Daas Torah brought about the desire to kill Yeshoshua and Calev

Rav Zilberstein (Aleinu LeShebeach - Shelach) notes that when a person sins it provides justification for further sins. As the result of the Jews questioning the wisdom of going into Israel – against the wishes of G-d – it set the stage for further deterioration. When the spies came back with their report which included the conclusion that they would not be able to succeed in conquering Israel - the people collectively became very upset. This was to the degree that they wanted to kill Yehoshua and Kalev who were insisting that it was a good land and that they could succeed. Rav Zilberstein asks that while it is understandable why they were upset with the report – but why did they want kill the spies who had asserted that they could in fact conquer the land? Furthermore he notes that the people said that,  We should appoint a king and go back to Egypt." What was the impetus for that plan?

He answers that Rashi (Bamidbar 14:1) says that aida is referring to the Sanhedrin. Rav Zilberstein explains that after the negative reaction to the report of the spies – the people became very upset and did not know what to do. Therefore they wanted to know what Daas Torah was in this matter and they went to the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin poskened that since going into Israel could only be accomplished through miracles and the people at this point were not deserving of miracles – going into Israel would be suicidal. In other words if they entered Israel they would be killed and the women and children taken captive. The people drew the logical conclusion that rather than die in in a futile attempt to conquer Israel they should appoint a king and return to Egypt. When the people saw that Yeshoshua and Calev were still insisting that they continue into Israel – and were going against Daas Torah – they concluded that they were rodefim and they need to be killed to save their own lives. The people would have in fact killed them except for the intervention of G-d.