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The Twelve Spies
The Twelve Spies were the men, one chosen from each tribe, who were sent to explore Canaan, the Promised Land, before Israel entered it after the Exodus; the term also refers to the episode itself. The account appears in Numbers 13–14.
Valley of Eshcol
The Valley of Eshcol is a valley near Hebron where the twelve spies cut down a large cluster of grapes while scouting out Canaan. Its name means "cluster" in Hebrew.
Caleb
Caleb is a man of the tribe of Judah who appears in the Old Testament books of Numbers and Joshua. One of the twelve spies, he joined Joshua in urging Israel to take Canaan, and the two of them were the only members of the Exodus generation to enter the Promised Land.
Kadesh-barnea
Kadesh-barnea was a place where the Israelites stayed for an extended period in the wilderness after the Exodus. It is known as the site of the twelve spies' report, the people's unbelief, and the incident of the waters of Meribah.
Anakim
The Anakim were a people of great stature who lived in the southern hill country, centered on Hebron, before the conquest of Canaan. After the report of the twelve spies, they became the adversaries Israel feared.
Paran
Paran is a wilderness region generally thought to have lain in the northeastern Sinai Peninsula. Ishmael grew up there, and after the Exodus Israel encamped there and sent out the twelve spies from it.
Numbers 14
In this chapter the congregation of Israel, after hearing the spies' report, murmurs and proposes returning to Egypt. Through Moses' intercession God pardons the people, yet He pronounces that the murmuring generation will wander in the wilderness for forty years and die there.
Talmai
Talmai is the name of two men in the Old Testament. One was a descendant of Anak who lived in Hebron; the other was the king of Geshur, who was David's father-in-law and the maternal grandfather of Absalom.
Hamath
Hamath was an ancient city and kingdom on the Orontes River in what is now western Syria. The Old Testament frequently uses it as a reference point for the northern boundary of the land of Israel.
Numbers 15
Numbers 15 contains regulations for the offerings to be observed after entering Canaan, the heave offering of a cake from the first of the dough, the distinction between unintentional and deliberate sin, the punishment of a man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath, and the law concerning fringes on garments.
Sheshai
Sheshai was a descendant of Anak who lived in Hebron during the conquest of Canaan. The Bible names him together with Ahiman and Talmai and records that he was driven out or killed when Caleb and the tribe of Judah took Hebron.
Ahiman
Ahiman was a descendant of Anak who lived in Hebron before the conquest of Canaan. A biblical figure recorded together with Sheshai and Talmai, he was driven out by Caleb and the people of Judah.
Forty Years in the Wilderness
The forty years in the wilderness were the period the Israelites spent in the wilderness after the Exodus and before entering Canaan. The Bible portrays this period both as judgment for unbelief and as a time in which God fed and taught his people.
Hebron
Hebron is an ancient city in the hill country of Judah. Abraham lived there, it is the site of the cave of Machpelah, where the patriarchs were buried, and it is where David first became king.
Jephunneh
Jephunneh is an Old Testament figure, the father of Caleb, who brought back a report of faith after the spying out of Canaan. Scripture mentions him almost exclusively in the phrase "Caleb the son of Jephunneh."
Fig Tree
The fig tree, together with the grapevine and the olive tree, is one of the fruit trees most characteristic of the land of Israel. In the Bible it symbolizes peace and abundance, and it frequently serves as a figure for the people of Israel.
Numbers 13
Numbers 13 recounts how Moses sent twelve men, a leader from each tribe, to spy out the land of Canaan for forty days. Caleb urged the people to take the land, but the other spies brought up an evil report of it.
Numbers 13:33
In this verse, ten of the spies returning from Canaan call the inhabitants of the land descendants of the Nephilim and report, "we were in our own sight as grasshoppers." Frequently cited in preaching as an illustration of the outlook of unbelief, the passage also figures in discussions of the identity of the Nephilim.
Laish
Laish was the original name of a city at the northern extremity of Israel before the tribe of Dan captured it and renamed it "Dan." It appears in Judges 18, and Joshua 19:47 records it as "Leshem."
Twelve Tribes of Israel
The Twelve Tribes of Israel are the twelve divisions of the people of Israel descended from the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel). In the Old Testament they served as units for the allotment of land and the organization of the people; in the New Testament they serve as a symbol of the whole people of God.