Numbers 13:1–2

Spies Sent Out

13:1 1 The Lord spoke2 to Moses: 13:2 “Send out men to investigate3 the land of Canaan, which I am giving4 to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe,5 each one a leader among them.”

1	sn Chapter 13 provides the names of the spies sent into the land (vv. 1–16), their instructions (vv. 17–20), their activities (vv. 21–25), and their reports (vv. 26–33). It is a chapter that serves as a good lesson on faith, for some of the spies walked by faith, and some by sight.
2	tn The verse starts with the vav (ו) consecutive on the verb: “and.…”
3	tn The imperfect tense with the conjunction is here subordinated to the preceding imperative to form the purpose clause. It can thus be translated “send … to investigate.”
4	tn The participle here should be given a future interpretation, meaning “which I am about to give” or “which I am going to give.”
5	tn Heb “one man one man of the tribe of his fathers.”