Pt2 The Story of the Spies in Numbers 13-14 in the Talmud (Sotah 34b-35a)

This is the second part of a three-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.

Unrelated, new podcast series with Prof. Yishay Rosen-Zvi on “Chapters in Talmudic Thought” (Hebrew), this first episode is on the “Holy Spirit” (‘Ru’ach HaKodesh’’):

Rava - Caleb’s Visit to the Patriarchs’ Graves in Hebron (Numbers 13:22)

The verse states, “And he came to Hebron” (Numbers 13:22), using singular language instead of plural. This implies that Caleb separated from the other spies.

Rava explains that Caleb went alone to the graves of the Patriarchs in Hebron and prayed for their intercession so that he would not be influenced by the spies’ counsel.

״ויעלו בנגב ויבא עד חברון״ —

״ויבאו״ מבעי ליה?

אמר רבא:

מלמד:

שפירש כלב מעצת מרגלים,

והלך ונשתטח על קברי אבות.

It is also stated with regard to the spies: “And they went up into the south, and he came to Hebron” (Numbers 13:22).

Why is the phrase “and he came” written in the singular form? The verse should have said: And they came.

Rava says:

This teaches that

Caleb separated himself from the counsel of the other spies

and went and prostrated himself on the graves of the Patriarchs (אבות) in Hebron.

אמר להן:

אבותי!

בקשו עלי רחמים

שאנצל מעצת מרגלים.

He said to them:

My Patriarchs!

pray for mercy for me

so that I will be saved from the counsel of the spies.

Joshua and Caleb’s Differing Paths of Loyalty (Numbers 13:16, 14:24): Joshua’s Protection Through Moses’ Prayer; Caleb’s Change Over Time; Joshua’s Steadfast Opposition

The Talmud explains that Joshua did not need to seek protection at the graves of the forefathers because Moses had already prayed for him. This is indicated by Moses renaming him from “Hoshea” (הושע) to “Yehoshua” (יהושע), implying “God (יה - “YH”) will save you (יושיעך)” from the spies’ scheme.

In contrast, Caleb is described as having “another spirit”.¹

יהושע כבר בקש משה עליו רחמים,

שנאמר:

״ויקרא משה להושע בן נון:

יהושע״,

יה יושיעך מעצת מרגלים.

והיינו דכתיב:

״ועבדי כלב

עקב היתה רוח אחרת עמו וגו׳״.

The Talmud explains: Joshua did not go to the graves of the forefathers because Moses had already prayed for mercy for him,

as it is stated: “And Moses called Hoshea son of Nun:

Joshua [Yehoshua]” (Numbers 13:16),

meaning: God will save you [Ya yoshiakha] from the counsel of the spies.

And this is the meaning of that which is written:

“But My servant Caleb,

because he had another spirit with him, and has followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land where into he went” (Numbers 14:24),

which implies that Caleb changed his mind over time. Joshua, however, was opposed to the intentions of the other spies from the outset.

The Significance of the Names of Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai (Numbers 13:22)

Table summarizing the meanings attributed in this sugya to the spies’ names, as well as the various etymological interpretations given for the names of the “Anakim” — Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai:²

Etymologies of their names based on their physical traits

The Talmud explains the names of Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai based on their physical traits:

1. Ahiman (אחימן) was the most “skilled” (מיומן - “meyumman”) among his brothers.

2. Sheshai (ששי), due to his massive size, would create “ditches” (שחתות - “sheḥatot”) in the ground as he walked.

3. Talmai’s (תלמי) great weight caused the land beneath him to form “furrows” (תלמים - telamim).

״ושם אחימן ששי ותלמי וגו׳״,

1. ״אחימן״ —

   1. מיומן שבאחיו,

2. ״ששי״ —

   1. שמשים את הארץ כשחתות,

3. ״תלמי״ —

   1. שמשים את הארץ תלמים תלמים.

The verse continues to state about Hebron: “And Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there” (Numbers 13:22).

1. Ahiman —

   1. was called by this name because he was the most skilled [meyumman] among his brothers.

2. Sheshai —

   1. was called by his name because he would turn the land that he treaded upon into ditches [sheḥatot] due to his large dimensions.

3. Talmai —

   1. was called this because he would turn the land that he treaded upon into furrows upon furrows [telamim] due to his weight.

City that each one established

A different tradition associates their names with cities they established:

1. Ahiman - Anat³

2. Sheshai - Alush⁴

3. Talmai - Talbush (תלבוש)

דבר אחר:

1. אחימן

   1. בנה ענת,

2. ששי

   1. בנה אלש,

3. תלמי

   1. בנה תלבוש.

Alternatively, their names signify another matter:

1. Ahiman

   1. is the one who built the city of Anat.

2. Sheshai

   1. built the city of Alush.

3. Talmai

   1. built the city of Talbush.

“Children of Anak” = extraordinary height

They were called “children of Anak (ענק)” because of their extraordinary height:

Their stature was so great that they appeared as if they were “wearing”⁵ the sun as a necklace.⁶

״ילידי הענק״ —

שמעניקין חמה בקומתן

[...]

The verse describes them as “the children of Anak” because

they were so tall and large that it appeared as if they were wearing [ma’anikin] the sun as a necklace due to their height.

[...]

R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai - The Spies’ Wicked Intentions (Numbers 13:25–26)

R’ Yoḥanan, quoting R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai, notes that the Torah juxtaposes (מקיש) the spies’ departure with their return, suggesting that just as their report was deceptive and negative, so too their original journey was undertaken with bad intentions.

״וישבו מתור הארץ וילכו ויבאו״.

אמר רבי יוחנן, משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי:

מקיש הליכה לביאה:

• מה ביאה —

  • בעצה רעה,

• אף הליכה —

  • בעצה רעה.

The verse states: “And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days. And they went and they came” (Numbers 13:25–26).

R’ Yoḥanan says in the name of R’ Shimon ben Yoḥai:

This verse likens their going to their coming:

• Just as their coming back

  • was with wicked counsel,

• so too, their going to Eretz Yisrael

  • was with wicked counsel.

R’ Yoḥanan citing R’ Meir - The Strategy of the Spies’ Slander (Numbers 13:27–28)

R’ Yoḥanan, citing R’ Meir, states that effective slander⁷ must begin with a kernel of truth to be convincing. The spies followed this tactic by initially praising the land before launching into their claims about the strength of its inhabitants.

״ויספרו לו ויאמרו באנו וגו׳״,

וכתיב: ״אפס כי עז העם״,

אמר רבי יוחנן, משום רבי מאיר:

כל לשון הרע שאין בו דבר אמת בתחילתו —

אין מתקיים בסופו.

The Torah states: “And they told him, and said: We came to the land to which you sent us, and it also flows with milk and honey” (Numbers 13:27),

and then it is written: “However the people that dwell in the land are fierce” (Numbers 13:28).

Why did the spies praise the land and then slander it? R’ Yoḥanan says three statements in the name of R’ Meir:

Any slander that does not begin with a truthful statement —

ultimately does not stand, i.e., it is not accepted by others.

Rabba - Caleb’s Appeal to the People (Numbers 13:30): Silencing the Crowd, The Rejection of Joshua, A Strategic Approach, and a Call to Trust Moses

Part 1

The verse states that “Caleb stilled (יהס - “yahas”) the people toward Moses” (Numbers 13:30).

Rabba interprets this as meaning that Caleb persuaded them.⁸

When Joshua attempted to speak, the people dismissed him, saying: “Should this ‘severed head’,⁹ speak?!”.

״ויהס כלב את העם אל משה״,

אמר רבה:

שהסיתן בדברים.

The verse states: “And Caleb stilled [va-yahas] the people toward Moses” (Numbers 13:30).

Rabba says:

This means that he persuaded them [hesitan] with his words.

פתח יהושע,

דקא משתעי,

אמרי ליה:

דין

ראש קטיעה

ימלל?!

How did he do so? Joshua began to address the people,

and as he was speaking

they said to him:

“Should this person,

who has a ‘severed head’, as he has no children,

speak to the people about entering Eretz Yisrael?!”

Part 2

Fearing a similar rejection, Caleb used a rhetorical strategy. He began by asking if Moses¹⁰ had only harmed them, leading the people to believe he was about to criticize Moses. This caused them to listen in silence.

Caleb then reversed their expectations, listing Moses’ miraculous deeds—leading them from Egypt, splitting the sea, and providing manna.

He hyperbolically concluded that even if Moses commanded them to ascend to the heavens,¹¹ they should obey, based on the verse: “We should go up at once and possess it” (Numbers 13:30).

אמר:

אי משתעינא —

אמרי בי מילתא, וחסמין לי.

אמר להן:

וכי זו בלבד עשה לנו בן עמרם?!

סברי בגנותיה קא משתעי, אישתיקו.

אמר להו:

1. הוציאנו ממצרים,

2. וקרע לנו את הים,

3. והאכילנו את המן.

אם יאמר ״עשו סולמות ועלו לרקיע״ לא נשמע לו?!

״עלה נעלה וירשנו אתה וגו׳״.

Caleb said to himself:

If I speak

they will also say something about me and stop me from speaking.

He began to speak and said to them:

And is this the only thing that the son of Amram, Moses, has done to us?!

They thought that he wanted to relate something to the discredit of Moses, and they were silent.

He then said to them:

1. He took us out of Egypt,

2. and split the sea for us,

3. and fed us the manna.

If he says to us: “Build ladders and climb to the heavens”, should we not listen to him?!

“We should go up at once,” even to the heavens, “and possess it” (Numbers 13:30).

1. רוח - suggesting that he initially aligned with the spies but later changed his stance and fully followed God. Unlike Caleb, Joshua was opposed to the spies’ intentions from the beginning, requiring no change in loyalty.

2. On Talmudic name etymologies in general, see my note in Part 1 of this series.

3. ענת - likely referring to Beth-Anath (בית ענת), which appears in Joshua 19:38 and Judges 1:33.

Notably, Anat was a major Canaanite goddess.

4. אלש - mentioned in Numbers 33:13–14.

This place is listed in Wikipedia, “Stations of the Exodus“, section “List of the Stations of the Exodus“.

5. מעניקין - ‘ma’anikin’.

Indeed, this may be the historical etymology, see Wikipedia at his name (hyperlinked earlier).

6. The Talmud then goes on to say discuss the “Superiority of the Israelite Hebron Over the Egyptian Zoan”, based on a number of verses.

That passage is paralleled elsewhere in the Talmud, see my recent piece “Pt2 Eretz Yisrael’s Miraculous Agricultural Fertility: Past, Present, and Future (Ketubot 111b-112a)“, section “Prooftext - Even Hebron’s rocky soil yielded seven times Zoan’s produce, showing Eretz Yisrael’s superiority - Genesis 13:10; Isaiah 30:4“; I therefore elide it here.

7. לשון הרע - ‘Leshon ha-ra’.

8. הסיתן - “hesitan”.

Ed. Steinsaltz here adds:

Va-yahas and hesitan share the same root in Hebrew.

This is in fact not accurate; the roots are actually different:

• ויהס (va-yahas) comes from the root ה-ס-ה, meaning “to hush, to silence, to still”.

• הסיתן (hesitan) comes from the root ס-ו-ת, meaning “to incite, to persuade, to instigate”.

Rabba is using classic Talmudic interpretive technique - a derash (homiletical interpretation) based on phonetic similarity, but here’s in fact no etymological identity.

On the second word (“incite”), compare Wikipedia, “Maisit“:

The Torah distinguishes two types of enticers to idolatry: mesit (Hebrew: מסית) (Deut. 13:7) is a Jew who seduces an individual to idolatry, while a madiach (מדיח) (Deut. 13:14) is someone who publicly entices many into idolatry.

9. ראש קטיעה.

Ed. Steinsaltz interprets this derogatory expression as referencing the fact that Joshua was childless.

Re Talmudic insults against the childless, compare my “From Eunuch-ville to Bald-town: A Eunuch and R’ Yehoshua the Bald Trade Insults Over Physical Shortcomings (Shabbat 152a)“.

10. Informally referring to him as ‘Ben-Amram” - “the son of Amram”.

This use of the informal address was likely intended to make them believe he would persist in denigrating Moses.

11. עשו סולמות ועלו לרקיע - literally: “Make ladders and go up to the heavens“.

This is likely a reference to the fact that the phrase “in the heaven” appears in a few biblical passages describing Canaanite cities (as an idiom for great height or strength), see Deuteronomy 1:28 and 9:1 (ערים גדלת ובצרת בשמים).

And see the Talmud on “it [=the Torah] is not in heaven”, where the assertion is made that if the Torah was in heaven, one would be required to retrieve it from there.