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カナンへの偵察隊
1主はモーセに告げて言いました。 2「いずれはあなたがたのものになるカナンの国に、まず偵察隊を送り込みなさい。各部族から一名ずつ選ぶのだ。」
3-15この時、一行はパランの荒野に野営していました。モーセは主が命じたとおり、十二人の偵察者を選びました。
ルベン族からザクルの子シャムア、シメオン族からホリの子シャファテ、ユダ族からエフネの子カレブ、イッサカル族からヨセフの子イグアル、エフライム族からヌンの子ホセア(ヨシュア)、ベニヤミン族からラフの子パルティ、ゼブルン族からソディの子ガディエル、ヨセフ族〔実際はマナセ族〕からスシの子ガディ、ダン族からゲマリの子アミエル、アシェル族からミカエルの子セトル、ナフタリ族からボフシの子ナフビ、ガド族からマキの子ゲウエル。
16モーセがヌンの子ホセアの名をヨシュアと変えたのは、この時です。
17彼らを送り出す時、モーセはこう命じました。「北へ進み、ネゲブの山地に入り、 18カナンがどんな国か探って来なさい。住民は強いか弱いか、多いか少ないか、 19土地は肥えているかどうか、どんな町があるか、ただの村か、それとも城壁のある町なのか、 20繁栄しているか、貧しいか、木は多いかなどを探って来るのだ。恐れてはいけない。試しに、その土地のくだものを取って来なさい。」ちょうど、ぶどうの初物が熟す季節だったからです。
21彼らは、南はツィンの荒野から北はハマテに近いレホブまで探りました。 22北へ進み、まずネゲブを通り、ヘブロンに着きました。そこには、アナクの子孫のアヒマン族、シェシャイ族、タルマイ族が住んでいました。ヘブロンは、エジプトのタニスより七年も前に建てられた、非常に古い町です。 23それから、のちにエシュコルの谷と呼ばれるようになった地に来て、ぶどうが一房ついた枝を切り取りました。とても大きく、棒に通して二人でかつがなければならないほどでした。ざくろやいちじくの実もいくらか取りました。 24その時から、イスラエル人は、そこをエシュコル〔「一房のぶどう」の意〕の谷と呼ぶようになりました。
25彼らは四十日の間カナンの国を探り、 26パランの荒野のカデシュに戻ると、モーセ、アロンはじめイスラエルの民全体にさっそく報告し、持ち帰ったくだものを見せました。
27彼らの報告は次のとおりです。「ただいま戻りました。カナンは実にすばらしい国です。まさに、乳とみつが流れる国でした。その証拠に、持ち帰ったくだものをごらんください。 28しかし残念なことに、住民は強く、町々は非常に大きく、城壁を巡らしてあります。そのうえ、アナクの子孫の巨人族がいるのです。 29南にはアマレク人、山地にはヘテ人、エブス人、エモリ人、地中海沿岸とヨルダン川流域には、カナン人が住んでいます。」
30この報告に、人々はざわつきました。しかし、カレブはモーセの前でみなを静めると、きっぱり言いました。「われわれは、すぐ攻め上ってカナンを占領しよう。大丈夫、やれば必ずできる。」
31「むちゃなことを言うな。あんな強い相手では、かなうわけがない。とても歯が立つものか。」偵察に行ったほかの者は大反対です。
32結局、ほとんどの者はあまり乗り気ではなかったので、彼らは人々に言いました。「国中に兵士がおり、住民はたくましい体格をしている。 33昔の巨人の子孫アナク人もいるし、彼らと比べたら、私たちなど虫けら同然に見える。」
Twelve Men Check Out the Land of Canaan
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Send some men to check out the land of Canaan. I am giving it to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of Israel’s tribes.”
3So Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. He sent them as the Lord had commanded. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.
4Here are their names.
There was Shammua from the tribe of Reuben. Shammua was the son of Zakkur.
5There was Shaphat from the tribe of Simeon. Shaphat was the son of Hori.
6There was Caleb from the tribe of Judah. Caleb was the son of Jephunneh.
7There was Igal from the tribe of Issachar. Igal was the son of Joseph.
8There was Hoshea from the tribe of Ephraim. Hoshea was the son of Nun.
9There was Palti from the tribe of Benjamin. Palti was the son of Raphu.
10There was Gaddiel from the tribe of Zebulun. Gaddiel was the son of Sodi.
11There was Gaddi from the tribe of Manasseh. Gaddi was the son of Susi. Manasseh was a tribe of Joseph.
12There was Ammiel from the tribe of Dan. Ammiel was the son of Gemalli.
13There was Sethur from the tribe of Asher. Sethur was the son of Michael.
14There was Nahbi from the tribe of Naphtali. Nahbi was the son of Vophsi.
15There was Geuel from the tribe of Gad. Geuel was the son of Maki.
16Those are the men Moses sent to check out the land. He gave the name Joshua to Hoshea, the son of Nun.
17Moses sent the 12 men to check out Canaan. He said, “Go up through the Negev Desert. Go on into the central hill country. 18See what the land is like. See whether the people who live there are strong or weak. See whether they are few or many. 19What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Do the towns have high walls around them or not? 20How is the soil? Is it rich land or poor land? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.
21So the men went up and checked out the land. They went from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob. It was in the direction of Lebo Hamath. 22They went up through the Negev Desert and came to Hebron. That’s where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai lived. They belonged to the family line of Anak. Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan. Zoan was a city in Egypt. 23The men came to the Valley of Eshkol. There they cut off a branch that had a single bunch of grapes on it. Two of them carried it on a pole between them. They carried some pomegranates and figs along with it. 24That place was called the Valley of Eshkol. That’s because the men of Israel cut off a bunch of grapes there. 25At the end of 40 days, the men returned from checking out the land.
The Men Report on What They Found
26The men came back to Moses, Aaron and the whole community of Israel. The people were at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There the men reported to Moses and Aaron and all the people. They showed them the fruit of the land. 27They gave Moses their report. They said, “We went into the land you sent us to. It really does have plenty of milk and honey! Here’s some fruit from the land. 28But the people who live there are powerful. Their cities have high walls around them and are very large. We even saw members of the family line of Anak there. 29The Amalekites live in the Negev Desert. The Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the central hill country. The Canaanites live near the Mediterranean Sea. They also live along the Jordan River.”
30Then Caleb interrupted the men speaking to Moses. He said, “We should go up and take the land. We can certainly do it.”
31But the men who had gone up with him spoke. They said, “We can’t attack those people. They are stronger than we are.” 32The men spread a bad report about the land among the Israelites. They said, “The land we checked out destroys those who live in it. All the people we saw there are very big and tall. 33We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. And that’s also how we seemed to them.” The family line of Anak came from the Nephilim.