Thematic Bible: Majority and minority reports


Thematic Bible



At the same time, two of those who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothes in despair. They said to the entire congregation of Israel: The land we explored is very good. If Jehovah is pleased with us, he will take us there and give us that rich and fertile land. read more.
Do not rebel against Jehovah. Do not be afraid of the people who live there. We will conquer them easily. Jehovah is with us and has defeated the gods who protected them. Do not be afraid. The whole congregation threatened to stone them to death. Then suddenly the people saw the dazzling light of Jehovah's presence (glory) (splendor) appear over the tent.

They returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They gave their report and showed them the fruit from the land. This is their report to Moses: We went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit. The people who live there are strong. The cities have walls and are very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there. read more.
The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the mountain region. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and all along the Jordan River. Caleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said: Let us go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it. The men who had gone with him said: We cannot attack those people! They are too strong for us! They spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said: The land we explored is one that devours those who live there. All the people we saw there are very tall. We saw Nephilim there. The descendants of Anak are Nephilim. We felt as small as grasshoppers. That is no doubt how we must have looked to them.