Exodus 3:8
in Exodus 3I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
KJV
And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
⋯
This verse in Exodus 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Moreover, the time, as well as all the circumstances of this miraculous appearance, were such as to give him an illustrious display of God's faithfulness to His promises. The period of Israel's journey and affliction in Egypt had been predicted (Ge 15:13), and it was during the last year of the term which had still to run that the Lord appeared in the burning bush.
This site's exposition
I have surely seen the affliction of my people
on Exodus 3:7-8
Three verbs answer the close of chapter 2, where God heard the groaning, remembered his covenant, looked upon the people and had respect unto them. Seen, heard and know stand here against taskmasters, cry and sorrows, so the rescue begins as an answer to something God has been listening to. I am come down repeats the movement of Genesis 11:5 at Babel, and the good land described in verse 8 is the land promised to Abram at Genesis 15:18 to 15:21, where a longer list of the same peoples is given.
This site's exposition
I have come down to rescue them
God says He has come down to rescue Israel from Egypt and bring them to a good and spacious land flowing with milk and honey. The phrase describes good pasture and plenty, and the list of six peoples shows that the land was already occupied. Matthew Henry reads the coming down as a type of Christ, the eternal Word who came down from heaven to deliver His people.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
I ask whether we should take the land flowing with milk and honey spiritually, since, according to the proper sense, this phrase does not describe the land that was being given to the people of Israel. Or is it a figure of speech that is used to praise the richness and sweetness of the land?
A commentator
Augustine of HippoEXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 106.20 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Indeed, unless that land which was styled the land that flowed with milk and honey signified something great, through which, as by a visible token, he was leading those who understood his wondrous works to invisible grace and the kingdom of heaven, they could not be blamed for scorning that land, whose temporal kingdom we also ought to esteem as nothing, that we may love that Jerusalem which is free, the mother of us all, which is in heaven, and truly to be desired.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This deliverance was typical of our redemption by Christ, in which the eternal Word did indeed come down from heaven to deliver us: it was his errand into the world.
And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And I am come down to deliver them - This is the very purpose for which I am now come down upon this mountain, and for which I manifest myself to thee. Large - land - Canaan, when compared with the small tract of Goshen, in which they were now situated, and where, we learn, from Exo 1:7, they were straitened for room, might be well called a large land. See a fine description of this land Deu 8:
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The natural richness of Palestine, the variety and excellence of its productions, are attested by sacred (compare Jer 32:22; Eze 20:6) and ancient writers, whose descriptions are strongly in contrast with those of later travelers. The expression “flowing with milk and honey” is used proverbially by Greek poets. The Canaanites ... - This is the first passage in this book where the enumeration, so often repeated, of the nations then in possession of Palestine, is given. Moses was to learn at once the extent of the promise, and the greatness of the enterprise. In Egypt, the forces, situation, and character of these nations were then well known. Aahmes I had invaded the south of Palestine in his pursuit of the Shasous; Tothmosis I had traversed the whole land on his campaign in Syria and Mesopotamia; representations of Canaanites, and of the Cheta, identified by most Egyptologers with the Hittites, are common on monuments of the 18th and 19th Dynasties, and give a strong impression of their civilization, riches, and especially of their knowledge of the arts of war. In this passage, the more general designations come first - Canaanites probably includes all the races; the Hittites, who had great numbers of chariots (892 were taken from them by Tothmosis III in one battle), occupied the plains; the Amorites were chiefly mountaineers, and, in Egyptian inscriptions, gave their name to the whole country; the name Perizzites probably denotes the dwellers in scattered villages, the half-nomad population; the Hivites, a comparatively unwarlike but influential people, held 4 cities in Palestine proper, but their main body dwelt in the northwestern district, from Hermon to Hamath (see Jos 11:3; Jdg 3:3); the Jebusites at that time appear to have occupied Jerusalem and the adjoining district. […]
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֵרֵ֞ד | vaered | and I have come down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| לְהַצִּיל֣וֹ׀ | lehatzilo | to deliver it | H5337 → | 212 times |
| מִיַּ֣ד | miyad | from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מִצְרַ֗יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וּֽלְהַעֲלֹתוֹ֮ | ulehaaloto | and to bring up it | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָאָ֣רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַהִוא֒ | hahiv' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶ֤רֶץ | ʾeretz | a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| טוֹבָה֙ | tovah | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וּרְחָבָ֔ה | urechavah | and spacious | H7342 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶ֛רֶץ | ʾeretz | a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| זָבַ֥ת | zavat | flowing of | H2100 → | 42 times |
| חָלָ֖ב | chalav | milk | H2461 → | 44 times |
| וּדְבָ֑שׁ | udevash | and honey | H1706 → | 54 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מְק֤וֹם | mekom | [the] place of | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ | hakenaani | the Canaanite[s] | H3669 → | 73 times |
| וְהַ֣חִתִּ֔י | vehachiti | and the Hittite[s] | H2850 → | 48 times |
| וְהָֽאֱמֹרִי֙ | vehaemori | and the Amorite[s] | H567 → | 87 times |
| וְהַפְּרִזִּ֔י | vehapperizi | and the Perizzite[s] | H6522 → | 23 times |
| וְהַחִוִּ֖י | vehachivi | and the Hivite[s] | H2340 → | 25 times |
| וְהַיְבוּסִֽי׃ | vehayvusi | and the Jebusite[s] | H2983 → | 41 times |
וָאֵרֵ֞דand I have come down
vaeredH3381 →381 times
לְהַצִּיל֣וֹ׀to deliver it
lehatziloH5337 →212 times
מִיַּ֣דfrom [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
מִצְרַ֗יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וּֽלְהַעֲלֹתוֹ֮and to bring up it
ulehaalotoH5927 →890 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָאָ֣רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הַהִוא֒<the> that
hahiv'H1931 →1879 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶ֤רֶץa land
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
טוֹבָה֙good
tovahH2896 →538 times
וּרְחָבָ֔הand spacious
urechavahH7342 →
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶ֛רֶץa land
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
זָבַ֥תflowing of
zavatH2100 →42 times
חָלָ֖בmilk
chalavH2461 →44 times
וּדְבָ֑שׁand honey
udevashH1706 →54 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מְק֤וֹם[the] place of
mekomH4725 →401 times
הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙the Canaanite[s]
hakenaaniH3669 →73 times
וְהַ֣חִתִּ֔יand the Hittite[s]
vehachitiH2850 →48 times
וְהָֽאֱמֹרִי֙and the Amorite[s]
vehaemoriH567 →87 times
וְהַפְּרִזִּ֔יand the Perizzite[s]
vehapperiziH6522 →23 times
וְהַחִוִּ֖יand the Hivite[s]
vehachiviH2340 →25 times
וְהַיְבוּסִֽי׃and the Jebusite[s]
vehayvusiH2983 →41 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
Exodus 13:5And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and…
it leads to
- Joshua 24:11
After this, you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I delivered them into your…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 12:25–26
When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as He promised, you are to keep this service.
- Joshua 24:11
Through
Genesis 50:24Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac,…
it leads to
- Exodus 3:16–17
Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you…
- Genesis 26:3
Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath…
- Genesis 35:12
The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
- Genesis 46:4
I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will surely bring you back. And Joseph’s own hands will close your eyes.”
- Genesis 28:13
And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the…
- Exodus 3:16–17
Through
Exodus 3:17And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
it leads to
- Genesis 15:13–21
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Genesis 15:13–21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON EXODUS 4; Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 106.20; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.