The journey itself, surprisingly, wasn't fraught with peril from the locals. The text explains that God smoothed their path. As soon as the spies, sent by Moses to scout the land, entered a city, a plague would strike. The inhabitants, preoccupied with burying their dead, had neither the time nor the will to bother with the strangers. A grim blessing, perhaps.
But what they did encounter was something far more terrifying: giants.
Specifically, three brothers: Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai. These weren't just big guys; they were colossal. The sun, according to the story, only reached their ankles! Their very names, we're told, reflected their immense size and strength.
The strongest of them all was Ahiman. The sight of him was so overwhelming, it felt like standing at the foot of a mountain about to crumble. Involuntarily, people would cry out, "What is this that is coming upon me?" Thus, his name, Ahiman, was born.
Sheshai, the second brother, was described as being as strong as marble – hence his name, “marble.”
And Talmai? His mighty strides were so powerful that they tore up plots of ground with every step. Thus, he was called Talmai, "plots."
It wasn’t just the sons of Anak (the father of the giants) who possessed such incredible size and strength. According to Legends of the Jews, his daughters were equally imposing.
The spies stumbled upon one of these daughters in Kiriath-Arba, the "City of Four," named so because Anak and his three sons resided there. Overcome with terror, they sought refuge, thinking they’d found a cave.
But it wasn't a cave. It was merely the rind of a pomegranate! A pomegranate discarded by the giant's daughter. Can you imagine the scale? After she'd finished eating, she remembered she shouldn't anger her father by leaving the rind lying around. So, she picked it up, with the twelve spies hiding inside, "as one picks up an eggshell," and tossed it into the garden. She never even noticed she was carrying twelve men, each measuring sixty cubits in height!
When the spies finally emerged from their makeshift hiding place, they exclaimed to one another: "Behold the strength of these women and judge by their standard the men!"
What a stark reminder of the power, or perceived power, of the inhabitants of Canaan.
This episode underscores the immense psychological barrier the Israelites faced. It wasn’t just about military might; it was about overcoming the sheer terror instilled by the stories and the sights they encountered. It makes you wonder: how much of our own limitations are self-imposed, based on the giants – real or imagined – that we allow to loom over us?