Exploring Canaan
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
3So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. 4These are their names:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;
5from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
17When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? 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 they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,13:23 Eshkol means cluster; also in verse 24. they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
Report on the Exploration
26They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”
30Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Kupeleleza Kanaani
(Kumbukumbu 1:19-33)
1Bwana akamwambia Mose, 213:2 Hes 13:16; Kum 1:22; Law 14:34; 24:11; Yos 1:3“Watume baadhi ya watu wakaipeleleze nchi ya Kanaani, ambayo ninawapa Waisraeli. Kutoka kwa kila kabila la baba zao, tuma mmoja wa viongozi wao.”
313:3 Hes 14:6; 24; 34:19; Kum 1:36; Amu 1:12-15Hivyo kwa agizo la Bwana Mose akawatuma kutoka Jangwa la Parani. Wote walikuwa viongozi wa Waisraeli. 4Haya ndiyo majina yao:
kutoka kabila la Reubeni, Shamua mwana wa Zakuri;
5kutoka kabila la Simeoni, Shafati mwana wa Hori;
613:6 Hes 14:6; 24; 34:19; Kum 1:36; Amu 1:12-15; Yos 14:6kutoka kabila la Yuda, Kalebu mwana wa Yefune;
7kutoka kabila la Isakari, Igali mwana wa Yosefu;
813:8 Hes 11:28kutoka kabila la Efraimu, Hoshea mwana wa Nuni;
9kutoka kabila la Benyamini, Palti mwana wa Rafu;
10kutoka kabila la Zabuloni, Gadieli mwana wa Sodi,
11kutoka kabila la Manase (kabila la Yosefu), Gadi mwana wa Susi;
12kutoka kabila la Dani, Amieli mwana wa Gemali;
13kutoka kabila la Asheri, Sethuri mwana wa Mikaeli;
14kutoka kabila la Naftali, Nabi mwana wa Wofsi;
15kutoka kabila la Gadi, Geueli mwana wa Maki.
1613:16 Kum 32:44; Kut 17:9Haya ndiyo majina ya watu ambao Mose aliwatuma kuipeleleza nchi. (Mose akampa Hoshea mwana wa Nuni jina Yoshua.)
1713:17 Yos 14:7; Mwa 12:9; Kum 1:7; Yos 9:1; Mwa 14:10; Kum 1:19; Amu 1:9-10Mose alipowatuma wakaipeleleze Kanaani, alisema, “Pandeni kupitia Negebu, mwende mpaka nchi ya vilima. 18Mwone nchi ni ya namna gani, na kama watu waishio humo wana nguvu au ni wadhaifu, iwapo ni wachache au wengi. 19Wanaishi katika nchi ya namna gani? Je, ni nzuri au mbaya? Wanaishi katika miji ya namna gani? Je, haina kuta au ngome? 2013:20 Kum 1:25; Law 25:5; Kum 8:7, 8; Neh 9:25-35; Eze 20:6; 34:14; Kum 31:6; Yos 1:6, 9; Ebr 13:6Ardhi iko aje? Ina rutuba au la? Je, kuna miti ndani yake au la? Jitahidini kadiri mwezavyo kuleta baadhi ya matunda ya nchi.” (Ulikuwa msimu wa kuiva zabibu za kwanza.)
2113:21 Hes 20:1; 27:14; 33:36; 34:8; Kum 32:51; Yos 15:1; 19:28; 13:5; Amu 1:31; 18:28; 2Sam 10:6; 1Nya 6:75; 13:5; 1Fal 8:65; 2Fal 14:25; 2Nya 7:8; Yer 52:7; Eze 47:16-20; Amo 6:14Hivyo wakapanda na kuipeleleza nchi kutoka Jangwa la Sini hadi Rehobu, kuelekea Lebo-Hamathi. 2213:22 Hes 13:28; Mwa 13:18; 23:19; Yos 15:14; Amu 1:10; Kum 2:10; 9:2; Yos 11:21; 15:13; Za 78:12; Isa 19:11-13; 30:4; Eze 30:14Wakapanda kupitia Negebu hadi wakafika Hebroni, mahali ambapo Ahimani, Sheshai na Talmai, wazao wa Anaki, waliishi. (Hebroni ulikuwa umejengwa miaka saba kabla ya mji wa Soani ulioko Misri.) 2313:23 Mwa 14:13; Kut 28:33; Mwa 3:7; Hes 20:5; Kum 8:8; 2Fal 18:31; Neh 13:15Walipofika katika Bonde la Eshkoli, walivunja tawi lililokuwa na kishada kimoja cha zabibu. Wawili wao wakalichukua lile tawi kwenye mti, pamoja na komamanga na tini. 24Eneo lile likaitwa Bonde la Eshkoli kwa sababu ya kile kishada cha zabibu ambacho Waisraeli walikikata huko. 2513:25 Mwa 7:4; Hes 14:34Mwishoni mwa siku arobaini wakarudi kutoka kuipeleleza nchi.
Taarifa Juu Ya Upelelezi
2613:26 Mwa 14:6-7; Hes 32:8; Kum 1:25Wakarudi kwa Mose, Aroni na jumuiya yote ya Waisraeli huko Kadeshi kwenye Jangwa la Parani. Hapo ndipo walipotoa habari kwao na kwa kusanyiko lote na kuwaonyesha matunda ya hiyo nchi. 2713:27 Kut 3:8; Kum 1:25; Yer 2:7Wakampa Mose taarifa hii: “Tuliingia katika nchi uliyotutuma, nayo inatiririka maziwa na asali! Hili hapa tunda lake. 2813:28 Kum 1:28; Yos 14:12Lakini watu wanaoishi huko ni wenye nguvu, na miji yao ina ngome na ni mikubwa sana. Huko tuliona hata wazao wa Anaki. 2913:29 Mwa 10:16, 18; 13:10; 14:7; 10:15; Kum 7:1; 20:17; 1Fal 9:20; 10:29; 2Fal 6:7; Kut 3:8; Hes 22:1; 32:5; Amu 3:28; Za 42:6Waamaleki wanaishi Negebu; Wahiti, Wayebusi na Waamori wanaishi katika nchi ya vilima; nao Wakanaani wanaishi karibu na bahari na kando ya Yordani.”
3013:30 Yos 14:7; Za 60:12; 119:10; Isa 11:10; Rum 8:31; Flp 4:13; Ebr 11:33, 34Kisha Kalebu akawanyamazisha watu mbele ya Mose na kusema, “Imetupasa kupanda na kuimiliki nchi, kwa maana hakika tunaweza kufanya hivyo.”
3113:31 Kum 9:1; Yos 14:8Lakini watu waliokuwa wamepanda pamoja naye wakasema, “Hatuwezi kuwashambulia wale watu; wana nguvu kutuliko sisi.” 3213:32 Hes 14:36-37; Eze 36:13-14; Kum 1:28; Amo 2:9Wakaeneza taarifa mbaya miongoni mwa Waisraeli kuhusu nchi waliyoipeleleza. Wakasema, “Nchi tuliyoipeleleza hula watu waishio ndani yake. Watu wote tuliowaona huko ni majitu. 3313:33 Mwa 6:4; Kum 1:28; Yos 11:22; 14:12; Mhu 12:5; Isa 40:22Tuliwaona Wanefili huko (wazao wa Anaki wanatokana na Wanefili.) Tulijiona kama panzi machoni petu wenyewe, nao ndivyo walivyotuona.”
