“Moses sent them to scout the land of Canaan, he said to them: Ascend there in the South, and ascend the highland,” as merchants show the inferior merchandise first7The southern part of Israel is less fertile than the northern part. and then show the superior merchandise. “And you shall see the Land” (Numbers 13:18). Three times he said to them: “What is the Land?” (Numbers 13:18–20). Why in the first, is it: “You shall see”?
He said to them: ‘Look at the Land of Israel; there is a land that grows mighty men and there is a land that grows weak men. There is one that maximizes population, and one that minimizes population.’ Likewise he commanded them: “And the people that live in it, are they strong or are they weak, are they few or many?” (Numbers 13:18). “And what is the land in which they live?” (Numbers 13:19).
From where do you know their strength? If they dwell in open areas, they are mighty, reliant on their strength; if within fortifications, they are weak and soft-hearted. “And what is the land, is it fat?” (Numbers 13:20). Are its fruits lean or fat?
He said to them: ‘Look at their rocks and their earth; if they are of hard rock,8They do not crumble easily. they will be fat, if they are of earthenware,9They crumble easily. they will be lean.’ “The days were the days of the first grapes” (Numbers 13:20). From here they said: ‘There is no season of Tamuz without figs and grapes.’