Commentary on Numbers, Book · Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII.
Chapter XIII Verſe 1 Ver. 1. AND the LORD ſpake unto Moſes, ſaying.] They being now come to the Borders of Canaan, the LORD ordered Moſes to exhort them to go up, and take poſſeſſion of it; and not to fear nor be diſcouraged; as we read in I Deut. 21. But the People (out of a diſtruſt of God's Power, as Moſes ſeems to intimate, IX Deut. 23.) deſired they might firſt ſend ſome to ſearch out the Land, before they attempted its Conqueſt, I Deut. 22. About which it is likely Moſes conſulted the Divine Majeſty; who gave them leave ſo to do.
Verſe 2 Ver. 2. Send thou Men.] For their greater ſatisfaction, God ordered them to have their deſire. For there ſeems to have been a general Fear upon them (every one of them coming to Moſes with this requeſt, I Deut. 22.) which could not be removed, but by ſending ſome to bring them intelligence, what kind of Country it was, and what People they had to deal withal, v. 18, 19, 20.
That they may ſearch the Land of Canaan.] To make a diſcovery, both of the Country, and of the Inhabitants; and the beſt way to invade it, I Deut. 22.
Which I give unto the Children of Iſrael.] To the poſſeſſion of which God now intended to introduce them. For he had already brought them to the Confines of it, and bidden them go up and poſſeſs it, (I Deut. 20, 21.) but they would needs make this delay, for a diſcovery of the condition of the Country: which was their own contrivance at the firſt, and not a Divine Counſel.
Of every Tribe of their Fathers ſhall ye ſend a Man.] That there might be no ſuſpicion of Partiality in their Report.
Every one a Ruler among them.] Men of Authority, and Prudence; who might be the more believed: Yet not of the higheſt Rank, (for ſuch are called by the name of Princes, I. 16.) but Rulers perhaps of Thouſands, who were very conſiderable in their Tribes. For they are called by the ſame name in the Hebrew; every one being ſaid to be a NASI and a ROSCH, a Leader and a Head in their Tribes; which may incline one to think, that there were higher and lower Perſons of this ſort, who had the ſame Title, in every Tribe.
Ver. 3. And Moſes by the Commandment of the Verſe 3 LORD.] Which was given him in the fifth Month (called Ab, as St. Hierom notes from the Jews) of the ſecond Year after they came out of Egypt: It is not certain upon what day; but it is likely in the beginning of the Month, which anſwers to the nineteenth of our July, ſent them from the Wilderneſs of Paran. From Radeſh-Barnea. XXXII. 8. I Deut. 19, 20. IX. 23. XIV Joſh. 7.
All thoſe Men were heads of the Children of Iſrael.] So the Rulers of Thouſands and Hundreds are called, XVIII Exod. 25. as well as the Princes, I Numb. 16. But theſe were a lower ſort of Heads, or great Men, in the ſeveral Tribes of Iſrael.
Ver. 4. And theſe are their Names: Of the Tribe of Verſe 4 Reuben, Shammua the Son of Zaccur.] There is little to be obſerved concerning this Verſe, and thoſe that follow, to the XVIth. but that it is evident theſe were not the ſame Men, who in the firſt Chapter of this Book are called the Heads and Princes of the Tribes; being inferiour Perſons, who ruled over ſome part, not over a whole Tribe. The three firſt Tribes alſo that are here mentioned, ſprang from the three eldeſt Sons (for Levi did not make a Tribe in Iſrael) of Jacob: But in the Enumeration of the reſt, there is not any Order obſerved, of which I can give an account. Perhaps they being to diſperſe themſelves, when they entred the Country they were to ſearch, (ſee verſe 22.) and thinking it not prudent to go above two (at the moſt) in company, caſt Lots who ſhould be aſſociated: And the firſt Lot fell to thoſe of the Tribe of Reuben and Simeon; the next to thoſe of Judah and Iſſachar; and ſo to the reſt.
Verſe 11 Ver. 11. Of the Tribe of Joſeph.] i. e. Of the other Branch of Joſeph's Family, viz. of the Tribe of Manaſſeh, as it here follows.
Verſe 16 Ver. 16. Theſe are the Names of the Men that Moſes ſent to ſpy out the Land.] He would have their Names remembred (which is the reaſon of this Remark) for the ſake of thoſe two worthy Men, Caleb and Joſhua, whoſe Vertue was very illuſtrious, in the midſt of a crooked and perverſe Generation.
And Moſes called Oſhea the Son of Nun.] So he is called, v. 8. being named for the Tribe of Ephraim.
Jehoſhua.] He was called by this name preſently after they came out of Egypt, (XVII Exod. 9.) when he went to fight with Amalek. Whom he having overcome, Moſes lookt upon it as a Token that he ſhould ſave and deliver the People of Iſrael; and then called him by this Name. Which imports ſome thing more than Oſhea; for that denotes only a Prayer for Salvation, (as Menochius obſerves) but this carries in it a Promiſe of it. And ſome think the addition of the firſt Letter in the name Jehoſhua, was from the name of JEHOVAH: Implying that the LORD would imploy him, in leading and conducting his People into the Land of Promiſe. Wherein he was a Type of the Saviour of the World, the LORD JESUS, (whoſe Name is the ſame with this) who conducts thoſe that believe on him, to an Heavenly Inheritance.
If I could find the like comfortable Signification in the reſt of the Names of theſe Men, I ſhould think there might be ſome ground for their Opinion, who fancy Moſes choſe Joſhua becauſe there was a good Omen in his very Name. For all Nations took great care that no Man ſhould be imployed in Affairs of moment, whoſe Names carry any unlucky Signification in them. So Cicero obſerves in his firſt Book of Divination, that the Generals of Armies, and the Cenſors, took care that none ſhould ſo much as lead the Sacrifices to the Altar, but who were bonis Nominibus, of Names that ſignified Good. Of which the Conſuls alſo were very obſervant, ut primus miles fiat bono nomine, that the firſt Souldier whom they liſted, ſhould be of a good Name; ſuch as Valerius, Salvius, Statorius, or the like. On the contrary, the Name of Naevius was deemed ſo bad, that in his Oration pro Quinct. Sext. he ſaith, having named the Man, methinks I have ſaid enough.
Ver. 17. And Moſes ſent them to ſpy out the Land, and Verſe 17 ſaid unto them.] That is, when he ſent them to ſpy out the Land, (as was ſaid in the foregoing Verſe) he gave them the following Directions.
Get ye up this way Southward.] This South-part of Canaan fell afterward to be part of the Lot of the Tribe of Judah, XV Joſh. 1, 2, 3. and was very dry, and conſequently barren, I Judg. 15. and therefore fitteſt for their entrance to ſpy out the Land unobſerved; being leſs inhabited, than the better parts of the Country. Beſides, it was neareſt to the place where they now were encamped.
And go up into the Mountain.] Where the Amorites dwelt, I Deut. 19. together with ſome Amalekites, and other People, XIV. 43, 45. From whence they were to go down into the Valleys.
Verſe 18 Ver. 18. And ſee the Land what it is, and the People that dwell therein.] Theſe are the general Directions which he gave them, to inform themſelves, both of the Country, and of its Inhabitants.
Whether they be ſtrong or weak, few or many.] In particular, with reſpect to the latter, he directs them to inform themſelves whether the Inhabitants were ſtrong bodied, or feeble; and whether their number was great or ſmall.
Verſe 19 Ver. 19. And what the Land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad.] And with reſpect to the former, he would have them bring an account firſt, what ſort of Country it was, whether healthful and delightful, or unwholeſome and unpleaſant.
And what Cities there be, that they dwell in.] And then how large their Cities were, and of what ſtrength.
Whether in Tents, or in ſtrong Holds.] Whether they lived in Tents, as the Arabians did, (and the Iſraelites while they were in the Wilderneſs) or in Houſes; and whether they were fortified. Or rather (as we would ſay in our Language) whether in open Villages, or in walled Cities: For ſo the word Mahanaim ſignifies, not Tents (as we here tranſlate it) but Hoſts or Camps, XXXII Gen. 1. and here Towns without Walls, as the LXX. interprets it: And the Vulgar Verſe 20 alſo, only inverting the order of the words, whether in walled Towns, or without walls.
Ver. 20. And what the Land is, &c.] And laſt of all, what is the Soil of the Country; whether rich and fertile, or poor and barren: and alſo whether it be a woody Country, or otherwiſe?
And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the Land.] In which Diſcoveries, there being ſome hazard, he bids them be confident God would preſerve them: ſo that they might venture to bring away with them, ſome of the Fruit which the Country produced.
Now the time, was the time of the first ripe Grapes.] Towards the Vintage.
Ver. 21. So they went up, and ſearched the Land Verſe 21 from the Wilderneſs of Zin.] Which was on the South of the Land of Canaan, XXXIV. 3. XV Joſh. 1, 3. being different from the Wilderneſs of Sin; which lay near to Egypt, XVI Exod. 1.
Ʋnto Rehob, as Men come to Hamath.] The City of Rehob lay in the North of the Land of Canaan; and fell to the Lot of the Tribe of Aſher, XIX Joſh. 28. And it lay not far from Hamath (which, in after times, was called Ephiphania) a City which we very often read of afterwards, as the bounds of Judaea Northward; which Moſes ſaith was unto the entrance of Hamath, XXXIV. 8. So that they took a Survey of the whole Country, from one end of it to the other, South and North: and alſo, as they paſſed along, obſerved thoſe Parts that lay East and West. For they gave an account of the Canaanites, as dwelling by the Sea, (which was Weſtward) and by the Coaſt of Jordan, which was on the East, v. 29. Or, if by the Sea we underſtand, not the Weſtern Ocean, but the dead Sea, (as ſome do) yet it appears by theſe very words, that they bent their Courſe, as they paſſed from South to North, unto the Weſtern and Eaſtern Parts alſo. For Rehob and Hamath both lay at the foot of Libanus: one to the North-west (towards Sidon) and the other to the North-east.
Verſe 22 Ver. 22. And they aſcended by the South.] In their return from ſearching the Country.
And came unto Hebron.] That is, Some of them. For the words in the Hebrew is not they came, (as it is they aſcended) but he came. Which demonſtrates that they did not go all of them together in a Company, (for that had been dangerous, and might have made them taken notice of) but diſperſed themſelves; ſome going to diſcover one place, ſome another. And it is a probable Conjecture of ſome of the Hebrew Doctors, that Caleb was the Man that went to take a view of Hebron; and was ſo little affrighted at the ſight of the Giants there, that he was the very Perſon that afterward drove them out; and had this place given him for his Portion: For it was in the South part of the Lot of the Tribe of Judah; being formerly called Kirjath-Arba, XIV Joſh. 9, 12, 14.
Where Ahiman, Sheſhai, and Talmai, the Children of Anak were.] Theſe were the Grand-children of Arba (from whom Hebron had the name of Kirjath-Arba, i. e. the City of Arba) who was the Father of Anak. Whoſe Family was more eminent than any other in Canaan: theſe three Sons of his, being Men not only of great Bulk, but Proweſs and Valour. Bochartus thinks (Lib. I. Canaan, cap. 1.) that Anak ſignifies as much as the Roman name Toropiatus; being like to that Gaul whom Manlius vanquiſhed. And Ahiman ſignifies as much as, Who is my Brother? importing there was none to be compared with him. Seſai he takes to be as much as Sixtius, viz. Six Cubits high, as Goliath was. And Talmai he derives from Talam, a Furrow: as if he ſeemed in length to equal a Furrow in the Field. Theſe were the People that made the Iſraelites tremble: for it is likely their whole Family were of a very large Stature, though not ſo big as theſe. And indeed, they were ſo very terrible to all their Neighbours, that it became a Proverbial ſaying in thoſe Countries, Who can ſtand before the Children of Anak? IX Deut. 2.
Now Hebron was built ſeven years before Zoan in Egypt.] The Egyptians boaſted of the great Antiquity of their Nation and Cities: But Moſes ſhows that Hebron was built before the Capital City of their Country. For ſo Zoan was; and called in after Ages Tanis: lying not far from that Mouth of the River Nile, which from thence was called by Plutarch foreign. R. Solomon will have it, that Hebron was built by Cham, one of the three Sons of Noah, and the Father of Mizraim; from whom the Egyptians deſcended. But of this there is no certainty: and the Gemara upon Sota, cap. 7. ſaith, It is not likely that a Man would build a Houſe for his younger Son, before he had built one for his elder; for Canaan was the youngeſt of all the Sons of Cham, X Gen. 6. Yet thoſe Doctors are willing to ſuppoſe that Cham built both theſe Cities; and therefore interpret the word banah, which is rightly tranſlated built, as if it ſignified fruitful, (according to XVI Gen. 2.) and make the Senſe to be, That Hebron was ſeven times more fruitful than Zoan. Which is very fooliſh; as upon other accounts, ſo on this, that Hebron was a ſtrong place, and therefore not fertile.
Verſe 23 Ver. 23. And they came unto the Brook Eſhchol.] A place which lay in a Valley, at the foot of the Mountain, I Deut. 24.
And cut down from thence a Branch with one Cluſter of Grapes.] This was done, no doubt, in ſome private place, upon the Southern Borders of Canaan; juſt as they were returning to the Camp of Iſrael again. For it would have given the Country too great an Alarm, if they had marched in the High-way, with this Bunch upon their Shoulders.
And they bare it between two.] A great many Authors mention Vines and Grapes of an extraordinary bigneſs in thoſe Eaſtern and Southern Countries. I need only refer to Strabo, who ſays the Vines in Margiana, and other places, were ſo big that two Men could ſcarce compaſs them with their Arms; and that they produced foreign, a Bunch of Grapes of two Cubits, Lib. II. Geograph. p. 73. and Lib. XI. p. 516. Which is in part juſtified by Olearius in his late Travels into Perſia, Book III. where he ſaith, not far from Aſtracan, he ſaw Vines, whoſe Trunks were ſo thick, that a Man could do no more than graſp them about with both his Arms. And Forſterus in his Dictionarium Hebraicum, p. 862. ſaith there was a Preacher at Norimberg, called Achacius, who lived as a Monk eight Years in the Holy Land, (as they call it) who told him upon his Sick-bed, That in his time there were Cluſters of Grapes at Hebron, of ſuch bigneſs, that one ſingle Kernel was ſufficient to quench his Thirſt a whole day; when he was ſick there of a Tympany. J. Conradus Dieterius hath collected a great deal more to this purpoſe out of Leo Africanus and Nic. Radzivillius, and other Authors, in his Antiq. Biblicae, p. 249. And ſince him the moſt learned Huetius in his Quaeſtiones Alnetanae, Lib. II. cap. 12. n. 24. where, among other things, he obſerves that Crete, Chios, and other Iſlands in the Archipelago, afford Bunches of Grapes of ten pound weight; ſometimes of thirty ſix, yea, of forty. And he mentions Grapes of a prodigious bigneſs in the Iſland of Madera.
Ʋpon a Staff.] See IV. 10.
And they brought of the Pomegranates and Figs.] Which grew in the parts neareſt to the place where the Iſraelites were encamped.
Ver. 24. The place was called the Brook Eſhcol, becauſe Verſe 24 of the Cluſter of Grapes which the Children of Iſrael cut down from thence.] That is, when the Iſraelites got poſſeſſion of the Land, they called this Brook (or Valley) by the name of Eſhcol, in memory of this Bunch of Grapes: for ſo Eſhcol ſignifies.
Ver. 25. And they returned from ſearching of the Verſe 25 Land.] Came back to the Camp of Iſrael.
After forty days.] This ſhows that they did not take a curſory view of the Country; but took time enough to make their Obſervations. And the ripe Fruit which they brought with them, after they had been forty Days from the Camp, demonſtrates that their return was in the latter end of the ſixth Month, very near to the ſeventh; that is, in the end of the Year, according to the old Stile of that Nation. For on the fifteenth Day of the ſeventh Month God ordered the Feaſt of Tabernacles to be celebrated: a little before which they gathered both their Harveſt and their Vintage, XXIII Exod. 16. XXIII Lev. 39. XVI Deut. 13.
Verſe 26 Ver. 26. And they went and came to Moſes and to Aaron, &c.] They went up the Mountain from Eſhcol; and came down on the other ſide of it, to Moſes and Aaron, and all the Congregation, I Deut. 24, 25.
Ʋnto the Wilderneſs of Paran, to Kadeſh.] Unto the place from whence they were ſent; which was Kadeſh-barnea, (See v. 3. & IX Deut. 23.) which is here in ſhort called Kadeſh; but is quite different from that Kadeſh we read of afterward, XXI. 1. For that was in the Wilderneſs of Sin; and they did not come to it till the fortieth Year after they came out of Egypt, XXXIII. 37, 38. whereas they were at this Kadeſh in the ſecond Year; before they were doomed to wander forty Years in the Wilderneſs.
And brought back word unto them, and unto all the Congregation.] Gave a publick Account, before Moſes and Aaron, of what they had diſcovered.
And ſhewed them the Fruit of the Land.] And at the ſame time preſented to them the Cluſter of Grapes, the Pomegranates and Figs which they had brought with them.
Verſe 27 Ver. 27. And they told him, and ſaid.] They addreſs their Relation to Moſes; becauſe he ſent them, v. 2.
We came unto the Land whether thou ſenteſt us.] I ſuppoſe they choſe ſome of their number, to ſpeak in the name of the reſt: and firſt they give an account of the Land, as he required, v. 19, 20.
And ſurely it floweth with Milk and Honey.] Their report of the Condition of the Land, was as honeſt as could be deſired: for they teſtifie it to be ſuch as God promiſed to beſtow upon them, XXXIII Exod. 3.
And this is the Fruit of it.] They prove what they ſay, by a Sample of the Product of it. Which was ſo large, that ſome of the Jews fancy there were eight Men imployed to carry this one Cluſter, as they ſay in the Gemara Sotae, cap. 7. Of which the Spies made this wicked uſe, as from thence to tell their Brethren, You ſee this goodly Fruit, how vaſt it is: but believe us, the Inhabitants of the Country exceed us, and all other Men in ſtature, as much as this Fruit exceeds all other of the ſame kind, throughout the World. So Wagenſeil explains the ſenſe of their Diſcourſe in that place, Sect. 4.
Ver. 28. Nevertheleſs the People be ſtrong that dwell Verſe 28 in the Land; and the Cities are walled and very great.] This is an account of the other part of the Enquiry Moſes commanded them to make, concerning the Inhabitants, and their Cities, v. 18.
And moreover, we ſaw the Children of the Anakims there.] See v. 22. All this was true; but ſpoken in ſuch a manner as to repreſent the Conqueſt of the Country exceeding difficult, if not impoſſible. So they explain their meaning in down-right words, v. 31. and ſo the People underſtood them, I Deut. 28. where theſe frightful People are called the Sons of the Anakims. For they ſaw not only thoſe three mentioned before, v. 22. but others alſo that were deſcended from them; who, as I there noted, were gigantick Perſons. So the LXX. tranſlate theſe words foreign, and ſo the Chaldee; and ſo the Jews uſe the word Anakim to ſignifie Giants: particularly Benjamin Tud…lenſis, p. 3. of his Itinerary. Where L'Empereur thinks it probable they were called Anakims, à torque quo colla ſuperbe cingebant, from a Collar or Chain, which they proudly wore about their Necks: for the word Anak properly ſignifies collum torque cingere, (p. 136.) to wreath a Chain about the Neck. But it is evident they had their Name from their Progenitor, Anak the Son of Arba: whence he was ſo called, we do not know.
Verſe 29 Ver. 29. The Amalekites dwell in the Land of the South.] They do not repreſent the Amalekites as Inhabitants of the Land of Canaan; but they obſerve that they lay on the South border of it. Where, if they went about to enter, in all probability, that Nation (which were their early Enemies when they came out of Egypt) would help to oppoſe them in their Attempt, as much as the People of Canaan. For that's their intention, in the following report, to ſhow what a ſtout People they muſt encounter, which way ſoever they endeavoured to enter into Canaan.
And the Hittites, and the Jebuſites, and the Amorites.] An account of all theſe, ſee XV Gen. 20, 21.
Dwell in the Mountains.] Which were in the entrance of the Land of Canaan on the South-east part of it. Particularly the Amorites, it is evident, were planted there, upon the Mountains of the Borders of Canaan, I Deut. 27.44. And many of them had made an expedition into the Country beyond Jordan, where they had poſſeſſed themſelves of Baſhan and Heſhbon, and all the Land between the Rivers Jabbok and Arnon. For they were a very warlike People, and of great ſtature, II Amos 9. which made theſe Searchers of their Land afraid of them; and bid their Brethren conſider whether they thought they ſhould be able to diſpute their paſſage with them: which they plainly ſuggeſt, in their Opinion, they could not. For the Jebuſites were another mighty People, whom after the Conqueſt of Canaan, they could not of a long time diſpoſſeſs of Mount Sion. I need not ſay how terrible the Hittites were; for it is probable from thence came the word hittha, which ſignifies a Fright and ſudden Conſternation, as Bochartus hath obſerved in his Phalag. Lib. IV. cap. 36.
And the Canaanites.] Thoſe who were particularly called by this Name. See XV Gen. 21.
Dwelt by the Sea.] It is certain that the Canaanites dwelt by the Ocean, called the Midland-Sea; for they ſeem to have had their Names from Merchandizing; for which that ſituation was moſt proper; and for that reaſon others of them were ſeated near Jordan. This, I think, is plain from I Deut. 7. And beſides, the word Sea alone, commonly ſignifies that great Ocean. But it being plain that they were alſo ſeated, as it here follows, upon the River Jordan, it is poſſible that by Sea, may be meant in this place, the dead Sea, or the Lake of Geneſereth, or both of them; becauſe they were near Jordan, which ran into them.
And by the Coast of Jordan.] Where the Canaanites were alſo ſeated, as is evident from XI Deut. 30. For there were both Weſtern and Eaſtern Canaanites, as appears from XI Joſh. 3. and they are frequently joyned with the Perizzites (particularly I Judg. 4.) who were a fierce ſort of rough People, that dwelt in the woody part of the Mountains. So that the Intentions of the Men, who made this Report, was, to repreſent to the People, that whether they invaded the Land by the Southern Parts, or the Eaſtern, they would find both ſtrongly guarded by a mighty People, much ſuperiour to them in force. Which account, the following verſe ſhows, put the People into a Tumult.
Ver. 30. And Caleb ſtilled the People.] It is plain by this, that the People underſtood by their way of ſpeaking, Countenances and Geſtures, that the meaning of theſe Men who made this Report (which was not falſe in it ſelf) was, that though the Country indeed was very rich and deſirable, yet it was impoſſible for them to drive the Inhabitants out of it. Which put them into a mutinous Diſpoſition, as Caleb perceived by their Looks and their Muttering; and therefore ſtept forth, before it brake out, to quiet their Spirits with his Account of the Country and Inhabitants, in which Joſhua, no queſtion, joyned with him. It is not indeed here mentioned, becauſe Caleb perhaps ſtood next to thoſe who began to make a Commotion, and therefore ſpake firſt: but he was ſeconded by Joſhua, we may be ſure; becauſe we find him mentioned in the next Chapter, and in the firſt place, together with Caleb, as indeavouring to appeaſe the Tumult. And he is not only exempted from the Puniſhment inflicted upon the People for their Rebellion, XIV. 30, 38. but is expreſly ſaid to have followed the LORD fully, as well as Caleb, XXXII. 12.
Before Moſes.] The Hebrew Phraſe El Moſcheh, may ſignifie that he ſtilled them, as they were coming towards Moſes in a Seditious manner; or, quieted them ſo far, as to make them hearken to Moſes; or, as we render it, in his Preſence, when they were ready to fly in his Face. One of the Doctors in the Gemara before-mentioned, cap. 9. ſaith, That Joſhua being about to ſpeak, they bitterly reproached him, and would not ſuffer him to proceed. And therefore Caleb thought good to give them a great many blandiſhing words, and to call Moſes this Son of Amram, which lookt like Contempt of him; whereby he ſtilled them, and diſpoſed them to liſten to him. And then he ſaid, Is not he the Perſon that brought us out of Egypt, that divided the Red Sea, for us to paſs through it; that gave us Manna from Heaven? What if he ſhould bid us make Ladders and climb up into the Skies, ſhould we not obey him?
And ſaid, Let us go up at once?] Or, go up immediately, without a ſtop.
And poſſeſs it.] He ſpeaks as if it were already their own, (as indeed it was, by God's gift) and they need only enter and take poſſeſſion of it.
For we are able to overcome it.] There will be no ſuch difficulty, as theſe Men repreſent, in the Conqueſt of it.
Ver. 31. But the Men that went up with him.] The Verſe 31 reſt of the Company that went to ſearch the Land; who if they had not perſiſted in their Unbelief, the People perhaps might have been perfectly appeaſed by Caleb and Joſhua.
Said, We be not able.] Now they open their Minds more plainly, in their Reply to Caleb. Whom they oppoſe directly; and declare their Opinion downright, that they were not an equal Match for their Enemies.
To go up againſt the People.] To beat them out of the Mountains, which they inhabited.
For they are ſtronger than we.] Theſe Men had no confidence in the Promiſe and Power of God, on which Caleb and Joſhua relyed; but meaſured all things by Human ſtrength.
Ver. 32. And they brought up an evil report of the Verſe 32 Land which they had ſearched, unto the Children of Iſrael.] In the heat of their Oppoſition, they now diſparage the Country, which they had before praiſed, v. 27. and alſo ſtretch their Report of the Inhabitants beyond the Truth.
Saying, The Land through which we have gone to ſearch, is a Land that eateth up the Inhabitants thereof.] Unleſs we ſuppoſe that there was a great Plague at this time in the Country, as the Hebrews do (who love to excuſe their Fore-fathers ſins) this was a groſs lie. But take it as they ſuppoſe, yet this was a very malignant Report. For if they ſaw the People of the Country every where, as they paſſed along, carrying their Neighbours to their Graves, (as the Jews tell the Tale) this which they ſhould have aſcribed to the Providence of God, who ſent this Mortality that they might have fewer Enemies to oppoſe them, and that theſe Spies might paſs more freely, and leſs obſerved; they moſt wickedly aſcribe to the badneſs of the Air: which being very unhealthful to the Natives, might well be thought would be much more ſo to Strangers. Thus bad Minds (as the aforeſaid Gemara gloſſes well enough upon this Story) turn that which God intends for their Benefit, into their Hurt. And if we had any better Authority for this Story, the word achal (which we tranſlate eat up) would well enough agree with it. For, as Maimonides obſerves in the firſt part of his More Nevoch. cap. 30. it is uſed in the Holy Scriptures, concerning any kind of Conſumption, Deſtruction, or Deſolation: As here in this Book, XI. 1. XXVI Lev. 38. 2 Sam. II. 26, &c.
And all the People that we ſaw in it were Men of great Stature.] The Hebrew Phraſe is, Men of Meaſures, foreign, as the LXX. tranſlate it, Men of larger ſize than the reſt of Mankind. Which we have no reaſon to think was true: But having ſeen the Sons of Anak in one part of the Country, they imagined all the reſt of the People to be near unto their Stature. For this is the Deſcription of that Giant of Gath, mentioned 1 Chron. XX. 6. where he is called a Man of Meaſure; and 2 Sam. XXI. 20. where he is called in the Plural Number, (as they are here) a Man of Meaſures, foreign, a Man above the common bigneſs. And thus very great Houſes are called Houſes of Meaſure, XXII Jerem. 24.
Ver. 33. And there we ſaw the Giants.] Men of Verſe 33 greater Bulk and Strength, than the biggeſt of thoſe very great Men, (ſee VI Gen. 4.) which they ſpake of in the foregoing words.
The Sons of Anak.] They had mentioned this once before, v. 28. and now repeat it again; becauſe they were ſtruck with ſuch a Terror at the ſight of them, that they were always at their Tongues end. Juſt, as Homer mentions, foreign, as Bochartus makes the Compariſon, Lib. I. Canaan, cap. 1.
Which came of the Giants.] Who were deſcended from a Gigantick Race of Men; particularly from Arba, who was their Grand-father, as Joſhua tells us, XIV. 15. XV. 13, 14, &c. Where he ſhows how Caleb drove theſe Anakims out of their Cities, and made them fly to the Philiſtims; where there were ſome Remainders of them, till the days of David. And others of them, perhaps, fled into Greece; for there was a Race of Men among the Greeks called foreign; who Voſſius thinks it probable might deſcend from theſe Children of Anak. Lib. I. de Orig. & Progreſſu Idolol. cap. XIII.
And we were in our own ſight as Graſhoppers.] Their Fear magnified them above meaſure; though no doubt they were Men of ſuch an extraordinary heighth, Verſe 26 that they might look upon themſelves to be as ſmall and contemptible, as Graſhoppers are compared with us. And ſuch very tall Men there are ſtill in ſome parts of the World, as Job Ludolphus obſerves in his Commentary upon his Hiſtor. Aethiopica, Lib. I. cap. 2. n. 22.
And ſo we were in their fight.] One of the Jewiſh Doctors makes bold to call theſe Men Liars: For though their Fear might make them ſeem in their own ſight as Graſhoppers, yet how could they tell, ſaith he, that they were ſo in the ſight of the Children of Anak? Here the Gemariſts (in the place I mentioned above, cap. 10.) endeavour to help them out, by continuing the Tale of the great Mortality, which was then in thoſe Countries. Where a Funeral-Feaſt (as the manner was) being one day made under certain Cedar-trees, which are very ſhady; the Spies got up to the top of them, to hide themſelves among the thick Boughs. But the People below hapning to look up, the Spies heard them ſay, there are Men got up into the Trees, who look like Graſhoppers. But there needs no ſuch Inventions to defend them, when an Hyperbole will do it: Their plain meaning being this, that the Anakims looked down upon them with the utmoſt Contempt.
By all which it appears, that they had not only a ſight of the Anakims, but the Anakims alſo ſaw them; and lookt upon them, it is likely, as they did upon other Travellers; who were wont to come thither, either for their Pleaſure, or to traffick in their Country; or in their way to other places. Whom it was not their Cuſtom to examine ſtrictly, whence they came, and what their buſineſs was; but let paſs to and fro among them freely.