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Números 13

ARC · Chapter 13/36

1E fallou o Senhor a Moysés, dizendo:

2Envia homens que espiem a terra de Canaan, que eu hei de dar aos filhos d'Israel; de cada tribu de seus paes enviareis um homem, sendo cada qual maioral entre elles.

3E enviou-os Moysés do deserto de Paran, segundo o dito do Senhor; todos aquelles homens eram Cabeças dos filhos d'Israel.

4E estes são os seus nomes: Da tribu de Ruben, Sammua, filho de Saccur,

5Da tribu de Simeão Saphath, filho de Hori;

6Da tribu de Judah, Caleb, filho de Jefoné;

7Da tribu d'Issacar, Jigeal, filho de José;

8Da tribu d'Ephraim, Hosea, filho de Nun;

9Da tribu de Benjamin, Palti, filho de Raphu;

10Da tribu de Zebulon, Gaddiel, filho de Sodi;

11Da tribu de José, pela tribu de Manasseh, Gaddi filho de Susi;

12Da tribu de Dan, Ammiel, filho de Gemalli;

13Da tribu d'Aser, Sethur, filho de Michael;

14Da tribu de Naphtali, Nabbi, filho de Vophsi;

15Da tribu de Gad, Guel, filho de Machi.

16Estes são os nomes dos homens que Moysés enviou a espiar aquella terra: e a Hosea, filho de Nun, Moysés chamou Josué.

17Enviou-os pois Moysés a espiar a terra de Canaan: e disse-lhes: Subi por aqui para a banda do sul, e subi á montanha:

18E vêde que terra é, e o povo que n'ella habita; se é forte ou fraco; se pouco ou muito.

19E qual é a terra em que habita, se boa ou má: e quaes são as cidades em que habita; ou em arraiaes, ou em fortalezas.

20Tambem qual é a terra, se grossa ou magra: se n'ella ha arvores, ou não: e esforçae-vos, e tomae do fructo da terra. E eram aquelles dias os dias das primicias das uvas.

21Assim subiram, e espiaram a terra desde o deserto de Zín, até Rehob, á entrada de Hamath.

22E subiram para a banda do sul, e vieram até Hebron; e estavam ali Aiman, Sesai, e Talmai, filhos d'Enac: e Hebron foi edificada sete annos antes de Zoan no Egypto.

23Depois vieram até ao valle d'Escol, e d'ali cortaram um ramo de vide com um cacho d'uvas, o qual trouxeram dois homens sobre uma verga: como tambem das romãs e dos figos.

24Chamaram áquelle logar o valle d'Escol, por causa do cacho que d'ali cortaram os filhos de Israel.

25Depois tornaram-se d'espiar a terra, ao fim de quarenta dias.

26E caminharam, e vieram a Moysés e a Aarão, e a toda a congregação dos filhos de Israel no deserto de Paran, a Cades, e, tornando, deram-lhes conta a elles, e a toda a congregação, e mostraram-lhes o fructo da terra

27E contaram-lhe e disseram: Fomos á terra a que nos enviaste; e verdadeiramente mana leite e mel, e este é o fructo.

28O povo porém que habita n'essa terra é poderoso, e as cidades fortes e mui grandes; e tambem ali vimos os filhos d'Enac.

29Os amalequitas habitam na terra do sul; e os heteos, e os jebuseos, e os amorrheos habitam na montanha: e os cananeos habitam ao pé do mar, e pela ribeira do Jordão.

30Então Caleb fez calar o povo perante Moysés, e disse: Subamos animosamente, e possuamol-a em herança: porque certamente prevaleceremos contra ella.

31Porém os homens que com elle subiram disseram: Não poderemos subir contra aquelle povo, porque é mais forte do que nós.

32E infamaram a terra que tinham espiado para com os filhos d'Israel, dizendo: A terra, pelo meio da qual passamos a espiar, é terra que consome os seus moradores; e todo o povo que vimos no meio d'ella são homens de grande estatura.

33Tambem vimos ali gigantes, filhos d'Enac, descendentes dos gigantes: e eramos aos nossos olhos como gafanhotos, e assim tambem eramos aos seus olhos.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Twelve spies, one from each tribe, are sent to scout the land of Canaan. After 40 days, they return confirming that the land is fertile, but ten of them spread fear about the strong inhabitants and walled cities, while Caleb insists that the people can conquer it.

Explanation

This is a decisive moment in Israel's history: the spies had the same factual information (a good land, but strong peoples), yet radically different interpretations — ten saw only obstacles, while Caleb and later Joshua saw the same reality through the lens of God's promise and power. This illustrates a central spiritual truth: faith does not mean ignoring hard facts, but trusting that God is greater than them. The spies' exaggerated comparison, feeling 'like grasshoppers' before the inhabitants, reveals how fear distorts both self-perception and perception of the situation. The application for today: facing real challenges, the difference between giving up and moving forward often lies in the perspective of faith, not in the absence of genuine difficulties.

Fun facts

  • It was in this chapter that Moses changed the name of Hoshea, son of Nun, to Joshua (Yehoshua, 'the LORD saves') — the same name that, in Greek, becomes 'Jesus' (Iesous), a connection noted by many Christian commentators.
  • The mention of the 'sons of Anak' (descendants of giants) in Hebron is archaeologically confirmed as a very ancient and fortified city, continuously occupied since at least 3000 BC, which explains the spies' genuine fear before its walls.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Números 13:1The Lord speaks to Moses to begin one of the most decisive missions in the book: sending spies to explore the promised land.
  2. Números 13:2The command is clear: send one man from each tribe, all recognized leaders, to spy out the land of Canaan before the people enter it.
  3. Números 13:3Moses sends the twelve men from the wilderness of Paran, following the Lord’s command; all of them were recognized chiefs among the tribes of Israel.
  4. Números 13:4For Reuben goes Shammua son of Zaccur, opening the list of the twelve chosen spies.
  5. Números 13:5Shaphat is one of the twelve spies sent to Canaan, one per tribe. He and nine others would return with a discouraging report, unlike Caleb and Joshua’s — and that would cost the people forty years in the wilderness.
  6. Números 13:6For Judah goes Caleb son of Jephunneh — a name that will become central to the chapter’s outcome.
  7. Números 13:7This “son of Joseph” is not the patriarch from Egypt — it is simply the name of Igal’s father. He is one of the twelve spies, and would be among the ten who brought back the report that frightened the people.
  8. Números 13:8For Ephraim goes Oshea son of Nun — another name that will carry special weight later on.
  9. Números 13:9Palti represents Benjamin among the twelve spies sent to Canaan. Like most of them, his report would reinforce the people’s fear, unlike the optimism of Caleb and Joshua.
  10. Números 13:10Gaddiel is the spy chosen by Zebulun. Along with nine colleagues, he would see the good land and still recommend not entering it — a decision that cost an entire generation.
  11. Números 13:11For the tribe of Manasseh, a descendant of Joseph, goes Gaddi son of Susi.
  12. Números 13:12Ammiel represents the tribe of Dan among the twelve spies sent by Moses to Canaan, each one a head of his tribe — but that would not be enough to give the group courage.
  13. Números 13:13Sethur is the spy from Asher. Of the twelve sent to Canaan, only Caleb and Joshua would return confident; Sethur would be among the ten who spread fear through the camp.
  14. Números 13:14Nahbi represents Naphtali among the twelve spies — only one is left on the list, the one from Gad, to complete the twelve tribes sent to spy out Canaan.
  15. Números 13:15For Gad goes Geuel son of Machi, closing out the list of the twelve representatives.
  16. Números 13:16The text closes the list by noting that Moses changes Oshea’s name to Joshua — a name change that will follow this man for the rest of the Bible.
  17. Números 13:17Moses gives the spies precise instructions: go up first through the Negev, in the south, and then continue into the hill country.
  18. Números 13:18They were to observe what the land and the people living in it were like: whether they were strong or weak, few or many.
  19. Números 13:19They were also to note whether the land was good or bad, and what the cities were like: open like camps or fortified like strongholds.
  20. Números 13:20Moses also asks them to bring back samples of the land’s fruit, and the text notes that it happened to be the season of the first ripe grapes.
  21. Números 13:21The spies carry out the mission, traveling the length of the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath.
  22. Números 13:22Going up through the south, they reach Hebron, where descendants of giants lived; the text also notes, in passing, that Hebron was older than a famous Egyptian city.
  23. Números 13:23The spies bring back a cluster of grapes so large it had to be carried by two men on a pole, along with pomegranates and figs. This concrete sample proved the land really was fertile, exactly as God had promised — the problem would not be the quality of the land, but the people’s fear in the face of it.
  24. Números 13:24That place came to be called the valley of Eshcol precisely because of the cluster of grapes the spies cut there.
  25. Números 13:25After forty days traveling through the land, the spies finally return from the mission.
  26. Números 13:26They return to Kadesh, in the wilderness of Paran, and present the report to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation, showing the fruit they had brought.
  27. Números 13:27The report confirms the promise: the land really is fertile, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the very fruit brought back proves.
  28. Números 13:28But the report already comes with a troubling qualification: the people living there are strong, the cities are large and fortified, and there are giants among them.
  29. Números 13:29The spies go on to detail who occupied each region of the land: Amalekites in the south, Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites in the hill country, and Canaanites near the sea and along the Jordan.
  30. Números 13:30Caleb tries to calm the people before Moses, insisting they should go up and take the land, confident they would be able to conquer it.
  31. Números 13:31But the other spies openly disagree, saying they would not be able to face that people, who were too strong for them.
  32. Números 13:32These same spies spread a bad report about the land, saying it devours those who live in it and that all its inhabitants were of enormous size.
  33. Números 13:33The spies describe the inhabitants of Canaan as giants, descendants of Anak, and say they felt like grasshoppers next to them. It is an exaggerated account born of fear, not an objective fact — ten of the twelve spies use this exaggeration to convince the people to give up on the land, while Joshua and Caleb disagree.

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