Numbers 13

2Send men, and let them examine for thee the land of the Chananites, which I am about to give to the children of Israel for a possession. Thou shalt send a man for every tribe; according to the communities of their patriarchal families, thou shalt send them, every one a leader among them.

4All the men were principal officers of the children of Israel, and these were their names—Of the tribe of Reuben, Samuel, son of Zachur;

5of the tribe of Symeon, Saphat, son of Suri;

6Of the tribe of Juda, Chaleb, son of Jephonne;

7of the tribe of Issachar, Ilaal, son of Joseph;

8of the tribe of Ephraim, Ause, son of Naue;

9of the tribe of Benjamin, Phalti, son of Raphu;

10of the tribe of Zabulon, Gudiel, son of Sudi;

11of the tribe of Joseph—of the Manassites, Gaddi, son of Susi;

12of the tribe of Dan, Amiel, son of Gamali;

13of the tribe of Aser, Sathur, son of Michael;

14of the tribe of Nephthaleim, Nabi, son of Sabi;

15of the tribe of Gad, Gudiel, son of Makchi.

17And upon sending them to view the land of Chanaan, Moses said to them, Having gone up through this wilderness, you shall go up to the mountain,

18and view the land, of what sort it is; and the people who are settled in it, whether they be strong or weak; whether few or many;

19and what sort of a country it is in which they are settled, whether it is good or bad; and what sort of cities they inhabit, whether they dwell in cities with walls, or without walls,

20and what the quality of the soil is, whether rich or poor; and whether there are trees there, or not. And having made a strict examination, you will bring with you some of the fruits of the land: (for their days, it being then the spring season, would reach to the time of the first ripe grapes.)

22Then they went up, on a course parallel with the front of the desert; then turned down to Chebron, where were the Achimans and the Sessians, and the Thelamins, descendants of Enach. Now Chebron was built seven years before Tanis in Egypt.

23And having come to the valley of grapes, and viewed it, they cut there a branch with a cluster of grapes on it, and carried it on poles, with some pomegranates and figs:

24and they called the name of that place, Valley of Grapes; because of the bunch of grapes which the children of Israel cut there.

25And having viewed the land, they set out thence on their return, after forty days,

26and journeying on came to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation of the Israelites in the wilderness of Pharan Kades, and made report to them and to all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.

28But nevertheless because the nation which inhabiteth it is bold and the cities strong, defended with walls, and very large, and we have seen there the race of Enach; and

29the Amalekites dwell in the land to the south, and the Chettites, and the Evites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, inhabit the hilly country; and the Chananites dwell on the sea shore, and along the river Jordan.

31But the men who went up with him said: We will not go up; for we are not able to go up against that nation; for it is much more powerful than we are.

32And they gave an astonishing account of the land which they had viewed, to the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we passed to view it, is a land which devoureth them who dwell therein; and all the people which we saw are men of immense stature.

33There indeed we saw the giants, and we were before them like grasshoppers—indeed we were nothing else before them.