=Evidence That the Hebrews Aimed to Enter Canaan From the South.= In the scanty and somewhat confused biblical traditions regarding the life of the Hebrews in the wilderness there are clear indications that at first their intention was to enter Canaan from the south. Their camp at Kadesh, in the South Country, was doubtless chosen as a base from which to advance into Palestine, for it was near one of the main highways which led into the land from the south. Their battle with the Amalekites, recorded in Exodus 17:8-16, is further evidence that their ultimate goal was Canaan, for the Amalekites were Bedouin tribes living in the wilderness on the southern borders of Palestine. According to the isolated passage, found in Numbers 21:1 and evidently taken from a very early source, certain Hebrew clans at least were found fighting with the Canaanites, who dwelt in the city of Arad, about nineteen miles south of Hebron. They were defeated, however, some were taken captive, and probably the rest were driven back into the wilderness. The story of the spies in Numbers 13 and 14 is, on the whole, the clearest proof of the ambitions of the Hebrews. From Kadesh a picked group of men were sent along the great highway past Rehoboth and Beersheba to Hebron and southern Canaan to investigate conditions, with a view to conquest. =Reasons Why They Did Not Succeed.= The report of the spies makes it clear why the Hebrews, as a whole, did not enter Canaan from the south. Their statements are in perfect accord with the conditions revealed by contemporary Egyptian inscriptions and the results of recent excavations. Already the territory of southern Canaan was fully occupied. The larger cities were surrounded by strong walls and their inhabitants were in possession of the most advanced equipment for military defence known to that age. These defences were practically impregnable against the attack of nomadic tribes. Furthermore, the natural line of approach for the invasion of Canaan was not through the South Country. Its barren wastes did not supply a sufficient base from which to make an attack. The conquest of a land like Canaan by nomads required a comparatively fertile intermediate territory, where the besiegers might settle and derive the supplies necessary for a siege that might last many years. The reasons, therefore, why a majority of the tribes abandoned their original purpose to enter Canaan from the south and chose the more favorable route through the east-Jordan land are obvious and valid.