🔢WEB · Numbers 13:18
What does Numbers 13:18 mean?
"See the land, what it is; and the people who dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many;"
— Numbers 13:18 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
These are the names of the men who Moses sent to spy out the land. Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way by the South, and go up into the hill country.
See the land, what it is; and the people who dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many;
and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strongholds;
and what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there is wood therein, or not. Be courageous, and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first-ripe grapes.
So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath.
Explanation
Numbers 13:18 records part of the instructions Moses gave to the twelve men he sent to scout out the land of Canaan. In plain language, Moses is telling the spies to carefully observe and assess the land itself and its inhabitants—to note whether the people living there are strong or weak in terms of military strength and character, and whether they are numerous or few in population. This was practical reconnaissance, the kind any leader would want before attempting to enter and settle a new territory.
The context is Israel's journey from Egypt toward the Promised Land. Moses, acting on God's command, chose one leader from each of the twelve tribes to survey Canaan before the nation attempted to enter it. This verse begins a longer list of specific questions Moses wanted answered: the nature of the land (fertile or poor), the type of settlements (fortified or open camps), and the general character of the terrain and its produce. The spies were being sent not to decide whether to obey God's promise to give them the land, but to gather intelligence for how to approach the conquest and settlement wisely.
Theologically, this moment highlights the tension between faith and sight, promise and preparation. God had already promised Canaan to Israel; the reconnaissance mission was meant to inform strategy, not to determine whether they should trust God's word. The way the story unfolds later in Numbers 13 and 14 shows that most of the spies allowed what they saw—the size and strength of the people—to overwhelm their confidence in God's promise, leading to fear, unbelief, and rebellion. Only Caleb and Joshua
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.