The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness, saying, "Send men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. From each tribe, choose a leader."
So Moses obeyed and sent twelve men from the Desert of Paran—leaders among their people. From Reuben came Shammua son of Zaccur, from Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori, from Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh, from Issachar, Igal son of Joseph, from Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun (whom Moses renamed Joshua), and from Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu. From Zebulun came Gaddiel son of Sodi, from Manasseh, Gaddi son of Susi, from Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli, from Asher, Sethur son of Michael, from Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi, and from Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
Moses charged them: "Go up through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like—are the people strong or weak, many or few? Is the land good or bad? Are the towns open or fortified? How is the soil—rich or poor? Does it have trees? Bring back fruit of the land." It was the season of the first ripe grapes.
The men went up through the land from the Desert of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo Hamath. They passed through the Negev and came to Hebron, where the Anakim—Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—lived. When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a cluster of grapes so large that two men carried it on a pole between them, along with pomegranates and figs. Because of this, the place was named the Valley of Eshcol.
After forty days, the spies returned. They came before Moses, Aaron, and the whole assembly at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran, bringing with them the fruit of the land. They reported, "We entered the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit."
But then they added fear to their words: "The people are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there! The Amalekites dwell in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites in the hill country; the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan."
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and declared with boldness, "Let us go up at once and take possession of the land—for we are well able to conquer it!"
But the other men who had gone with him cried, "We cannot attack those people; they are stronger than we are." They spread a bad report among the Israelites, saying, "The land devours those who live in it. All the people we saw there are giants! We even saw the Nephilim there, descendants of Anak. To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we appeared to them."