In response to the spies' claim:
“However, the people who dwell in the land are strong,”
Caleb declared:
“We shall surely go up and inherit it.”
In other words, Caleb argued that with G‑d's help and miracles, the land could certainly be conquered.
To this, the spies added:
“And there we saw the Nephilim.”
Rashi explains that this was an additional argument beyond their earlier claim, because these were:
“Those who fell from heaven.”
Accordingly, their strength was of an entirely different order and could not be compared to ordinary human strength.
Rashi comments (13:33):
“And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of the giant from the Nephilim” —
“They were descendants of Shemhazai and Azael, who fell from heaven in the days of Enosh.”
This requires explanation.
In Parshas Bereishis, Rashi explains the term Nephilim as:
“They were called Nephilim because they fell and caused the world to fall.”
There he does not mention that they fell from heaven.
Why, then, does Rashi mention it here?
Explanation
The difficulty that Rashi is addressing is:
What new point were the spies adding after Caleb's declaration?
Earlier they had already said:
“The people who dwell in the land are strong.”
After Caleb responded:
“We shall surely go up and inherit it,”
why did they add:
“And there we saw the Nephilim”?
Rashi therefore explains that this was a new argument.
Caleb's statement implied that G‑d could perform miracles and enable the Jewish people to conquer even powerful nations.
The spies responded:
“They are descendants of those who fell from heaven.”
Their strength was therefore not merely extraordinary human strength; it was strength of an entirely different order, something beyond comparison.
This idea is hinted at by their very name.
Moreover, they pointed to the fact that these beings existed from the days of Enosh. At that time the world rebelled against G‑d, yet these fallen heavenly beings survived the Flood and endured.
The spies therefore argued that such opponents could not be overcome even through miraculous means.
The Deeper Interpretation
This explanation fits especially well with the inner interpretation of the spies' statement:
“It is a land that consumes its inhabitants.”
On a deeper level, they meant that physical involvement with the world would overwhelm and consume a person's spirituality.
As proof, they cited the Nephilim.
These were spiritual beings who descended from a lofty heavenly state with positive intentions, yet despite their spiritual greatness they fell and became corrupted by the physical world.
The spies therefore argued:
If even heavenly beings could descend and be overcome by material existence, how much more so would ordinary human beings be unable to withstand the spiritual dangers of entering the land and engaging in worldly life.
The Truth
The truth, however, is exactly the opposite.
As Joshua and Caleb declared:
“If the L‑rd desires us...”
and
“The L‑rd is with us.”
Since G‑d desires the Jewish people, He grants them the strength not only to withstand the material world but to transform it.
The purpose of entering the Land was not to escape physicality but to sanctify it.
Therefore, the Jewish people were given the power not to be intimidated by the world's material nature. On the contrary, they were empowered to transform the physical world into a dwelling place for G‑d in the lower realms (dirah b'tachtonim).