Many years before, in the desert of Sinai, Moses and Aaron the priest counted the Israelites. But all these people were dead. Not one of them was still alive,
because the Lord told them that they would all die in the desert. The only two men who were left alive were Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
“The Lord was very angry with the Israelites. So he made the people stay in the desert for 40 years. He made them stay there until all the people who had sinned against the Lord were dead.