Deuteronomy 8:9
in Deuteronomy 8a land where you will eat food without scarcity, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and whose hills are ready to be mined for copper.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig copper.
KJV
A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA land whose stones are iron - Not only meaning that there were iron mines throughout the land, but that the loose stones were strongly impregnated with iron, ores of this metal (the most useful of all the products of the mineral kingdom) being every where in great plenty. Out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass - As there is no such thing in nature as a brass mine, the word נחשת nechosheth should be translated copper; of which, by the addition of the lapis calaminaris, brass is made. See on Exo 25:3 (note).
This site's exposition
A land of wheat, and barley
on Deuteronomy 8:8-9
Wheat, barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, olive oil and honey are counted in later Jewish practice as the seven species of the land, and the Mishnah tractate Bikkurim, compiled about AD 200, limits the firstfruits of Deuteronomy 26 to them. Verse 9 turns from food to metal, and the Hebrew word rendered brass is copper, brass being an alloy. Adam Clarke makes that correction on this verse, and the copper workings at Timna and Feinan in the Arabah are what the region is known for.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Whose stones are iron - Where are mines of iron in a manner as plentiful as stones, and upon which travelers must tread, as in other parts they do upon stones.
A land wherein thou shall eat bread without scarceness,....
(3.) To show what a figure it was of good things to come. Whatever others saw, it is probable that Moses in it saw a type of the better country: The gospel church is the New-Testament Canaan, watered with the Spirit in his gifts and graces, planted with the trees of righteousness, bearing the fruits of righteousness.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
a land whose stones are iron--The abundance of this metal in Palestine, especially among the mountains of Lebanon, those of Kesraoun, and elsewhere, is attested not only by JOSEPHUS, but by Volney, Buckingham, and other travellers. brass--not the alloy brass, but the ore of copper.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶ֗רֶץ | ʾeretz | a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְמִסְכֵּנֻת֙ | vemiskenut | in scarcity | H4544 → | |
| תֹּֽאכַל־ | tokhal- | you will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| בָּ֣הּ | bah | in <the> it | ||
| לֶ֔חֶם | lechem | food | H3899 → | 298 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֶחְסַ֥ר | techsar | you will lack | H2637 → | 23 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | anything | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בָּ֑הּ | bah | in <the> it | ||
| אֶ֚רֶץ | ʾeretz | a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲבָנֶ֣יהָ | ʾavaneiha | stones its | H68 → | 273 times |
| בַרְזֶ֔ל | varzel | [are] iron | H1270 → | 76 times |
| וּמֵהֲרָרֶ֖יהָ | umeharareiha | and from hills its | H2042 → | |
| תַּחְצֹ֥ב | tachtzo | you will dig | H2672 → | 25 times |
| נְחֹֽשֶׁת׃ | nechoshet | copper | H5178 → | 140 times |
אֶ֗רֶץa land
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בְמִסְכֵּנֻת֙in scarcity
vemiskenutH4544 →
תֹּֽאכַל־you will eat
tokhal-H398 →810 times
בָּ֣הּin <the> it
bah
לֶ֔חֶםfood
lechemH3899 →298 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֶחְסַ֥רyou will lack
techsarH2637 →23 times
כֹּ֖לanything
kolH3605 →5413 times
בָּ֑הּin <the> it
bah
אֶ֚רֶץa land
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֲבָנֶ֣יהָstones its
ʾavaneihaH68 →273 times
בַרְזֶ֔ל[are] iron
varzelH1270 →76 times
וּמֵהֲרָרֶ֖יהָand from hills its
umeharareihaH2042 →
תַּחְצֹ֥בyou will dig
tachtzoH2672 →25 times
נְחֹֽשֶׁת׃copper
nechoshetH5178 →140 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 33:25May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze, and may your strength match your days.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
- Colossians 1:11
being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully
- Psalms 138:3
On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.
- Isaiah 41:10
Through
Joshua 22:8saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth, with immense herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very many clothes. Divide with your brothers the spoil of your enemies.”
it leads to
- Numbers 31:27
Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to battle and the rest of the congregation.
- Deuteronomy 8:17–18
You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
- Numbers 31:27
Through
1 Chronicles 22:14Now behold, I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the LORD—100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron too great to be weighed. I have also…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 22:3
David provided a large quantity of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, together with more bronze than could be weighed
- 1 Chronicles 22:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.