Numbers 13:17

The Spies’ Instructions

13:17 When Moses sent ¹  them to investigate the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev, ²  and then go up into the hill country

Numbers 13:26

The Spies’ Reports

13:26 They came back ³  to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. ⁴  They reported ⁵  to the whole community and showed the fruit of the land.

[13:17]  ¹ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the next verb of the same formation to express a temporal clause.

[13:17]  ² tn The instructions had them first go up into the southern desert of the land, and after passing through that, into the hill country of the Canaanites. The text could be rendered “into the Negev” as well as “through the Negev.”

[13:26]  ³ tn The construction literally has “and they went and they entered,” which may be smoothed out as a verbal hendiadys, the one verb modifying the other.

[13:26]  ⁴ sn Kadesh is Ain Qadeis, about 50 miles (83 km) south of Beer Sheba. It is called Kadesh-barnea in Num 32:8.

[13:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “They brought back word”; the verb is the Hiphil preterite of שׁוּב (shuv).