Numbers 13:17 Kommentar

It is a memorable and very melancholy story which is related in this and the following chapter, of the turning back of Israel from the borders of Canaan, when they were just ready to set foot in it, and the sentencing of them to wander and perish in the wilderness for their unbelief and murmuring. It is referred to Psa 95:7, etc., and improved for warning to Christians, Heb 3:7, etc. In this chapter we have, I. The sending of twelve spies before them into Canaan (v. 1-16). II. The instructions given to these spies (Num 13:17-20). III. Their executing their commission according to their instructions, and their return from the search (Num 13:21-25). IV. The report they brought back to the camp of Israel (Num 13:26, etc.).

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 13 In this chapter an order is given by the Lord, to send twelve men into the land of Canaan, to search and spy it, and which was accordingly executed, Num 13:1; and the names of the twelve persons are given, Num 13:4; the instructions they received from Moses, what part of the land they should enter into first, and what observations they should make on it, Num 13:17; which they attended to, and on their return brought some of the fruit of the land with them, Num 13:21; and gave an account of it, that it was a very fruitful land, but the inhabitants mighty, and their cities walled, Num 13:27; which threw the people into confusion, but that they were stilled by Caleb, one of the spies, who encouraged them, Num 13:30; but all the rest, excepting Joshua, brought an ill report of it, as not to be subdued and conquered by them, Num 13:31.

And they came unto the brook of Eshcol,.... Or "valley of Eshcol" (u), which is here so called by anticipation from the following circumstance; and perhaps had not this name given it, until the children of Israel were possessed of the land, and then they called it so, in memory of what was done here at this time; it was not far from Hebron, as may be concluded from thence; and so Jerom, relating the travels of Paula in those parts, says (w), she came from Betzur to Eshcol, where having seen the little cells of Sarah, the cradle of Isaac, and the traces of the oak of Abraham, under which he saw the day of Christ, and was glad, rising up from thence, she went up to Hebron; which shows this Eshcol to be near Hebron, and to lie low, and was a valley; see Deu 1:24, and cut down from thence a branch, with one cluster of grapes; in this valley was a vineyard, or at least a vine tree, on which they observed one cluster, which perhaps was of an uncommon size, as it seems by what follows, and they cut down the branch, and that with it: and they bare it between two upon a staff; it was so big; and which was not done only for the ease of carrying it, but that it might not have any of its grapes squeezed, bruised, and broken off, but that they might carry it entire and whole for the Israelites to behold: these two men were probably Caleb and Joshua; though Jarchi says they carried nothing, which is more than he could say with certainty. Some historians report very surprising things of the size of vines, and the largeness of their clusters, which, when observed, this account will not at all seem incredible. Strabo says (x), it is reported, that in Hyrcania, a vine produced a firkin of wine, and, the trunk of a vine was so large, that it was as much as two men could grasp with both arms, and bore clusters of two cubits long (y); the same he says (z) of the size of vines in Mauritania, and of their clusters being a cubit long; and of others in Carmania being two cubits long, as before (a): it is reported of the Indian fig tree, that it sometimes has an hundred figs more or less on a branch, and all in a cluster like grapes; and some of the clusters are sometimes so large as to be carried by two men on a staff (b), as here; and some have thought, that it is the fruit here meant; but this is expressly called a cluster of grapes. About half a mile from Eshcol, as Adrichomius (c) says, was the brook or valley of Sorek, which was famous for vines; and it is affirmed by many writers and travellers, that to this day there are vines in that place, which produce clusters of twenty five pounds weight and more; and that in Lebanon, and other parts of Syria, the kernels of grapes are as big as a man's thumb (d). Leo Africanus speaks (e) of grapes in some parts of Africa somewhat red, which, from their size, are called hens' eggs: and the Talmudists (f) are extravagant, and beyond all belief, in the account they give of the vines in the land of Canaan, and of the clusters of them, and the quantity of wine they had from them; and of this cluster they suppose (g), that the "two" spoken of are not to be understood of men, but of bars or staves; and that this cluster was carried by eight, four at the four ends of the two staves, and that there were, besides, two staves or bars that went across, at the ends of which were four more men, who carried the cluster hanging in the middle; a figure of which Wagenseil (h) has given us: but Philo the Jew (i) has given a better account of it, and more agreeable to the Scripture, as that it was put upon a staff, and hung at the middle of it, the ends of which were laid on the shoulders of two young men, who carried it; though he adds, that such was the weight of it, that these were relieved by others in succession: and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs; that is, others of them did; which seems to favour the notion that they were in a body, and that there were more than two together at this place; but even these two might be able to bring some of this sort of fruit along with them, as well as bear the cluster of grapes; besides, the text does not oblige us to understand it of the same persons in the same place. (u) "vallem", Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius. (w) Epitaph. Paulae, fol. 59. G. H. (x) Geograph. l. 2. p. 50. (y) Ibid. (z) lbid. l. 17. p. 568. (a) Ibid. l. 15. p. 500. (b) Salmuth. in Pancirol. rer. memorab. par. 2. p. 55. (c) Theatrum Terrae Sacr. p. 24. (d) Huet. Alnetan. Quaest. l. 2. c. 12. sect. 22. (e) Descript. Africae, l. 2. p. 204. (f) T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 111. 2. (g) T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 34. 1. (h) Sotah, p. 707, 708. (i) De Vita Mosis, l. 1. p. 638.

Of false prophets and their lying signs, Deu 13:1-6. Of those who endeavor to entice and seduce people to idolatry, Deu 13:7-8. The punishment of such, Deu 13:9-11. Of cities perverted from the pure worship of God, Deu 13:12-14. How that city is to be treated, Deu 13:15. All the spoil of it to be destroyed, Deu 13:16. Promises to them who obey these directions, Deu 13:17, Deu 13:18.

THE NAMES OF THE MEN WHO WERE SENT TO SEARCH THE LAND. (Num. 13:1-33) The Lord spake unto Moses, Send thou men, that they may search the land, of Canaan--Compare Deu 1:22, whence it appears, that while the proposal of delegating confidential men from each tribe to explore the land of Canaan emanated from the people who petitioned for it, the measure received the special sanction of God, who granted their request at once as a trial, and a punishment of their distrust.

Get you up this way . . . , and go up into the mountain--Mount Seir (Deu 1:2), which lay directly from Sinai across the wilderness of Paran, in a northeasterly direction into the southern parts of the promised land.

Spies Sent Out. Murmuring of the People, and Their Punishment - Numbers 13 and 14 When they had arrived at Kadesh, in the desert of Paran (Num 13:26), Moses sent out spies by the command of God, and according to the wishes of the people, to explore the way by which they could enter into Canaan, and also the nature of the land, of its cities, and of its population (Num 13:1-20). The men who were sent out passed through the land, from the south to the northern frontier, and on their return reported that the land was no doubt one of pre-eminent goodness, but that it was inhabited by a strong people, who had giants among them, and were in possession of very large fortified towns (Num 13:21-29); whereupon Caleb declared that it was quite possible to conquer it, whilst the others despaired of overcoming the Canaanites, and spread an evil report among the people concerning the land (Num 13:30-33). The congregation then raised a loud lamentation, and went so far in their murmuring against Moses and Aaron, as to speak without reserve or secrecy of deposing Moses, and returning to Egypt under another leader: they even wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb, who tried to calm the excited multitude, and urged them to trust in the Lord. But suddenly the glory of the Lord interposed with a special manifestation of judgment (Num 14:1-10). Jehovah made known to Moses His resolution to destroy the rebellious nation, but suffered Himself to be moved by the intercession of Moses so far as to promise that He would preserve the nation, though He would exclude the murmuring multitude from the promised land (Num 14:11-25). He then directed Moses and Aaron to proclaim to the people the following punishment for their repeated rebellion: that they should bear their iniquity for forty years in the wilderness; that the whole nation that had come out of Egypt should die there, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua; and that only their children should enter the promised land (Num 14:26-39). The people were shocked at this announcement, and resolved to force a way into Canaan; but, as Moses predicted, they were beaten by the Canaanites and Amalekites, and driven back to Hormah (Num 14:40-45). These events form a grand turning-point in the history of Israel, in which the whole of the future history of the covenant nation is typically reflected. The constantly repeated unfaithfulness of the nation could not destroy the faithfulness of God, or alter His purposes of salvation. In wrath Jehovah remembered mercy; through judgment He carried out His plan of salvation, that all the world might know that no flesh was righteous before Him, and that the unbelief and unfaithfulness of men could not overturn the truth of God. (Note: According to Knobel, the account of these events arose from two or three documents interwoven with one another in the following manner: Num 13:1-17a, Num 13:21, Num 13:25-26, Num 13:32, and Num 14:2, Num 14:5-7, Num 14:10, Num 14:36-38, was written by the Elohist, the remainder by the Jehovist, - Num 13:22-24, Num 13:27-31; Num 14:1, Num 14:11-25, Num 14:39-45, being taken from his first document, and Num 13:17-20; Num 14:2-4, Num 14:8-10, Num 14:26-33, Num 14:35, from his second; whilst, lastly, Num 13:33, and the commencement of Num 14:1, were added from his own resources, because it contains contradictory statements. "According to the Elohist," says this critic, "the spies went through the whole land (Num 13:32; Num 14:7), and penetrated even to the north of the country (Num 13:21): they took forty days to this (Num 13:25; Num 14:34); they had among them Joshua, whose name was altered at that time (Jos 13:16), and who behaved as bravely as Caleb (Num 13:8; Num 14:6, Num 14:38). According to the Jehovistic completion, the spies did not go through the whole land, but only entered into it (Num 13:27), merely going into the neighbourhood of Hebron, in the south country (Num 13:22-23); there they saw the gigantic Anakites (Num 13:22, Num 13:28, Num 13:33), cut off the large bunch of grapes in the valley of Eshcol (Num 13:23-24), and then came back to Moses. Caleb was the only one who showed himself courageous, and Joshua was not with them at all (Num 13:30; Num 14:24)." But these discrepancies do not exist in the biblical narrative; on the contrary, they have been introduced by the critic himself, by the forcible separation of passages from their context, and by arbitrary interpolations. The words of the spies in Num 13:27, "We came into the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey," do not imply that they only came into the southern portion of the land, any more than the fact that they brought a bunch of grapes from the neighbourhood of Hebron is a proof that they did not go beyond the valley of Eshcol. Moreover, it is not stated in Num 13:30 that Joshua was not found among the tribes. Again, the circumstance that in Num 14:11-25 and Num 14:26-35 the same thing is said twice over-the special instructions as to the survey of the land in Num 13:17-20, which were quite unnecessary for intelligent leaders, - the swearing of God (Num 14:16, Num 14:21, Num 14:23), - the forced explanation of the name Eshcol, in Num 13:24, and other things of the same kind, - are said to furnish further proofs of the interpolation of Jehovistic clauses into the Elohistic narrative; and lastly, a number of the words employed are supposed to place this beyond all doubt. Of these proofs, however, the first rests upon a simple misinterpretation of the passage in question, and a disregard of the peculiarities of Hebrew history; whilst the rest are either subjective conclusions, dictated by the taste of vulgar rationalism, or inferences and assumptions, of which the tenability and force need first of all to be established.)