Chapter 15—The Twelve Spies The Lord commanded Moses to send men to search the land of Canaan, which He would give unto the children of Israel. A ruler from each tribe was to be selected for this purpose. They went; and after forty days they returned from their search, and came before Moses and Aaron, and all the congregation of Israel, and showed them the fruit of the land. All agreed that it was a good land, and they exhibited the rich fruit which they had brought as evidence. One cluster of grapes was so large that two men carried it between them on a staff. They also brought of the figs and pomegranates which grew there in abundance. After they had spoken of the fertility of the land, all but two spoke very discouragingly of their ability to possess it. They said that the people were very strong that dwelt in the land, and the cities were surrounded with great and high walls, and, more than all this, they saw the children of the giant Anak there. They then described how the people were situated around Canaan and expressed the fear that it would be impossible for them ever to possess this land. {4T 148.1}

Herren befalede Moses at sende mænd ud for at undersøge Kanaans land, som han ville give Israels børn. Fra hver stamme skulde der udvælges en leder til dette formål. De gik; og efter fyrre dage vende de tilbage fra deres undersøgelse og kom hen til Moses og Aron og hele Israels forsamling og viste dem landets frugter. Alle var enige om at det var et godt land og det viste den rige frugtbarhed som de bragte som bevis. En drueklase var så stor at to mænd bar den mellem sig på en stang. De bragte også figner og granatæbler frem, som voksede der i overflod. Efter de havde talt om landets gode frugtbarhed, havde alle, på nær to, talt meget nedslående om at få det. De sagde at folkene, der boede i landet, var meget stærke og byerne var omgivet med meget store og høje mure og mere end det, de så den store Anaks efterkommere dér. De beskrev da hvordan folkene var placeret rundt i Kanaan og frygtede at det ville være umuligt for dem, nogensinde at besidde dette land.