Page "Moses" Paragraph 36

The people left Hazeroth and pitched camp in the wilderness of Paran.

( Paran is a vaguely defined region in the northern part of the Sinai peninsula, just south of Canaan ) Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan as scouts, including most famously Caleb and Joshua.

After forty days, they returned to the Israelite camp, bringing back grapes and other produce as samples of the regions fertility.

Although all the spies agreed that the land's resources were spectacular, only two of the twelve spies ( Joshua and Caleb ) were willing to try to conquer it, and are nearly stoned for their unpopular opinion.

The people began weeping and wanted to return to Egypt.

Moses turned down the opportunity to have the Israelites completely destroyed and a great nation made from his own offspring, and instead he told the people that they would wander the wilderness for forty years until all those twenty years or older who had refused to enter Canaan had died, and that their children would then enter and possess Canaan.

Early the next morning, the Israelites said they had sinned and now wanted to take possession of Canaan.

Moses told them not to attempt it, but the Israelites chose to disobey Moses and invade Canaan, but were repulsed by the Amalekites and Canaanites.