For the shevet of Ephraim, Hoshea ben Nun….For the shevet of Yosef, for the shevet of Menashe, Gadi ben Susi.[2]
One pasuk speaks of Ephraim’s shevet, without connecting it to Yosef. The other pasuk first speaks of the mega-shevet of Yosef (the father of both Ephraim and Menashe), before zooming in on shevet Menashe. Why? Additionally, Menashe always precedes Menashe. Why was Ephraim mentioned here before Menashe?
Rashbam’s commentary might provide the answer. In the phrase “every one a nasi among them,”[3] most render nasi as prince, or leader. They consider the twelve spies the leaders of their respective shevatim. Not so, Rashbam. He believes the word is related to “lifting up” their hearts to undertake a task that required strength and courage. Candidates all volunteered where others were reluctant. From that pool, one was selected from each tribe.
Expanding upon this, we can understand what happened. Menashe should have contributed one spy, on behalf of the entire mega-tribe of Yosef. But Yehoshua had volunteered, and somehow made the cut. That created a dilemma for Gadi ben Susi. He could have allowed Yehoshua to do the job, solo. But he thought that would be insulting to the idea of a shevet Yosef – in which Menashe was always put ahead of Ephraim. Standing up for the honor of Yosef, Gadi ben Susi threw his name out for consideration. In fact, he also was selected. In the end, both half-shevatim of Menashe and Ephraim were represented by a delegate.
Targum Yonoson[4] writes that when Moshe saw the humility of Hoshea, as he was originally called, he changed his name to Yehoshua, with an accompanying prayer that Hashem should save him from the designs of the meraglim. Ever since that time, people have asked why Moshe did not do the same for Calev.
As Shmuel anointed Shaul king, he told a very shy, humble, and retiring Shaul that he would soon encounter a group of prophets, and a new spirit would descend upon him, allowing him to prophesy along with them, and turning him into “a different person.”[5]
This was not a one-off, but a description of what must happen to anyone who takes on a leadership role in the community. A leader must believe in himself. He must exude confidence and strength. (For this reason, Moshe, the quintessential anav, resisted his appointment over the nation for a full week, before he was persuaded by Hashem.)
This is what the Targum means. When Moshe contemplated Yehoshua’s humility, he worried about him. Moshe already had doubts about how this episode was going to end. Anticipating trouble, he was concerned that Yehoshua did not possess enough of this confidence to resist any possible nefarious plotting on the part of the other spies. He feared that Yehoshua – alone among the other contenders – volunteered because he saw a job that needed to get done (acting as an anchor on the rest of the group), but not because he had the brashness of an effective leader. Therefore, Moshe davened that Yehoshua should come to possess the personality strengths that would allow him to resist any plots hatched by the others.
Calev, on the other hand, did not need this boost. He already possessed such a leadership personality!
- Adapted from Divrei Shaul, by Rav Yosef Shaul Nathanson, the Sho’el U-Meshiv ↑
- Bamidbar 13:8,11 ↑
- Bamidbar 13:2 ↑
- Bamidbar 13:16 ↑
- Shmuel1 10:6 ↑