Numbers 13:27-28

13:27 They told Moses, ¹  “We went to the land where you sent us. ²  It is indeed flowing with milk and honey, ³  and this is its fruit. 13:28 But ⁴  the inhabitants ⁵  are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.

Deuteronomy 3:5

3:5 All of these cities were fortified by high walls, gates, and locking bars; ⁶  in addition there were a great many open villages. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 6:10-12

Exhortation to Worship the Lord Exclusively

6:10 Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you – a land with large, fine cities you did not build, 6:11 houses filled with choice things you did not accumulate, hewn out cisterns you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant – and you eat your fill, 6:12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery. ⁸ 

Deuteronomy 9:1-3

Theological Justification of the Conquest

9:1 Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan so you can dispossess the nations there, people greater and stronger than you who live in large cities with extremely high fortifications. ⁹  9:2 They include the Anakites, ¹⁰  a numerous ¹¹  and tall people whom you know about and of whom it is said, “Who is able to resist the Anakites?” 9:3 Understand today that the Lord your God who goes before you is a devouring fire; he will defeat and subdue them before you. You will dispossess and destroy them quickly just as he ¹²  has told you.

¹ tn Heb “told him and said.” The referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The relative clause modifies “the land.” It is constructed with the relative and the verb: “where you sent us.”

³ sn This is the common expression for the material abundance of the land (see further, F. C. Fensham, “An Ancient Tradition of the Fertility of Palestine,” PEQ 98 [1966]: 166-67).

⁴ tn The word (אֶפֶס, ’efes) forms a very strong adversative. The land was indeed rich and fruitful, but….”

⁵ tn Heb “the people who are living in the land.”

⁶ tn Or “high walls and barred gates” (NLT); Heb “high walls, gates, and bars.” Since “bars” could be understood to mean “saloons,” the qualifying adjective “locking” has been supplied in the translation.

⁷ tn The Hebrew term פְּרָזִי (pÿraziy) refers to rural areas, at the most “unwalled villages” (KJV, NASB “unwalled towns”).

⁸ tn Heb “out of the house of slavery” (so NASB, NRSV).

⁹ tn Heb “fortified to the heavens” (so NRSV); NLT “cities with walls that reach to the sky.” This is hyperbole.

¹⁰ sn Anakites. See note on this term in Deut 1:28.

¹¹ tn Heb “great and tall.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “strong,” NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT).

¹² tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style to avoid redundancy.