v. 22 [i]They [/i] Who they? The 12 men sent by Moses to scout the land of Canaan. Who were they? They are listed at Numbers 13:4-15. Only the tribe of Levi is not represented. One might ask why? One answer is that the Levites received no share of the land. [i]and came[/i] Based on this translation (NIV), one might reasonably assume that it was the 12 scouts who came to Hebron. But the Hebrew has the verb in the masculine singular. It is better to read this as "he came." Once again, we ask, who? Who is this he that came to Hebron? Rashi says it was Caleb. How does he deduce this? [i]Caleb went there alone [hence the singular "he came"] to prostrate himself on the graves of the patriarchs [in prayer] that he not be enticed by his colleagues to be part of their counsel. Thus is says "and to him will I give the land that he trod upon" (Deuteronomy 1:36.) And it is written, "They gave Hebron to Caleb" (Judges 1:20)[/i] (Rashi's commentary on the Torah) v. 22 [i]Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.[/i] What is the point of adding this detail? Rashi says to show how superior the land of Israel is to that of Egypt. [i][T]here is no country in the world as superior as Egypt, as it says, "like the Lord's garden, like the land of Egypt" (Genesis 13:10). And Zoan is the best part of Egypt, for the residence of the kings is situated there, as it says "for his princes were in Zoan" (Isaiah 30:4). And there is no place in Israel rockier than Hebron, which is why it was set aside as a place for burial. And yet, Hebron was superior to [Egypt] sevenfold. (Sotah 34b)[/i] Rashi's commentary on the Torah. v 23 [i]branch... cluster of grapes... carried by two men [/i] The symbol for tourism in Israel is that of two men carrying a cluster of grapes on a pole. v 24 [i]Eschol[/i] Eschol means cluster v. 25 [i]40 days[/i] A significant number in the Bible. In the time of Noah, it rained for forty days and forty nights and a great flood covered the earth. Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days (twice!). Moses' life is divided into 3 spans of forty years each. Forty years as a prince of Egypt. 40 years tending the flock of his father in law Jethro in Midian. Forty years leading the children of Israel. Why was forty years the punishment for listening to the evil report and not taking the land? A year for each day they scouted the land. In the NT, Jesus was in the wilderness forty days and was tempted by Satan. v. 26 [i]The men went back[/i] Rashi notes that the Hebrew text says "they went and they came." Why say that they went? Verse 25 says that they returned. We know from reading ahead that the men came back with an evil report. Adding the words "they went" to "they came" shows that just as their return was with evil intent, so too was their departure. Rashi