Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 13:2

"Send thou men, that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a prince among them." — Numbers 13:2 (ASV)

Every one a ruler among them.— Or, a prince among them, as in Numbers 1:16. A comparison of the names which follow with those which are given in Numbers 1:5-15 will show that the persons selected were not the tribal princes who are mentioned in connection with the census. The tribe of Levi, as in the former case, is not represented, as the Levites were to have no inheritance in the land, and the number of twelve, as in Numbers 1:0, is made up by the division of the tribe of Joseph into the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.