Numbers 13:21-25

The spies surveyed a very large area. Lebo-hamath (Numbers 13:21) stood about 50 miles north of Damascus, 100 miles north of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee). [Note: Yohanan Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, pp. 72-73.]

The Anakites (Numbers 13:22) were a tribe of very tall people who lived in Canaan (Numbers 13:33).

Hebron was a large fortified town. Moses gave it special emphasis here because it was near Hebron that God had promised to give Abraham the land (Genesis 13:14-18). From there Abraham had set out to defeat a coalition of kings (Genesis 14:13). The only piece of real estate Abraham possessed in Canaan was in Hebron, and there he and the other patriarchs lay buried. The spies, of course, knew these historical facts, and memories of these patriarchal events should have strengthened their faith in Yahweh as they passed through Hebron.

Zoan (Numbers 13:22) is another name for Tanis, the capital city of Egypt from which the Israelites had come. [Note: See N. Na’aman, "’Hebron Was Built Seven Years before Zoan in Egypt’ (Numbers xiii 22)," Vetus Testamentum 31:4 (1981):488-92.]

The valley of Eshcol was apparently just north of Hebron on the way to Jerusalem. [Note: The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, s.v. "Eschol," by R. C. Ridall, 2:364.] The Hebrew word translated "Eshcol" refers to the stalk or stem of some fruit or flower. From this it came to mean a whole bunch or "cluster" (of grapes). A huge cluster of grapes carried on a pole between two men has long been a symbol of the land of Israel. This figure illustrates the great agricultural productivity of the land. It still is a popular symbol of modern Israel today and is the logo of Israel’s Department of Tourism.