במדבר, פרק י״ג, פסוק ל״ג

The scouting mission into Canaan culminates in a terrifying account of the land's inhabitants, relying on intense exaggeration to emphasize the overwhelming physical and psychological divide between the Israelites and the local population.

The report speaks of legendary giants. The primary approach among commentators links these figures to the ancient giants known from the era before the Flood, descendants of fallen angels. Their very mention is designed to strike terror, as their survival through history stands as a testament to their immense strength and their capacity to rebel against God [רש״י, שפתי כהן, חומש קה״ת, רש ר הירש]. Other perspectives suggest their title derives from the effect they have on observers. Anyone who sees them is left in utter astonishment, or is gripped by the fear that these towering figures might physically fall upon them due to their sheer height [דעת זקנים, בכור שור, חזקוני]. It is noted that the spies deliberately escalate their rhetoric to induce panic. Earlier, they simply referred to the inhabitants as children of a giant, but they quickly amplify their description to invoke these legendary beings [ביאור יש״ר, שפתי כהן].

The lineage of these giants is described as a mixture, with their fathers belonging to a family of giants and their mothers descending from these legendary fallen beings [ספורנו]. The specific name of these giants is said to reflect their staggering height; they are so tall that their necks seem to pierce the sky, appearing to wear the sun itself as a necklace [רש״י, חזקוני, מזרחי, גור אריה]. Alternatively, some suggest they were foreign mercenaries, rather than native inhabitants, fathered by a specific man known for his giant stature [העמק דבר].

Facing such monstrous figures, the spies describe feeling like mere grasshoppers. This poetic imagery illustrates the profound sense of lowliness and insignificance a normal person feels when standing beside a giant [רשב״ם, ביאור יש״ר, בכור שור]. However, this comparison goes beyond a physical size difference. It reflects a complete psychological collapse and a failure of courage, signaling an absolute loss of faith in their ability to win a war [העמק דבר]. The sweeping nature of their comparison also implies that even the ordinary inhabitants of Canaan were of massive proportions, as the spies felt like insects compared to the entire population [אור החיים].

The spies do not merely state their own insecurities; they claim the giants viewed them the exact same way. This raises the question of how the spies could possibly know what the giants were thinking. Commentators explain that God had intentionally distracted the Canaanites by occupying them with mourning and burying their dead, ensuring the spies would not be harmed. Gripped by fear, the spies hid in the branches of trees, where they overheard the giants remarking to one another that they saw men looking like ants in the trees [תורה תמימה, מזרחי]. Including this detail proves that the spies' terror was not just a subjective illusion, but an objective reality reflecting the locals' complete disdain [אם למקרא].

The discrepancy between the spies feeling like grasshoppers and the giants calling them ants is explained as a matter of optical perspective. When a person stands on the ground looking up at a towering giant, they feel small like a grasshopper. But from the giant's extreme vantage point looking down, the person appears even tinier, like a mere ant [שפתי חכמים, ברטנורא, חתם סופר, דברי דוד]. A different approach suggests that the spies were viewed as something even smaller. Rather than simply sharing the same perspective, the giants actually considered them as insignificant as lice [מלבי״ם, נתינה לגר]. Ultimately, this profound insignificance is exactly what saved the spies' lives. Because the giants viewed them as such minuscule, worthless creatures, they simply despised them and never even bothered to attack [ספורנו].