Lives of Scripture

Igal son of Joseph was chosen to represent the tribe of Issachar among the twelve men Moses sent from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land of Canaan (Numbers 13:7). The spies traveled the land for forty days, returning with a cluster of grapes so large it had to be carried on a pole, along with pomegranates and figs -- physical proof of the land's richness (13:23-27). Yet ten of the twelve, apparently including Igal, reported that the land's inhabitants were too strong to overcome, describing fortified cities and people "of great size" before whom they felt like grasshoppers (13:28-33). Their report spread fear through the whole camp; the people wept, rebelled against Moses and Aaron, and even talked of choosing a new leader to take them back to Egypt (14:1-4). Only Joshua and Caleb urged the people to trust God's promise instead (14:6-9). For this unbelief, the LORD declared that the entire generation twenty years old and up -- except Joshua and Caleb -- would die in the wilderness over the next forty years, never entering the promised land (14:26-35). Numbers adds a specific judgment on the ten who spread the fearful report: "the men who had brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the LORD" (14:36-37). Igal is named only in the roll call of spies, but that roll call ties him directly to this larger account of unbelief and its consequences.