The Spies real words.
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.Ā What was so terrible about the spiesā report?
Whatās so bad about the facts?
The Bibleās 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.Ā So why were the Israelites punished with forty years of wandering as a result of this seemingly sensible testimony?
A nationās misinterpretation
The spies declared, āWe canāt attack those people; they are stronger than we areā (Num. 13:31). In the original Hebrew the word for āthan we areā isĀ mimenuĀ ×Ö“×Ö¼Ö¶× Ö¼×Ö¼. The rabbis of the Talmud noted this can mean bothĀ āthan we areā or āthan He isāĀ ā referring to God himself. The spiesā words were unnecessarily vague, so theĀ nation misinterpreted them to mean that the Canaanites are so mighty, even God cannot defeat them.
Ā Ā
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 youĀ go back to the original Hebrew words uttered by the spies themselves can you fully appreciate how terrifying the words āthan we areāĀ sounded to the people. Enroll in our live online courses and begin your journey to learning Biblical Hebrew today.Ā
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