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The Sending of the Spies
v. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
v. 2. Send thou men that they may search the land of Canaan, explore and inspect it from every angle, which I give unto the children of Israel; of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. The men were not to be identical with the princes of the tribes, as named Num_1:5-16, but they were, nevertheless, to be notable for ability and leadership.
v. 3. And Moses, by the commandment of the Lord, sent them from the Wilderness of Paran; for their camp at that time was on the southern border of the Land of Promise. All those men were heads of the children of Israel, chosen from the officers-of the tribes, since they seemed especially endowed for the work of this mission.
v. 4. And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua, the son of Zaccur.
v. 5. of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat, the son of Hori.
v. 6. of the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.
v. 7. of the tribe of Issachar, Igal, the son of Joseph.
v. 8. of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea, the son of Nun.
v. 9. of the tribe of Benjamin, Paiti, the son of Baphu.
v. 10. of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel, the son of Sodi.
v. 11. of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi, the son of Susi.
v. 12. of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel, the son of Gemalli.
v. 13. of the tribe of Asher, Sethus, the son of Michael.
v. 14. of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi, the son of Vophsi.
v. 15. of the tribe of Gad, Geuel, the son of Machi.
v. 16. These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea, the son of Nun, Jehoshua, the change being from the simple word "help" to the more complete and comforting "help of Jehovah," "he whose help is Jehovah. " This fact is recorded in this connection, since the incidents here narrated were of such vital importance in the life of the future leader of Israel; but the actual change of name probably took place long before this.
v. 17. And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, to get all the information possible regarding the land, the products, the cities, the industries, the inhabitants, and whatever other matters they might find interesting, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain; they were to begin their work in the southern district of Canaan, which represented the stage of transition from the state of wilderness to that of a highly cultivated country, and were then to make their way northward into the more mountainous districts;
v. 18. and see the land, what it is, in what condition as to soil and cultivation it was; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they he strong, valiant and courageous, or weak, timid and faint-hearted, few or many;
v. 19. and what the land is that they dwell in, also in regard to climate, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents or in strongholds, in open camps or in permanent, fortified towns and cities;
v. 20. and what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, namely, so far as fertility of the soil was concerned, whether there be wood therein, or not; for the forests of a land are a very important item in its material prosperity. And be ye of good courage, they should attend to the work entrusted to them with all brave diligence, and bring of the fruit of the land, as a sample of its productivity. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes, late summer or the beginning of autumn. This charge of Moses was intended to give them the valiant, undaunted hearts which they needed for the discharge of their difficult mission.