¹⁷ When Moses sent them to explore Canaan,^(A) he said, “Go up through the Negev^(B) and on into the hill country.^{(C) 18} See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹ What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? ²⁰ How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.^(D)” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)^(E)

²¹ So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin^(F) as far as Rehob,^(G) toward Lebo Hamath.^{(H) 22} They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron,^(I) where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai,^(J) the descendants of Anak,^(K) lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)^{(L) 23} When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,^[a](M) they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates^(N) and figs.^{(O) 24} That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. ²⁵ At the end of forty days^(P) they returned from exploring the land.^(Q)