Sin of the Spies: God’s Ruse to Keep Israel in the Wilderness

The English follows Shlomo Pines, trans., Guide of the Perplexed (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1963), 2.525.

For more on this idea in Maimonides, see my “Reasons for the Commandments in Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed and in Provençal Jewish Philosophy,” Maimonidean Studies, 5 (2008): 159-188 [Reprinted in my Judaism as Philosophy: Studies in Maimonides and the Jewish Philosophers of Provence (Brighton, MA: Academic Studies Press, 2015), 361-395]. See also, David Gillis, “On the Problem of Sacrifices: Maimonides’ Ladder of Enlightenment,” TheTorah (2018); Menachem Kellner, “Tabernacle, Sacrifices, and Judaism: Maimonides vs. Nahmanides,” TheTorah (2020); Kenneth Seeskin, “The Tabernacle: A Concession to Human Religious Needs?” TheTorah (2020).

The Bible describes Canaan as a whole, and Hebron specifically, as being inhabited by giants (Num 13:28, 32–33).

Editor’s note: For more on the magical manna, see Joel Hecker, “Manna and Mystical Eating,” TheTorah (2018).

Editor’s note: These two views likely pick up on different traditions in the biblical corpus itself. See discussion in, David Frankel, “Were the Israelites Craving for Meat or Starving for Food?” TheTorah (2017); Gili Kugler, “Did the Exodus Generation Die in the Wilderness or Enter Canaan?” TheTorah (2019).

Based on Psalm 90:4, כִּי אֶלֶף שָׁנִים בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּיוֹם אֶתְמוֹל כִּי יַעֲבֹר “For in Your sight a thousand years are like a day that passes,” the rabbis interpret the term day to mean a thousand years.

Editor’s note: For some discussion on the necessity of Moses’ death in the wilderness, see Jill Citron Katz, “Moses: A Betwixt and Between Leader,” TheTorah (2013); Gili Kugler, “Moses Dies at the Age of 120: Was It Premature?” TheTorah (2018).

I suggest that it can also be seen in a more subtle manner in Deuteronomy, when read canonically in relation to Numbers, as Moses makes significant adjustments in his retelling of earlier stories. In the first telling of the story of the spies in Numbers, the initiative for sending them belongs to God, as if to emphasize the nation’s passivity. The nation’s negative response throughout the story is consistently reactive. When Moses retells the story at the beginning of Deuteronomy to the next generation who are about to enter the Land, he attributes the suggestion to first scout it out to their fathers, and not to God, and he treats it as a wise one. For the new generation it is important to highlight also the active positive behavior of their fathers and not just their sins. In this manner they are subtly given the message that no longer are they to sit back and let God do all the work, while they must only remain steadfast in their faith. They are now in a position to assume responsibility for their fate with the help of God. I am indebted to my cousin Rabbi Chaim Kafri for this insight, who shows that this point also can be seen from Moses’ retelling of other stories, such as the attack of Amaleq against Israel. Editor’s note: For a source-critical approach to the differences between Numbers and Deuteronomy, see, David Ben-Gad HaCohen, “Using Deuteronomy to Fill In the Lacunae of the Numbers Spies Story,” TheTorah (2016); TABS Editors, “Whose Idea Was It to Send the Scouts?” TheTorah (2014); Zev Farber, “The Opening Of Devarim: A Recounting or Different Version of the Wilderness Experience?” TheTorah (2013).