Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were therein, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might put [them] to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with any man.
"The land is large ... God has given it into your hand"  (Judges 18:10).  The spies probably based this claim upon the words of "the Levite," but we are not at liberty to believe that his words were the truth, despite their turning out to be accurate in the events which followed.