from what location did moses commission the spies to investigate the promised land?

The Grapes of Canaan by James Tissot. Although the spies brought back a cluster of grapes so large that it took two men to deport it (Numbers xiii:23), only 2 of the twelve brought back a good study of the country.

The Twelve Spies, as recorded in the Book of Numbers, were a group of Israelite chieftains, one from each of the Twelve Tribes, who were dispatched by Moses to scout out the Land of Canaan for 40 days^[1] equally a future abode for the Israelite people, during the fourth dimension when the Israelites were in the wilderness following their Exodus from Ancient Arab republic of egypt. The account is constitute in Numbers 13:1–33, and is repeated with some differences in Deuteronomy i:22–40.

God had promised Abraham that at that place would be a Promised Land for the nations to come out of his son, Isaac. The land of Canaan that the spies were to explore was the same Promised Land. Moses asked for an assessment of the geographic features of the land, the strength and numbers of the population, the agronomical potential and bodily performance of the land, civic organization (whether their cities were like camps or strongholds), and forestry conditions. He besides asked them to be positive in their outlook and to render with samples of local produce.

When ten of the twelve spies showed little organized religion in the negative reports they gave about the state, they were slandering what they believed God had promised them. They did non believe that God could assistance them, and the people as a whole were persuaded that it was non possible to accept the country. Equally a result, the entire nation was made to wander in the desert for forty years, until almost the entire generation of men had died.^[2] Joshua and Caleb were the two spies who brought back a good written report and believed that God would help them succeed. They were the only men from their generation permitted to get into the Promised Country afterward the time of wandering.^[three]

Well-nigh the spies [edit]

God had promised the Israelites that they would be able to conquer the land with its indigenous Canaanite nations. Moses instructed the spies to report back on the agriculture and lay of the country. However, during their bout, the spies saw fortified cities and resident giants, which frightened them and led them to believe that the Israelites would non exist able to conquer the country equally God had promised. 10 of the spies decided to bring back an unbalanced report, emphasizing the difficulty of the job earlier them.^[4]

They gave Moses this account, "We went into the land to which you sent u.s.a., and it does flow with milk and honey! Hither is its fruit. Simply the people who live in that location are very powerful, and the cities are fortified and very big. Nosotros even saw descendants of Anak at that place."

—Numbers, xiii:27-28

Two of the spies — Joshua and Caleb — did not go along with the majority and tried to convince the Israelites that they could conquer the land:

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "Nosotros should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."

—Numbers, 13:30

Yet, the Israelite customs believed the majority's conclusions. All of the spies, except Joshua and Caleb, were struck downwardly with a plague and died.^[5]

Joshua was at start a fierce warrior. He was chosen as the representative from his tribe, Ephraim, to explore the land of Canaan, and was in understanding with Caleb that the Promised Land could exist conquered. After the incident with the 12 spies, Joshua lived through the 40 year wandering period, and was named successor to Moses as instructed by God. Joshua completed the task of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land and of taking possession of information technology. Joshua as well was the leader in renewing the Mosaic covenant with their God.^[6]

Caleb was from the tribe of Judah. He was also chosen to explore the land of Canaan, and he was (along with Joshua) the other man who said that the God of State of israel could assist the Israelite people to victory against the Canaanites. God promised Caleb and Joshua that they would receive the land which they had explored for themselves and their descendants. Caleb was also told that he would live to become into the Promised Land.^[vii]

The names of the twelve spies were:^[8]

1. Shammua, son of Zaccur, from the tribe of Reuben
2. Shaphat, son of Hori, from the tribe of Simeon
3. Caleb, son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah
4. Igal, son of Joseph, from the tribe of Issachar
5. Hoshea (Joshua), son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim
6. Palti, son of Raphu, from the tribe of Benjamin
7. Gaddiel, son of Sodi, from the tribe of Zebulun
8. Gaddi, son of Susi, from the tribe of Manasseh
9. Ammiel, son of Gemalli, from the tribe of Dan
10. Sethur, son of Michael, from the tribe of Asher
11. Nahbi, son of Vophsi, from the tribe of Naphtali
12. Geuel, son of Maki, from the tribe of Gad

The discussion "spies" may be an incorrect translation. The Hebrew word that the Torah uses is מרגלים ("meraglim"), which means "spy". In Numbers 13:, the Hebrew give-and-take describing the group is also the word normally translated every bit "men" or the discussion commonly translated equally "princes". In addition, the twelve were clearly not trained every bit spies, nor did they conduct any covert action, nor did they enlist any indigenous people for later aid. Thus, the phrase "Twelve Scouts" or "Twelve Observers" might be an culling way of describing the group. However, the concluding point remains that their "report" resulted in a great outcry and the Israelites despaired of entering the promised land and were punished past God accordingly, as outlined above.^{[ commendation needed ]}

Consequences [edit]

The Israelites' belief of the fake study amounted to the credence of lashon hara (lit." "evil natural language" / "slander" in Hebrew) against the Country of Israel.

Just the men who had gone upwards with him said, "We can't assail those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread a bad report virtually the state they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in information technology. All the people we saw in that location were of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come up from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own optics, and we looked the same to them."

—Numbers, 13:31-33

This was considered a grave sin by God. Corresponding to the 40 days that the spies toured the land, God decreed that the Israelites would wander in the wilderness for 40 years as a outcome of their unwillingness to accept the country. Moreover, the entire generation of men who left Egypt during the Exodus would dice in the desert, salvage for Joshua and Caleb who did non slander the land.^[ii]

For 40 years, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, eating quail and manna. They were led into the Promised Land by Joshua; the victory at Jericho marked the beginning of possession of the land. As victories were won, the tracts of country were assigned to each tribe, and they lived peacefully with each other. God brought victories where needed, and his promise to Abraham was fulfilled.

Tisha B'Av [edit]

According to Rabbinic tradition (as seen in the Mishnah Taanit 4:vi), the sin of the spies produced the almanac fast day of Tisha B'Av. When the Israelites accepted the false report, they wept over the faux belief that God was setting them up for defeat. The night that the people cried was the ninth of Av, which became a 24-hour interval of weeping and misfortune for all time.^[9]

Rashi, commenting on Numbers 13:25, notes that the journey was shortened by God, as God foresaw their downfall and subsequent proportionate punishment (one day equaling ane twelvemonth).^[10]

References [edit]

1. ^ Numbers 14:34
2. ^ ^{a b} Numbers 14:30; Dummelow, J.R. The One Volume Bible Commentary. 1950. Macmillan Company. pp.107-108
3. ^ Numbers 14:20-31; Caleb, and Joshua, in Freeman, David Noel. The Anchor Bible Lexicon Volume 1 A-C and Volume 2 (H-J). 1992. Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 0-385-19351-3, pp.808-809
4. ^ Numbers 13:26-33; Wigoder, Geoffrey. Illustrated Lexicon and Concordance of the Bible. 1986. The Jerusalem Publishing House. ISBN 0-89577-407-0, pp.563-564
5. ^ Numbers 14:36-38; Clarke, Adam. Commentary on the Holy Bible. 1967. Beacon Hill Press. SBN 081023211, p.189
6. ^ Numbers fourteen:20-31; Joshua, Freeman, David Noel. The Anchor Bible Dictionary Volume 2 H-J. 1992. Doubleday Publishing Grouping. ISBN 0-385-19360-ii, p.999
7. ^ Numbers fourteen:20-31; Caleb, Freeman, David Noel. The Anchor Bible Dictionary Volume 1 A-C. 1992. Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 0-385-19351-3, pp.808-809
8. ^ The Holy Bible, New International Version, Zondervan, 1984, LOC 73174297, pp.104-105
9. ^ Mishna Taanit 4:6 read online; Orthodox Spousal relationship page on Tisha B'Av. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
10. ^ Mid. Tanchuma 8, quoted in The Consummate Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary on Numbers xiii, accessed 24 February 2016

Farther reading [edit]

• Friedrich Justus Knecht (1910). "Chapter XL. The Spies". A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture. B. Herder.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Spies

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