Exodus 3:8

Hebrew Bible

6 He added, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9 And now indeed the cry of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So now go, and I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

Numbers 16:13

Hebrew Bible

11 Therefore you and all your company have assembled together against the Lord! And Aaron—what is he that you murmur against him?” 12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of the land that flows with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now do you want to make yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can blind these men? We will not come up.” 15 Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord, “Have no respect for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!”

 Notes and References

"... The continuity between the promise of land to the patriarchs and the exodus from Egypt is often emphasized (Exodus 3:8; 6:4, 8; 12:24-25; Deuteronomy 1:8, 21; 31:7, 21). The differences between the new land and the land of Egypt are described. Egypt is a land that is irrigated “by foot” (perhaps a reference to the way that water channels were regulated using small mud dams built up or breached by the feet of the farmer). However, the land of Canaan is a “land of hills and valleys, watered by rain from the sky, a land that the LORD your God looks after” (Deuteronomy 11:10-12). Israel’s need to rely on God, whether in the wilderness or in the Promised Land is highlighted by this contrast. One of the main crises that threatens possession of the land is the Israelites’ refusal to enter Canaan following the report of the spies. Returning to their camp with a huge cluster of grapes, the spies dramatically confirm that the depiction “flowing with milk and honey” aptly describes the land of Canaan (Numbers 13:27), but most also argue that it will be impossible for Israel to conquer the country (Numbers 13:28-33). They fail to give sufficient credence to the truth that this land is being given to them by God and instead they focus on their inability to conquer the country. Further ingratitude toward God is evidenced in the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Ironically, they accuse Moses of bringing them “up out of a land flowing with milk and honey” into a wilderness (Numbers 16:13). Their punishment is apt: the earth/land swallows them (Numbers 16:31-33) ..."

Alexander, T. Desmond, and David W. Baker Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (p. 489) InterVarsity Press, 2003

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