While the Israelites were on their way to Canaan, the land they had been promised, God instructed Moses in Numbers 13 when they were at the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh to "send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel..."
Moses, in his usual manner, obeyed and "sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord, all of them who were heads of the children of Israel," (v 3); with the instructions, "Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land." (vs 17-20).
