Numbers 13:17–29

¹⁷When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. ¹⁸See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹Is the land they live in good^o or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications?^{p 20}Is the land fertile or unproductive?^q Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes.^r

²¹So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin^A as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath.^{B 22}They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak,^s were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan^t in Egypt. ²³When they came to Eshcol^u Valley, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.^{v 24}That place was called ^Cthe Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. ²⁵At the end of forty days^a they returned from scouting out the land.

REPORT ABOUT CANAAN

²⁶The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land.^{b 27}They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey,^c and here is some of its fruit. ²⁸However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified.^d We also saw the descendants of Anak^e there. ²⁹The Amalekites^f are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”