The Spies – Where Did They Tour?

Exegetical Approaches

Overview

Commentators on our story attempt to both solve the difficulty of fitting the long trek of the spies within the allotted forty days, and to resolve the contradiction between verses which alternately portray the spies as either visiting all of Israel or focusing only on the Southern portion of the land. In trying to do so, they challenge various assumptions commonly made about the episode. The Tanchuma and Rashi posit that the spies were the beneficiaries of a miraculous shortening of their journey which enabled them to complete their mission within forty days. In contrast, the Netziv and Hoil Moshe propose that the spies splintered into multiple groups, divvying up the country between them, while some modern commentators suggest that the spies may, in fact, have only scouted out a small section of the land. Finally, other contemporary exegetes maintain that the spies' undertaking was really a synthesis of two disparate missions.

The Entire Land

The twelve spies traversed the entire land from the Zin Wilderness in the South to the road leading to Chamat in the North. This position subdivides as to whether the spies traveled together or divided up the territory amongst themselves.

Joint Endeavor

All twelve spies toured the land together.

Sources:TanchumaShelach 6Shelach 7Shelach 8About the Tanchuma, RashiBemidbar 13:17,21-22,25About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, ChizkuniBemidbar 13:17,21-22About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach, AbarbanelBemidbar 13About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, R. S"R HirschBemidbar 13:21-22,29About R. S"R Hirsch, MalbimBemidbar 13:17-18Bemidbar 13:21-22About R. Meir Leibush Weiser,   Hoil MosheBemidbar 13:22Bemidbar 15:39About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi¹

"עֲלוּ זֶה בַּנֶּגֶב וַעֲלִיתֶם אֶת הָהָר" – These commentators disagree regarding the meaning of Moshe's instructions:

• Begin with the worst – According to most of these commentators, although Moshe wanted the spies to traverse the entire land, he told them to begin in the mountainous region of the Negev due to tactical reasons:
  • Tanchuma and Rashi assert that Hashem wanted them to initially see the least fertile part of the land, so that they would conclude their mission on an uplifting note with the choicest areas of the country.
  • Alternatively, Chizkuni proposes that Hashem wanted them to first figure out how to conquer the most difficult mountainous region, so that the rest would then seem easy in comparison.²
• Cover the whole land – Abarbanel, in contrast, maintains that Moshe's words were actually an explicit directive to visit the entire land from South to North. They were to proceed from the Negev toward "the mountain" ("הָהָר"), i.e. Hor HaHar, which is located at the northern border of the country.³

"וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ מִמִּדְבַּר צִן עַד רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת" – This approach reads these words as describing the route literally traversed by the spies.

• The itinerary – Rashi (v. 21) suggests that they followed the western border northward,⁴ while Hoil Moshe proposes that they began in the South and then followed the eastern boundaries.⁵ Chizkuni and R. Hirsch posit that the spies crossed the country on a diagonal, from the southeast to northwest.
• The entire land – From Rashi's comments on v. 25, it appears that the spies covered every square meter of the country. Malbim also emphasizes that the scouts toured individual cities in the middle of the land, and did not just walk along the borders,⁶ while Abarbanel writes that they walked in all four directions.

In 40 days?

• For Hoil Moshe who suggests that the spies hiked merely along the eastern perimeter of the land, it is probably a doable feat.
• Tanchuma and Rashi, who suggest that the spies passed through the center of the country as well,⁷ solve the problem of the longer route by suggesting that Hashem miraculously aided them and quickened their way.⁸

The focus on Chevron in Bemidbar – This approach might suggest that the narrator chooses only to tell the details of the time spent in Chevron and Nachal Eshkol as that is what the spies touch upon in their speech.⁹

No other places mentioned in Devarim – These commentators might suggest that, in Devarim, Moshe focuses exclusively on the visit to the hilly region of Chevron and Nachal Eshkol due to the specific agenda of his speech there.¹⁰

Singular form of "וַיָּבֹא עַד חֶבְרוֹן"

• Following Bavli SotaSota 34bAbout the Bavli, Rashi and Hoil Moshe suggest that only Calev¹¹ entered Chevron.¹²
• Other commentators point out that from the report of the spies to Moshe regarding the giants, it appears that they had all visited the Chevron area. Thus, Chizkuni and R. Hirsch explain that Torah sometimes uses a singular form to describe a group acting together as one unit,¹³ while Abarbanel and Malbim suggest that, to avoid detection, the scouts had arrived in the city one by one.¹⁴

Undetected by the Canaanites?

• Miracle – Tanchuma and Rashi suggest that this too was due to supernatural Divine intervention. Hashem ensured that a plague befell the inhabitants of Canaan, preoccupying them with their dead so that the spies could tour undetected.
• One by One – Malbim asserts that when traveling through areas where they might arouse suspicion, the spies split up. Abarbanel, similarly, asserts that the spies entered the land one by one and not as a group of twelve.

The mission's focus – Malbim asserts that the mission was a surveying one, meant to assess the quality of the land, and not to evaluate potential military strategies.¹⁵

Doubling of the spies' return – These commentators do not address the issue explicitly but might suggest that this follows the pattern of a "כלל ופרט" with a general description (‏"וַיָּשֻׁבוּ..."‏) in verse 25 introducing the detailed description in verse 26 (‏"וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ..."‏).

Divide and Conquer

The spies split the land up amongst themselves, with each person visiting a different section of the country.

Sources: NetzivBemidbar 13:17, 21-22Bemidbar 13:24, 27-28About R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, Hoil MosheBemidbar 13:22About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi¹⁶

Moshe's instructions – "עֲלוּ זֶה בַּנֶּגֶב וַעֲלִיתֶם אֶת הָהָר" – Netziv asserts that Moshe directed the spies to scout the entire land, as suggested by the Torah's description "וַיִּשְׁלַח אֹתָם מֹשֶׁה לָתוּר אֶת אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן", but that he also instructed them to begin in the mountainous areas of the Negev.¹⁷

"וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ מִמִּדְבַּר צִן עַד רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת" – This position views these words as a description of the area traveled by the spies.¹⁸

The focus on Chevron – Netziv asserts that this is just one place visited as part of the much broader scouting mission. He does not elaborate on why the text highlights this episode, but he could explain¹⁹ that it provides the necessary background for understanding the later report of the spies.

Singular form of "וַיָּבֹא עַד חֶבְרוֹן"

• Hoil Moshe suggests that the spies had split the land amongst themselves, and thus only one of them arrived in Chevron.
• Netziv agrees that the spies divvied up the mission, but he maintains that they traveled in pairs. Consequently, he is compelled to propose that Calev's partner was frightened away by the giants and fortifications in Chevron, and only Calev was left to enter alone.

The mission's focus – Netziv views the mission as a military one in which the spies were supposed to see which cities were the least fortified and most vulnerable.²⁰

Doubling of the spies' return – Netziv asserts that the phrase "וַיָּשֻׁבוּ מִתּוּר הָאָרֶץ" in v. 25 relates to the spies gathering together after their individual expeditions to one preset meeting spot. Only afterwards, did they return together from that site to the Israelite camp ("וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל מֹשֶׁה" in v. 26).

In 40 days? – As the mission was divided amongst the various men, forty days should have been sufficient time to collectively traverse the country and return to Moshe.

Undetected by the Canaanites? – The spies traveled alone or in pairs, making them much less conspicuous.

The gravity of the sin – If only one person visited Chevron in person,²¹ there would have been much less grounds for the spies' fear mongering and their negative report which highlighted the city.²²

Only the Negev

The spies did not explore the entire country, but rather only the Negev region.

Sources:Olam HaTanakh, R. Yoel b. Nun

"עֲלוּ זֶה בַּנֶּגֶב וַעֲלִיתֶם אֶת הָהָר" – Moshe directed the leaders to the southern region of the land since this was the only place they were supposed to scout.

"וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ מִמִּדְבַּר צִן עַד רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת" – This phrase contains a parenthetical statement detailing for the reader the borders of the land of Israel, even though the spies toured only one small portion of the land.²³ The verse should thus be read as incorporating an implied word: "וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ [שגבולותיה] מִמִּדְבַּר צִן עַד רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת."

The focus on Chevron in Bemidbar and Devarim – Both Bemidbar and Devarim focus only on Chevron and Nachal Eshkol. This was not just one of many stops on the spies' mission, but the only one.

Singular form of "וַיָּבֹא עַד חֶבְרוֹן" – This position does not relate to the issue. It might answer, as Chizkuni above, that the Torah at times uses a singular form of the verb when speaking of one group of people.

The mission's focus – This position is most logical if one assumes that the mission was primarily a military one. Moshe asked the spies to explore the Negev exclusively since that was the first area they would need to conquer.²⁴ The mission was thus very directed, and there was no need to see the rest of the land, since the main objective was not to confirm the agricultural quality of the land.²⁵

Mention of other areas – The spies' report in 13:29 is somewhat difficult for this approach as it suggests that the scouts traveled throughout a significant portion of the land. The spies explicitly mention, not just the inhabitants of the Negev and mountains, but also "וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי יוֹשֵׁב עַל הַיָּם וְעַל יַד הַיַּרְדֵּן".

In 40 days? – If the spies only visited the southern part of Israel, one wonders what took forty days?

Undetected by the Canaanites? – This approach does not relate to this issue.

Understanding the sin – If the spies spent almost all of their time in the Chevron region, their report, and fear, is much more understandable. They were very heavily influenced by the sight of the strong fortifications and giants, as this is all they saw. They were not unfairly harping on just one city and ignoring all the rest, but expressing concerns based on the totality of their experiences.

Dual Mission

The spies had two missions, a military reconnaissance mission which focused only on the Negev, as well as a surveying mission to determine the tribal inheritances which required them to visit the entire country.

Sources:R. Yaacov Medan²⁶ and other modern commentators

The mission's dual focus

• R. Medan proposes that there were two parallel missions in which different configurations of the spies participated:²⁷
  • A "holy" one to appraise the quality of the land and allocate the tribal inheritances. This objective necessitated the participation of all twelve tribal princes to scout ("לָתוּר") the entire country.
  • A "secular" one to determine military strategy. This required only a couple of men to spy ("וְיַחְפְּרוּ" / "וַיְרַגְּלוּ") on Chevron and its surroundings, the first area to be conquered.
• Alternatively, there was a primary mission and a secondary one, in both of which all of the spies participated equally:
  • The spies' primary focus was to prepare for the upcoming conquest. This necessitated giving significant attention to Chevron and its environs, their inhabitants, and fortifications, as this was the originally intended point of entry into the land.
  • The secondary goal was to see the overall quality of the land and affirm its goodness. For this, the spies needed to visit a variety of sites, but not to comprehensively cover the whole country or study any place in depth.

Bemidbar vs. Devarim

• According to R. Medan, Bemidbar focuses on the scouting mission, while Devarim highlights the military one. Thus, Bemidbar speaks of traveling throughout the country, while Devarim recounts only the visit to Chevron.
• Alternatively, in Devarim, Moshe mentions only the tour of the South as that was the critical part of the trip which had the most significant impact on the morale of the spies. Moshe is recapping the event for the next generation and thus omits the less crucial details.

"וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ מִמִּדְבַּר צִן עַד רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת" – These words depict the area that the spies explored.

Moshe's instructions of "עֲלוּ זֶה בַּנֶּגֶב וַעֲלִיתֶם אֶת הָהָר"

• According to R. Medan, Moshe told the people to scout the entire land but to begin in the Negev.
• Alternatively, Moshe is instructing the spies, not just to begin in the South, but to concentrate their efforts there.

The focus on Chevron in Bemidbar – R. Medan does not address this issue but if one posits that Moshe instructed the spies to focus their attention on Chevron, it is understandable why the narrator highlights this part of the trip.

Singular form of "וַיָּבֹא עַד חֶבְרוֹן"

• R. Medan asserts that this refers to Calev, who alone was not fearful of entering the fortified Chevron and facing its giants.
• Alternatively, all twelve spies visited Chevron, and the Torah's use of the singular merely indicates that the group acted in concert.

Doubling of the spies' going and coming – The two verses (13:21-22) describing the spies' embarking on their mission speak of both the broader survey ("וַיַּעֲלוּ וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ") and the more focused objective ("וַיַּעֲלוּ בַנֶּגֶב וַיָּבֹא עַד חֶבְרוֹן"). Similarly, when the spies return, there are two separate verses (13:25-26), one for the completion of each mission.²⁸

In 40 days? R. Medan does not address whether the spies could have realistically crossed the country and returned in forty days. According to the second variation, though, the spies tarried only in Chevron, visiting the rest of the country much more superficially, and forty days could have sufficed.²⁹

Undetected by the Canaanites? – R. Medan asserts that in combining the two missions, Moshe encouraged its failure, in large part because in so doing the men were much more conspicuous.³⁰ He suggests that the spies were met with suspicion as they neared Chevron and thus panicked at the site of the giants' questioning eyes.³¹

Understanding the sin – The fear of the spies and their emphasis on the incidents in Chevron is readily understandable given that this was the focal point of their visit.³²

¹ See below that Hoil Moshe also raises a second possibility that the spies split up, each scouting a different area of the land.

² It is likely that had the nation not sinned, they would have entered the country from the South (and not the East as they eventually did). This would have been the logical entry point given their present location, and thus, it makes sense to scout out the first area to be conquered. Cf. the "מעפילים" who similarly try to enter from the South, going "up the mountain" ("וַיַּעְפִּלוּ לַעֲלוֹת אֶל רֹאשׁ הָהָר").

³ Abarbanel is drawing on the description of the northern borders of the land mentioned in Bemidbar 34:7-8. In this he differs from most other commentators who assume that the mountain mentioned here is the hilly region in the southern part of the land, and thus, that Moshe is only speaking about the Negev area.

⁴ He asserts that they began in the Southeast, moved westward and then traveled along the sea towards "רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת".

⁵ He points out that in the spies' report (verse 29) they make no mention of the Philistines on the West nor do they mention any details regarding the middle and North of the country. He further supports his claim from the choice of verb, "לָתוּר", which he claims relates to the root "תאר" which mean to surround.

⁶ He emphasizes that the mission was not a military one, and thus they were not supposed to just look at the borders for an easy entrance into the land. Cf. Hoil Moshe above who suggests the exact opposite.

⁷ This could significantly alter the probability of crossing the country in less than forty days. The Israel National trail, which crisscrosses the country, is about 1000 kilometers long and takes the average hiker 40-60 days, one way! Even if one assumes that the trail time includes many breaks for relaxation, given the longer route of the spies, and the fact that they were meant to evaluate the land for military or quality-control purposes, the trek could very well have taken a long time.

⁸ Abarbanel, in contrast, denies the need for a miracle, pointing to the messengers who announced the new moon, who would journey from Jerusalem to Syria and back in two weeks time.

⁹ They speak of the giants seen in Chevron and bring of the fruit of Nachal Eshkol. The verses thus form a "כלל ופרט", starting with the general statement that the scouts traveled throughout the land, then discussing only one specific part of their trip in detail.

¹⁰ Perhaps, he wanted to emphasize the bringing back of the fruits of the land and the positive aspects of the spies' report. See N. Leibowitz, Iyyunim BeSefer Devarim (Jerusalem, 1995):16-22, who suggests that, in Devarim, Moshe tried to minimize the role of the spies themselves, and instead emphasized the sin of the nation so that the people would take personal responsibility rather than blaming others for their failure. Moshe thus does not mention the bad report of the spies or speak of other parts of the spying mission, but rather highlights the nation's subsequent rebellion.

¹¹ Though the verse does not mention him by name, it becomes clear from Yehoshua 14:1-15 that he had scouted the area.

¹² Rashi explains that Calev wanted to pray by the graves of the forefathers so as not be persuaded by the other spies. Hoil Moshe does not explain the purpose of the visit. He simply points out that in general the scouts did not enter individual cities in the middle of the land, but since Chevron was not so far from the border, one of the men detoured there. If this is the case, though, it is not so clear why the Torah should emphasize the detour to such an extent, unless one suggests that it was this unplanned detour (and the finding of giants there) that led to the failure of the mission.

¹³ Chizkuni points to Yehoshua 8:19 where a group of people acting as an ambush is similarly referred to in the singular. R. Hirsch asserts that the choice of singular is meant to emphasize that until the spies came to Chevron they were all in agreement (acting as one); it was only in Chevron that the difference of opinion began between Calev (and Yehoshua) and the others.

¹⁴ Malbim explains that while the spies were scouting the unfortified cities they traveled together. Since such cities would not normally be on the itinerary of a military scouting mission, they were not fearful of arousing suspicion. Only when they entered Chevron, a walled city with giants, did they fear that they would be viewed as spies.

¹⁵ This approach might assume that there was no need to invest effort in unnecessary military calculations, as at this juncture, the land was to be conquered via completely miraculous means.

¹⁶ See also Ibn EzraBemidbar 13:22About R. Avraham ibn Ezra who raises this position in passing when mentioning Chazal's position regarding Calev's visit to Chevron.

¹⁷ Netziv does not explain why Moshe instructed them to begin there, but he could maintain that this was simply a practical suggestion as it was the closest point to their present location. Alternatively, Netziv could suggest, as above, that the choice related to the site's potential as the point of entry for conquering the land.

¹⁸ Cf. the position of Rashi and others above.

¹⁹ Cf. the approach above.

²⁰ Hoil Moshe does not relate to the issue explicitly, but from his suggestion that the spies traveled just around the perimeter of the country, it would follow that the mission was related to the impending conquest.

²¹ This is especially bothersome since the one person who visited, Calev, was positive in his report and prepared to fight.

²² This is, perhaps, what leads Netziv to suggest that there must have been giants in other locations as well.

²³ It is unclear, however, what should have necessitated a parenthetical delineation of the boundaries of the land, if this was not at all relevant to where the spies traveled.

²⁴ Similarly, Yehoshua sent spies only to Yericho to prepare for the nation's initial battle, but not elsewhere.

²⁵ This approach will have some difficulty accounting for the verses in which Moshe commands the spies to check the quality of the country's produce and agriculture.

²⁶ See R. Yaacov Medan, "בכייה לשעה ובכייה לדורות"‎, Megadim 10 (1990): 21-37.

²⁷ According to R. Medan, Moshe erred in combining the two very different tasks into one.

²⁸ R. Medan, however, does not read the verses in this manner, since he assumes that Bemidbar speaks of one mission and Devarim of the other.

²⁹ Cf. above for the discussion of the position of Rashi and others.

³⁰ If the twelve men were simply touring the land to evaluate it for purposes of tribal division they would not have appeared suspicious as they could have easily blended into the many tourists and merchants passing through the land. But when twelve men investigate fortifications, water sources, and the like, it is much more difficult not to be noticed.

³¹ R. Medan proposes that the phrase "וַנְּהִי בְעֵינֵינוּ כַּחֲגָבִים וְכֵן הָיִינוּ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם" refers to their being viewed as spies rather than scouts or merchants. The beady eyes of grasshoppers match those of inquiring spies, not innocent bypassers.

³² R. Medan places much of the blame for the mishap on Moshe for mismanaging the mission. He suggests that had there been two separate delegations, with appropriate men chosen for each task and each traveling to the locations relevant to them, the spies would have likely returned with a very different report.