bahmer

Why did it take the children of Israel forty years to walk the relatively short distance from Egypt to Canaan, when it should have only taken a few months? The people were punished with forty years of wandering for believing a negative report about the Promised Land, delivered by a group of spies. What was so terrible about the spies’ report?

What’s so bad about the facts?
The Bible’s story of the twelve spies is difficult to understand. The spies reconnoiter the Land of Canaan, bringing back a report that it is too dangerous to be conquered. They speak the truth. This seems prudent advice. Too many Israelites will die. Any experienced military intelligence officer would have done the same. So why were the Israelites punished with forty years of wandering as a result of this seemingly sensible testimony?

A nation’s misinterpretation
The spies declared, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are” (Num. 13:31). In the original Hebrew the word for “than we are” is mimenu מִמֶּנּוּ. The rabbis of the Talmud noted this can mean both “than we are” or “than He is” – referring to God himself. The spies’ words were unnecessarily vague, so the nation misinterpreted them to mean that the Canaanites are so mighty, even God cannot defeat them.
   
Begin the journey of Biblical Hebrew
This little word caused a huge problem, bringing down the morale of the people. It was heresy! Only when you go back to the original Hebrew words uttered by the spies themselves can you fully appreciate how terrifying the words “than we are” sounded to the people. Enroll in our live online courses and begin your journey to learning Biblical Hebrew today.