Bilangan 13:25-29

13:25 They returned from investigating the land after forty days.

The Spies’ Reports

13:26 They came back ¹  to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. ²  They reported ³  to the whole community and showed the fruit of the land. 13:27 They told Moses, ⁴  “We went to the land where you sent us. ⁵  It is indeed flowing with milk and honey, ⁶  and this is its fruit. 13:28 But ⁷  the inhabitants ⁸  are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 13:29 The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the banks ⁹  of the Jordan.” ¹⁰ 

[13:26]  ¹ tn The construction literally has “and they went and they entered,” which may be smoothed out as a verbal hendiadys, the one verb modifying the other.

[13:26]  ² sn Kadesh is Ain Qadeis, about 50 miles (83 km) south of Beer Sheba. It is called Kadesh-barnea in Num 32:8.

[13:26]  ³ tn Heb “They brought back word”; the verb is the Hiphil preterite of שׁוּב (shuv).

[13:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “told him and said.” The referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:27]  ⁵ tn The relative clause modifies “the land.” It is constructed with the relative and the verb: “where you sent us.”

[13:27]  ⁶ sn This is the common expression for the material abundance of the land (see further, F. C. Fensham, “An Ancient Tradition of the Fertility of Palestine,” PEQ 98 [1966]: 166-67).

[13:28]  ⁷ tn The word (אֶפֶס, ’efes) forms a very strong adversative. The land was indeed rich and fruitful, but….”

[13:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “the people who are living in the land.”

[13:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “by the side [hand] of.”

[13:29]  ¹⁰ sn For more discussion on these people groups, see D. J. Wiseman, ed., Peoples of Old Testament Times.