Numbers, Chapter 13
Read the Story
Did you get all that?
1. What kind of men were the spies that Moses sent to check out Canaan?
2. What was the spies' mission?
3. Which spies came back afraid to go into the land? Which spies believed they could do it?
Let's go a little deeper
God said to Moses, "Send for yourself men who will scout out the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. You shall send one man each for his father's tribe; each one shall be a chief among their tribe.
So Moses sent them from the desert of Paran by the word of God. All of them were important men: they were heads of the children of Israel. They were:
1. Shammua son of Zikkur for the tribe of Reuven
2. Shaphat son of Hori for the tribe of Shimon
3. Caleb son of Jepphunneh for the tribe of Judah.
4. Yigal son of Joseph for the tribe of Issachar.
5. Hoshea son of Nun for the tribe of Ephraim.
6. Palti son of Raphu for the tribe of Benjamin.
7. Gaddiel son of Sodi for the tribe of Zevulun.
8. Gaddi son of Susi for the tribe of Joseph.
9. Ammiel son of Gemali for the tribe of Dan.
10. Setur son of Michael for the tribe of Asher.
11. Nahbi son of Vophsi for the tribe of Naphtali.
12. Geuel son of Mahi for the tribe of Gad.
These are the names of the men Moses sent to scout the Land. And Moses called Hoshea son of Nun, "Joshua".
Moses sent them to scout the Land of Canaan and he said to them, "Go up this way in the south and climb up the mountain. See what kind of land it is and the people who live there: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? And what kind of land is it? Is it good or bad? And what are the cities like? Are they camps or castles? What is the soil like? Is it fatty or lean? Are there any trees in it or not? Be courageous and take from the fruit of the land." It was the season when the first grapes begin to ripen.
Moses sent them to scout the Land of Canaan and he said to them, "Go up this way in the south and climb up the mountain. See what kind of land it is and the people who live there: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? And what kind of land is it? Is it good or bad? And what are the cities like? Are they camps or castles? What is the soil like? Is it fatty or lean? Are there any trees in it or not? Be courageous and take from the fruit of the land." It was the season when the first grapes begin to ripen.
So they went up and explored the land. They came to the Valley of Eshkol and they cut a branch with a cluster of grapes. They carried it on a pole between two people and they took some pomegranates and figs.
They returned from scouting the Land at the end of forty days. They went and came to Moses and Aaron and the whole group of the children of Israel in the desert of Paran to Kadesh. They brought them back a report, as well as to the entire community and they showed them the fruit of the land.
They told him and said, "We came to the land to which you sent us and it is flowing with milk and honey and this is its fruit.... However, the people who inhabit the land are mighty and the cities are extremely huge and secured and there we saw even the children of the giant! The Amalekites live in the south land while the Hittites, the Jebusites and the Amorites live in the mountains. The Canaanites live on the coast and alongside the River Jordan."
Caleb silenced the people and he said, "We can surely go up and take possession of it for we can indeed overcome it." But the men who went up with him said, "We are unable to go up against the people for they are stronger than us." They spread an evil report about the Land which they had scouted telling the children of Israel, "The Land we passed through to explore is a land that eats up its inhabitants and all the people we saw in it are men of stature. There we saw giants, the sons of Anak, descended from the giants. In our eyes we seemed like tiny grasshoppers in comparison to them - and so we were in their eyes.
The entire community raised their voices and shouted and the people cried all night. All the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron and the whole community said, "If only we had died in Egypt or if only we had died in this desert. Why does God bring us to this land only to be killed? Wouldn't it be better if we went back to Egypt?"
Watch this video from G-dcastThe entire community raised their voices and shouted and the people cried all night. All the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron and the whole community said, "If only we had died in Egypt or if only we had died in this desert. Why does God bring us to this land only to be killed? Wouldn't it be better if we went back to Egypt?"
Did you get all that?
1. What kind of men were the spies that Moses sent to check out Canaan?
2. What was the spies' mission?
3. Which spies came back afraid to go into the land? Which spies believed they could do it?
Let's go a little deeper
1. Describe the differences between the spies' actual journey to Canaan and their report of what they saw.
2. It says that all the spies, except Caleb and Joshua, spread an "evil report" about the land. What makes their report "evil"?
3. According to Rashi, the spies say several things to scare the people: that giants live in the land; that the Amalekites, who attacked them once before, live nearby; that the land lies alongside the Jordan River, which will be difficult to cross. Why do you think they want to scare the people?
4. According to a Midrash, when God says to Moses, send for yourself, this means that God is not commanding Moses to do this. God is saying, "If you want, you can send spies to scout out the land." Moses chose to send spies because the people kept asking him "Can we send men ahead of us to check out the land?" even though God had already said that the Land is very good. God lets them send spies in order that they would make a mistake by believing the spies' report and not be allowed to enter the Land. (As you saw in the video, this generation of Israelites will not be allowed to enter the land because they do not believe they are capable of conquering the land.) Why do you think God would let them make this mistake?
5. Why do you think the Israelites, upon hearing the report, wish they could have died in Egypt?
6. The only two spies who believe they can conquer the land are Caleb and Joshua. The other spies say they felt like tiny grasshoppers compared to the people they saw in Canaan. According to rabbis in the Talmud, when Caleb says we can surely go up, it means "we could even go up to heaven! If God tells us, 'make ladders and go up there,' we will succeed in whatever God says!" Describe the difference between Caleb's attitude and the other spies' attitude.
In your own life
Describe a time in your life when (a) you felt tiny like a grasshopper or (b) when you felt like you were strong like a giant. What impact did this feeling have on your experience?
2. It says that all the spies, except Caleb and Joshua, spread an "evil report" about the land. What makes their report "evil"?
3. According to Rashi, the spies say several things to scare the people: that giants live in the land; that the Amalekites, who attacked them once before, live nearby; that the land lies alongside the Jordan River, which will be difficult to cross. Why do you think they want to scare the people?
4. According to a Midrash, when God says to Moses, send for yourself, this means that God is not commanding Moses to do this. God is saying, "If you want, you can send spies to scout out the land." Moses chose to send spies because the people kept asking him "Can we send men ahead of us to check out the land?" even though God had already said that the Land is very good. God lets them send spies in order that they would make a mistake by believing the spies' report and not be allowed to enter the Land. (As you saw in the video, this generation of Israelites will not be allowed to enter the land because they do not believe they are capable of conquering the land.) Why do you think God would let them make this mistake?
5. Why do you think the Israelites, upon hearing the report, wish they could have died in Egypt?
6. The only two spies who believe they can conquer the land are Caleb and Joshua. The other spies say they felt like tiny grasshoppers compared to the people they saw in Canaan. According to rabbis in the Talmud, when Caleb says we can surely go up, it means "we could even go up to heaven! If God tells us, 'make ladders and go up there,' we will succeed in whatever God says!" Describe the difference between Caleb's attitude and the other spies' attitude.
In your own life
Describe a time in your life when (a) you felt tiny like a grasshopper or (b) when you felt like you were strong like a giant. What impact did this feeling have on your experience?
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