Preface
This week, we read about the spies checking out the land and coming back and their report. This is such a pivotal event that Jews have a yearly fast that commemorates that disaster (among others).
And yet, unless you have been trained to see it otherwise, there is not a single "spy vs spy" story, but two of them, written by different authors at different times and, most likely, for different audiences.
If you compare the story in Numbers 13:1-14:2 with the version in Deuteronomy 1:22-42, you will plainly see that while there are key points that they agree upon, the differences are so great that they are, for the most part, two completely different stories.
And that bothers the fans of these stories. It bothers them a lot.
If you read the classic commentators, such as Rashi, the Ramban, Ibn Ezra, and others, it sounds like an argument in a bar, "That's can't be right? You're just making it worse. Let me tell you how to reconcile this. No, that makes no sense at all!"
So here's a quick overview of the Numbers the Deuteronomy versions so you can see for yourself.
Comparisons
Num 13:1 - Yahweh tells Moses to send spies.
Deut 1:22 - The people tell Moses to send spies.
Num 13:4-15 - Lists the heads of the children of Israel who were selected. None are from Levi.
Deut 1:23 - Doesn't list who went. Says the heads of every tribe.
Num 13:17-20 - Moses gives them instructions.
Deut - Moses doesn't give instructions.
Num 13:22 - The spies arrived at Chevron where they saw giants, sons of giants, and named them.
Deut - No mention of Chevron nor of the giants (!?)
Num 13:23 - They arrive as Eschol ("cluster") and collect gigantic fruit. It was so big that it took two men to carry a single cluster of grapes.
Deut 1:24-25 - They arrive at Eschol ("cluster") and took some fruit to take back. Nothing unusual.
Num 13:26-27 - They return, show the fruit and say the land flows with milk and honey.
Deut 1:25 - No mention of the fruit, and they all said that the land was good.
Num 13:28-29 - The spies also warned of the giants and of all of the other enemies waiting.
Deut - The spies did nothing of the sort, but only said, "the land is good". 1:28 might be referring to the spies, or might not.
Num 13:30 - Caleb jumps in and tries to rally the people. "We can do this!"
Deut - Caleb is never mentioned saying this. In fact, all of the spies only spoke good of the place.
Num 13:31-33 - The other spies counter Caleb, reminding him of the giants, the Nefillim, all of whom were so gigantic, that the spies were like grasshoppers in comparison.
Deut 1:28 - This exchange never happens. There is a reference to giants and cities of giants later on (such cities are not mentioned in Numbers).
Num 14:1-5 - The people cry out from the news and decide to fire Moses and Aaron (who silently fall on their faces and say nothing).
Deut 1:29-33 - Moses never falls on his face and goes on a long tirade to try to convince the people that they should change their minds.
Num 14:6-9 - Joshua and Caleb (not Moses, see previous) go on a tirade to try to convince the people to change their minds.
Deut - Joshua and Caleb aren't mentioned as having this discussion.
Num 14:10 - The people are fed up with Joshua and Caleb and want to stone them. The "Glory of Yahweh" appears and intervenes.
Deut 1:25 - No mention of the people wanting to stone them, but Yahweh heard them and got angry.
Num 14:37 - Yahweh kills 10 of the spies, the ones who gave a bad report.
Deut - There was no mention of bad spies, nor of Yahweh killing them.
Summation
As you can see, some of the basic points are the same, but many of them are not.
The author(s) oof Deuteronomy wanted Moses to be the strong leader who did his best, and not the Numbers version where he is incompetent, falls on his face, needs other people to speak on his behalf, and so on.
Like the two stories that tell how Israel got his name, this story also has a similar problem with enough variation to cause the critical reader to see that these are talking about a general even that both knew about, but some of the significant details, such as a city of giants that stretched to the firmament, and giants so tall that the spies were like grasshoppers in comparison, and the giant fruit. Some of the most dramatic imagery in one is missing in the other.
Another significant point is the version which names the sons of the giant. It is a small detail that likely indicates that the audience of the time would have recognized them. Perhaps they were characters in other stories long lost.
In any case, the story of the spies is another example of two versions of the same story being told, but with enough significant changes as to make them unique unto themselves.
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