men of a great stature--This was evidently a false and exaggerated report, representing, from timidity or malicious artifice, what was true of a few as descriptive of the people generally.
33 there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak--The name is derived from the son of Arba, a great man among the Arabians (
Josh 15:14), who probably obtained his appellation from wearing a splendid collar or chain round his neck, as the word imports. The epithet "giant" evidently refers here to stature. (See on
Gen 6:4). And it is probable the Anakims were a distinguished family, or perhaps a select body of warriors, chosen for their extraordinary size.
we were in our own sight as grasshoppers--a strong Orientalism, by which the treacherous spies gave an exaggerated report of the physical strength of the people of Canaan.