And when you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people and the land is ample on both sides; and God has given it into your hands—a place where there is no lack of anything on earth (כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל־עָם בוֹטְחִים וְהָאָרֶץ רְחָבַת יָדַיִם כִּי־נְתָנָהּ אֱלֹהִים בְּיֶדְכֶם מָקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אֵין־שָׁם מַחְסוֹר דָּבָר בָּאָרֶץ). The spies describe the inhabitants as ``unsuspecting'' (בוֹטְחִים, trusting, unguarded) and the land as ``ample on both sides'' (רְחָבַת יָדַיִם, literally ``wide of hands''). Most striking is their claim: ``God has given it into your hands'' (כִּי־נְתָנָהּ אֱלֹהִים בְּיֶדְכֶם). This invocation of divine gift frames the conquest as divinely sanctioned, echoing the language of Joshua's conquest. Yet the Danites, like Joshua, are taking possession of land already occupied by existing peoples. The spies' claim that the land has been given by God and that there is ``no lack of anything'' (אֵין־שָׁם מַחְסוֹר דָּבָר) suggests a land of abundance and therefore worth claiming.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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