The Hebrew verb ragal (רָגַל) means to go about on foot, to spy out, or to slander. It derives from regel (foot/leg) and captures the idea of moving stealthily on foot for purposes of reconnaissance or gossip. The word is used for the scouts sent into Canaan and for those who spread slander.
The most famous usage of ragal is the sending of the twelve spies (meraggelim) into Canaan in Numbers 13. Their mission was to scout the land God had promised — but their faithless report led to forty years of wilderness wandering. The connection between spying and slandering is significant: the unfaithful spies spread a 'bad report' about the land, which constituted a kind of slander against God's promise. This dual meaning reveals a theological truth: faithless words about God's provision are as destructive as military betrayal. The New Testament warns similarly against those who go about spreading harmful reports (1 Timothy 5:13).