Bilangan 13:17-20

The Spies’ Instructions

13:17 When Moses sent ¹  them to investigate the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev, ²  and then go up into the hill country 13:18 and see ³  what the land is like, ⁴  and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, few or many, 13:19 and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or fortified cities, 13:20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether or not there are forests in it. And be brave, ⁵  and bring back some of the fruit of the land.” Now it was the time of year ⁶  for the first ripe grapes. ⁷ 

Bilangan 13:27-29

13:27 They told Moses, ⁸  “We went to the land where you sent us. ⁹  It is indeed flowing with milk and honey, ¹⁰  and this is its fruit. 13:28 But ¹¹  the inhabitants ¹²  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 ¹³  of the Jordan.” ¹⁴ 

[13:17]  ¹ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next verb of the same formation to express a temporal clause.

[13:17]  ² tn The instructions had them first go up into the southern desert of the land, and after passing through that, into the hill country of the Canaanites. The text could be rendered “into the Negev” as well as “through the Negev.”

[13:18]  ³ tn The form is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; the word therefore carries the volitional mood of the preceding imperatives. It may be either another imperative, or it may be subordinated as a purpose clause.

[13:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “see the land, what it is.”

[13:20]  ⁵ tn The verb is the Hitpael perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, from the root חָזַק (khazaq, “to be strong”). Here it could mean “strengthen yourselves” or “be courageous” or “determined.” See further uses in 2 Sam 10:12; 1 Kgs 20:22; 1 Chr 19:13.

[13:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “Now the days were the days of.”

[13:20]  ⁷ sn The reference to the first ripe grapes would put the time somewhere at the end of July.

[13:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “told him and said.” The referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:27]  ⁹ tn The relative clause modifies “the land.” It is constructed with the relative and the verb: “where you sent us.”

[13:27]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn The word (אֶפֶס, ’efes) forms a very strong adversative. The land was indeed rich and fruitful, but….”

[13:28]  ¹² tn Heb “the people who are living in the land.”

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

[13:29]  ¹⁴ sn For more discussion on these people groups, see D. J. Wiseman, ed., Peoples of Old Testament Times.