Bamidbar Chapter 13: The Reconnaissance Mission to Canaan

Introduction: The Name "Meraglim" and Context

So we're reading Bamidbar chapter 13. This is the famous story of the Meraglim [spies]. Interesting to note that the word Meraglim is not in the text anywhere — not here and not anywhere about these people, if I remember correctly. So that's a language of Chazal [the Sages]. There's many parshiot [Torah portions] like this where we know them by a certain name, but that name is not to be found in the text itself.

There's famously also another version or another retelling of this story in Sefer Devarim [the Book of Deuteronomy] where Moshe talks about it, and there's retellings of the story in Sefer Tehillim [Psalms]. Maybe in other places also. We will try to read it the way it says here and focus on what is going on.

The Journey Has Already Begun

Now to put it in context for a second — right, as we've discussed a minute ago — they already started their journey towards land of Canaan, the land of Israel. That started in Parshat Behaalotcha, chapter two or three chapters ago, where Moshe told Yitro they're going and they started to travel with the whole story. We had a whole long story of the machanot [camps], of the tekiot [trumpet blasts], the whole order of how they were traveling. So this has already been happening now.

Therefore they're coming close to the land of Canaan. They're really on the way. They're on the march toward the conquest of Canaan. That's not something that's in the future — they're already on the way. Sometimes we read the story and we don't realize, we think they're like camping in the desert and like randomly sending, but no, they're already on the way.

And as we've discussed, all of these questions, all of these problems, the tzarot [troubles] that are talked about in the Midbar [wilderness], all these challenges and debates — we can say in some sense about the leadership, about the way in which they're being led. So we will have to read it with that in mind. It's very clearly a debate in that, although like we'll see how Moshe frames it, how Hashem frames it, the questions that the Meraglim raise — that's the story.

The Command Structure: Vayikra Style

Now the first thing we notice in this telling of the story is that it's framed in the style that we call the style of Vayikra, of Bamidbar, the style of Torat Kohanim [priestly Torah], which is always a mitzvah [commandment], a command, and the carrying out of that command.

Hashem's Command to Moshe (Pesukim 1-3)

So we have here a mitzvah. We have Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor [And Hashem spoke to Moshe saying], Hashem tells to Moshe: send people — shlach lecha anashim [send for yourself men]. They will do — this is the verb, not the word Meraglim — the word veyasuru [and they shall scout/tour]. It means something like to — sounds in English the same as to tour. I mean something like to check out, to something like to spy, but sort of like to check out, to find out the situation, to find out the ways of Eretz Canaan [the Land of Canaan] which I'm giving. And there'll be one person for each of it, and these persons are the nesi'im [princes/leaders].

So we've already know who they were, although here we'll see that these are not the same nesi'im that we've heard of before. So either they change their names or it's different ones. Something unclear about this, because we've already had earlier the list of the nesi'im for the countings and for the degalim [banners], for the goralot [lots], for the machanot [camps]. And therefore that's the command.

Moshe Executes the Command

And then Moshe does it. He sends them from Midbar Paran, which is where they camped here, right? From Chatzeirot [Hazeroth] to Midbar Paran, al pi Hashem [according to the word of Hashem], according to the command of Hashem. And there are all Rosh Bnei Yisrael [heads of the Children of Israel]. These are the leaders. So maybe these are more military leaders. The previous ones are somewhat less military. So these are the ones suitable to take care of the spying project. That's what they're doing.

The List of Names (Pesukim 4-16)

And now we have the list of their names. And just think — so like we said, they're not the same names as before. There's the list of their names, and this maybe is also connected with the concept of a genealogical list. It's important to have the names of them. Of course, some of them will be important later. Some of them we'll never hear of again.

But there's a list of names and we have: for Reuven, for Shimon, for Yehudah, for Yissachar, for Ephraim, for Binyamin, for Zevulun, for Yosef, for Menashe — we already had Ephraim, interestingly not on the same list — for Dan, for Asher and Naftali, for Gad, each one the name of the person who was sent.

The Important Names: Calev and Yehoshua

The two ones that are important to notice is, as we noticed, from Yehudah there was someone called Calev, and from Ephraim someone called Hoshea bin Nun. And we have an interesting note where Moshe called Hoshea bin Nun Yehoshua.

Now this Yehoshua we've heard of before already. It's not the first time we've heard about him. And here apparently, if he was called Yehoshua, he wasn't called Yehoshua now. He was probably called Yehoshua much earlier, because we'd heard him being called Yehoshua in Parshat Beshalach, in Parshat Behaalotcha. We've heard of this Yehoshua several times right before, and in Parshat Ki Tisa, Yehoshua was mentioned.

And probably this means the same — Moshe called him Yehoshua probably the simple meaning is when he became his meshareit [attendant], his closest person, his lieutenant, or whatever you want to call exactly call him. That's maybe when he gave him the name Yehoshua, which is a lengthening of Hoshea or adding God's name to it. It becomes a theophoric name. He changes his name.

So that's probably what's going on. And saying what this person is saying is connecting this Hoshea bin Nun mentioned here — it's the same, you will know other places as Yehoshua bin Nun. That's probably why this note is here. And that's the names.

Moshe's Instructions to the Scouts (Pesukim 17-20)

So now we had earlier a command of Hashem to Moshe to send them. Now we're going to have also the command that Moshe, or then maybe more precisely, the instructions that Moshe gives them for their spying.

The Route and the Two Main Questions

So Moshe sends them and gives them instructions. He says: go up here in the south, in the Negev. We'll go up to the mountain. The mountain is the next area where Chevron is, as we'll see — the mountainous area, the Judean Hills we can call them.

And you will see, you'll check out the land. You will see what is the land and the people. So two things. It's repeated twice though. That's — I don't know why. I mean we could give interpretations of this, but maybe the first one is just a very general question and then he gives more detailed questions. But really he's asking for information about two things: about the land and about the people.

Questions About the People

So what's about the land? What's about the people? Are the people sitting in it? Are people living there? Are they strong? Are they many?

Questions About the Land

Is the land good? Are the cities built in them? Are they strong cities? Are they cities with walls? Are they open cities, open camps? What kind of cities are they?

Is the land, the agricultural land, fat or thin or weak? Doesn't it give out good fruits? Does it have trees? So those are two things. There's, as we learn always, there's part of the land which gives out the wheat, the cereals, the grain, and then there's the part in the sense that it gives out trees.

Bring Back Fruit Samples

And he says you will bring me back some of the fruits of the land. So we'll try it out. There's like to check it out what it is. And there's a note from the narrator saying this was the time that the grapes were getting ready. So that's probably what they will bring back, as we'll see in a second. So this is just preempting that, saying this is why they brought back only grapes, because that was the time of the grape harvest, or however you call when you cut down grapes.

So that's Moshe's command, Moshe's instruction to them.

The Execution of the Mission (Pesukim 21-24)

And now we have the same in the same structure — they're doing it. They go, they do that, and we add a little more information.

The Full Scope of the Journey

From Midbar Tzin ad Rechov Levo Chamat [to Rechov at the approach to Hamath] — and this seems to be all the way from south all the way up north. We'll see later in the parshah, Rechov Levo Chamat is all the way north. So that's probably the general parameters of their quest.

Chevron and the Giants

But more detailed: first they go up to the south. They go to Chevron, which is the heart. And in Chevron they see these three people: Achiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, who are children of Anak [giants].

And it also gives an interesting note about Chevron: Chevron was built seven years before the city of Tzo'an in Mitzrayim [Egypt]. So yeah, this seems to be a note about ancient cities, about the ancientness, the oldness of the city. It's important in those days to see a city is older but more important. It's saying that Chevron is an important ancient city.

And maybe that's why they're still these giants there. Giants are said to be from some primordial ancient time. So that's the story of Chevron. And of course they're coming from Mitzrayim, they know Tzo'an, a great city in its time. They know Chevron is also a great city. So this seems to be like a report of how great the city is. Of course, it's not yet a report — it's the narrative telling this.

Nachal Eshkol and the Grape Cluster

And then there's another report. They come to a place called Nachal Eshkol [Valley of the Cluster]. We'll see in a minute this is probably a place known to the people, or at least people reading the Torah much later know a place called Nachal Eshkol. But you should know that this name was given then.

So they come to Nachal Eshkol. From there they cut a branch of grapes — a branch and a bunch of grapes — and they carry it on a stick, two of them. They also bring some of the pomegranates, some of the figs. Apparently those are — this is the summer time, so they grow in the same time or less.

And that's why it's called Nachal Eshkol. Of course the people, the Yidden, the Bnei Yisrael call it Eshkol, named from their place. And that's what Moshe said.

Following Moshe's Instructions Exactly

So in other words, we see them doing exactly what Moshe said. They check out the land in general — we see them, in other words we see them, that maybe Midbar Tzin ad Rechov Levo Chamat. They check out the cities — Chevron — and the people living in the cities, that they're great people, they're Anak, so they're strong. And they bring the peirot ha'aretz [fruits of the land] in the same order as Moshe told them.

We have the report of them doing what Moshe said.

The Return and the Report (Pesukim 25-29)

Now we have them coming back. That's where the story gets interesting, right?

After Forty Days

They come back all the way after 40 days — miketz arba'im yom [at the end of forty days], the same language of the mabul [flood], miketz arba'im. The end of 40 days, they come back. And they come back to Moshe, to Aharon, to the entire community, to the same place where they left from, Midbar Paran. Now we learn that it's also called Kadesh.

And they answer them. They give them their response. They show them the peirot ha'aretz, and this is their response, the words that they say.

The Good News: The Land is Excellent

So they've showed them. They tell them: we've came to the land. Regarding your question if it's a good, it's a fruitful land agriculturally, the answer is yes. It's zavas chalav u'dvash [flowing with milk and honey]. This is of course the famous language that they always use. It spills, it pours milk and honey. And they show them that this is the fruit that we bring as an example. We bring you an example, a sample of the fruit.

The Bad News: Strong People and Fortified Cities

But regarding the other two questions about the people and the cities, the answer is that the situation is bad. In other words, it's good, but it's bad.

The people are strong — az ha'am [the people are strong]. They're strong, courageous. Maybe even strong people live in it. Their cities are very great, greatly reinforced — b'tzurot gedolot me'od [fortified, very great]. Means that they're walled cities. They're reinforced. They have many reinforcements.

And not only that, v'gam yelidei ha'Anak [and also the children of Anak] we saw there, which are even more strong than regular people. They're giants. They're hard to deal with, as Moshe himself said: Mi ya'amod lifnei bnei Anak [Who can stand before the children of Anak]? And this seems to have to do with the ancientness of the city, as I said.

The Geographic Distribution of Enemies

And they describe exactly where each powerful enemy lives: Amalek in the Negev; Chitti, Yevusi, Emori in the mountain; and the Canaanites...

The Three-Part Report: Agriculture, People, and Cities

Zevas chalav u'dvash [zavat chalav u'dvash — flowing with milk and honey] — this is, of course, the famous language the Torah always uses for Eretz Yisrael. It's a land that pours milk and honey. And they show them the fruit. This is the fruit that we bring as an example. We bring you an example of the sample of the fruit.

But regarding the other two questions about the people and the cities, the answer is that the situation is bad. In other words, it's good, but it's bad. The people are strong — am az [a strong people]. They're strong, they're courageous maybe, even strong people who live in it. Their cities are very greatly reinforced. U'vetzurot gedolot me'od [and fortified, very great] means they're walled cities. They're reinforced. They have many reinforcements. And not only that, ve'gam yelidei ha-Anak ra'inu sham [and also the children of Anak we saw there], which are even more strong over than regular people. They're giants. They're hard to deal with. As Moshe himself said, mi yityatzev lifnei bnei Anak [who can stand before the children of Anak]. And this seems to have to do with the ancientness of the city, as I said.

And they describe exactly where each powerful enemy lives. The Amalekites in the Negev, Chiti, Yevusi, Emori in the mountain region, which is where they went. And the Canaanites on the coast — the Yam valley of the Jordan — so in the coastal plain or in the Jordan plain. These are four geographical areas of the Eretz Yisrael.

So that's what the Meraglim answered. As far as we can tell, this is a correct answer. We said before that that's what they said. Now, the pasuk describes it as a debate. We could read it. If we simply read it, until now, they didn't say anything bad. There was nothing evil or wrong with what they said. But obviously, they're describing this as a very hard place to conquer. There's something, there's very hard. Wherever you go, there's these powerful enemies.

The Debate: Caleb Versus the Other Spies

Now, Caleb, which we've mentioned before, makes the people silent, el Moshe [toward Moshe]. So he tells them, Sha [be quiet] — Moshe will speak, or he's making them silent or focus on Moshe. It's not clear what Moshe is doing here. And he says, we will go up. We will inherit them. We'll conquer them. Ki yachol nuchal lah [for we are surely able] — because we could. We're powerful enough. That's true. They're strong, but we're stronger too. We have Moshe.

But the other people said that their impression is that they will not be able to go. Ki chazak hu mimenu [for he is stronger than us] — he's stronger than us. So it seems like, up until now, it seems like this is a reasonable debate. We've got a report of what's going on. But their debate is what the results of the report are.

The Spies Exceed Their Mandate

Of course, this entire debate is not something that they were asked to give. Moshe asked them to give a report of who is there, what's going on. He never gave them to say, to give their impression or their estimate of who will win the war. That's a different discussion. But obviously, this is what the discussion leads to. And we get into a debate if we can win the war with them or not.

The Turn to *Dibat Ha'aretz*: When Reporting Becomes Evil Speech

And now, the pasuk adds something else. Vayotzi'u dibat ha'aretz asher taru otah [And they brought out an evil report of the land which they had toured]. They gave out. They expressed the bad words about the land which they went to tour, which they went to check out to the people. And this is where they bring out some conclusions. They give out some rhetoric. We could say they narrate the story in such a way which is worse than what they saw in some sense.

Denying the Goodness of the Land

Because they say like this. Firstly, they deny somewhat the goodness of the land. They said the land that we went is eretz ochelet yoshveha [a land that devours its inhabitants]. It eats the people that live there. In other words, it's a hard land. That's what it means. Some lands, you know, they're fertile. That's easy to live in them. They're defensible. This is a land that's not defensible. It's not fertile. It eats, kills the people living there.

The people we saw there are anshei midot [men of great measure]. In other words, they're great. There is something to talk about. There's something to measure. And we saw also the Nefilim, which is another name for Bnei Anak. And we seem to ourself to be like grasshoppers relative to them. And they probably think the same of us.

The Torah's Explicit Condemnation

So this is where it says explicitly that the motzi diba al ha'aretz [bringing out an evil report about the land]. We call this in Chazal *lashon hara* [evil speech]. Lashon hara, as I think, is not necessarily about telling facts. Up until now, there were facts. And there's even a reasonable debate. We have to, in other words, we'll have to prepare ourselves to be able to win.

But now, once they got discouraged, they said we can't win, they start saying these, they start framing everything in a bad way. It's a place that kills its people. It's the people there are great. There's these giants. They just said this. They repeated themselves, right? They said that right before that they saw the giants. But now they're saying, wait, and that made us feel so small. And they probably know that. They probably, we're probably small to them, just like we feel small relative to them.

Understanding *Lashon Hara*: The Sin of Negative Framing

So this is where the pasuk explicitly blamed. Motzi diba al ha'aretz is explicitly blaming them for speaking in this way. This is the framing of the narrative in a certain way, which they were not asked to do. We're not asked to give their opinion at all, but they were definitely not asked to narrate the same thing. Like the same thing, if you think about it, the same thing you could have said in a nice way. You could have said, well, this is a hard country to live in, and therefore, for God we will become strong, will become courageous, will become powerful. No, they frame everything in a bad way.

So that's the story. And the next chapter is in the middle of the story, but we'll stop here as the chapter stopped. And the next chapter finishes the response, what happened, the response of the people to this, the response of Moshe and Yehoshua to this, the response of Hashem to this. There's different responses and different results of this.