Parshas Shlach 5777

Why Did Moses Sends the Spies from the South?

The Torah writes (Numbers 13:17):

When Moses sent them to scout the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the Negeb and on into the hill country,

Bekhor Shor (ibid):

They were near the south of the Land of Israel and he told them to go through the Negeb which was near by

Sforno (ibid):

Moses wanted them to commence their mission from the very spot the Israelites found themselves in at this time, i.e. in the south of the land of Canaan. He considered that at this point entry into the land of Canaan would not present any difficulty and they would not have to travel around the country inn order to enter from a more distant location.

Rashi (ibid):

It (the South) was the worst part of the Land of Israel. He bid them spy this out first because such is the way of merchants: they show a prospective purchaser the inferior goods first, and afterwards they show the best 

The Traveling Staff
Rabeinu Bachya (ibid) writes:

Moses gave them his staff in order to safe them from their hands

Related Posts

See also our previous posts relevant to this parsha:

• The Giants of Kriath Arba
• Order among Spies
• There were Giants on Earth
• More on Giants

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