Numbers 14:7-9

14:7 They said to the whole community of the Israelites, “The land we passed through to investigate is an exceedingly ¹  good land. 14:8 If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us – a land that is flowing with milk and honey. ²  14:9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. ³  Their protection ⁴  has turned aside from them, but the Lord is with us. Do not fear them!”

¹ tn The repetition of the adverb מְאֹד (mÿ’od) is used to express this: “very, very [good].”

² tn The subjective genitives “milk and honey” are symbols of the wealth of the land, second only to bread. Milk was a sign of such abundance (Gen 49:12; Isa 7:21,22). Because of the climate the milk would thicken quickly and become curds, eaten with bread or turned into butter. The honey mentioned here is the wild honey (see Deut 32:13; Judg 14:8-9). It signified sweetness, or the finer things of life (Ezek 3:3).

³ sn The expression must indicate that they could destroy the enemies as easily as they could eat bread.

⁴ tn Heb “their shade.” The figure compares the shade from the sun with the protection from the enemy. It is also possible that the text is alluding to their deities here.