Numbers 13 introduces the scandal that would rock the Hebrews for forty years in the desert, and well
beyond. We speak of the spy affair. “And God spoke to Moses saying. Send you men, that they spy out
the land…”
Here, we bring Abravanel’s opening remarks to the perfidious event that stoked the Maker’s wrath. In
the course of time, He would snuff out the lives of the spies (with Joshua and Caleb the exceptions), as
well as the adult male population that escaped Egypt’s clutches.
To qualify, Abravanel begins his discourse by citing the opinion of other Biblical thinkers. They held that
when the Hebrews came to Kadesh, situated on the Amorite border, Moses made a calculation. The
prophet knew that at an appointed time (the fourth generation from the time of Abraham), the Jews
would liberate Canaan. He convened his brethren, saying: “Behold. God your Almighty has set the land
before you. Go up. Take possession, as God your Almighty of your fathers has spoken…”
God, the Knower of all hidden things, however, calculated the appointed time differently than Moses.
The time for decisive battles had not yet arrived, the Creator knew. He had surveyed the Hebrew
encampment, where He beheld a bevy of backsliders. He gazed upon frenzied pagans, crazed to bow to
a tinny calf of gold.
The Creator saw more, and cringed more. He saw Jews who denied divine providence time after time
after time. God resolved that the generation of evildoers would not step foot into the Holy Land; their
children would.
This was the backdrop, according to those writers referred to above. And so, God issued a command:
“Send you men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan…” The idea was to forestall Jewish entry into
Israel, should the people fail the divine test.
Abravanel blasts that approach as preposterous and egregious. As such, it behooves readers to
categorically reject it. Sending a band of spies under those disingenuous guises, Abravanel continues,
qualifies as criminal entrapment. God forbid that He would intentionally set up people to fall, that He
would place a stumbling block before the blind. Unconscionable!
The truth is the opposite. In His boundless compassion, the Maker yearned to bequeath the land to the
Hebrews. If so, why would He place obstacles in their way, as those misguided writers suggested?
This concludes Abravanel’s preface on the topic of Moses and a band of spies, one that primarily
focuses on the nature of God. Clearly, it absolves the Creator of any ill-association with the botched spy
scandal.
To be sure, Abravanel’s entire essay will address the ignominious spy affair head on and flesh out the
guilty parties. But, for the time being, Bible students learn that the Almighty yearns to do good for the
Chosen People. He does not plot their demise by intrigue or any other cheap trick – ever.
