They told him, and said, “We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
Parallel Translations
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They told him, and said, “We came to the land where you sent us. Surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
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And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
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And they told him, and said: 'We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Numbers 13:27 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 3:8 I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
- Exodus 3:17 I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
- Exodus 13:5 It shall be, when Yahweh brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month.
- Exodus 33:3 Go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way.”
- Deuteronomy 1:25-33 They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, “It is a good land which Yahweh our God gives to us.” Yet you wouldn’t go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God. You murmured in your tents, and said, “Because Yahweh hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to the sky. Moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there!’ ” Then I said to you, “Don’t be terrified. Don’t be afraid of them. Yahweh your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you have seen how that Yahweh your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.” Yet in this thing you didn’t believe Yahweh your God, who went before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.
- Deuteronomy 26:9 and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
- Deuteronomy 31:20 For when I have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant.
- Numbers 14:8 If Yahweh delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us: a land which flows with milk and honey.
- Deuteronomy 6:3 Hear therefore, Israel, and observe to do it, that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised to you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
- Deuteronomy 11:9 and that you may prolong your days in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey.
- Deuteronomy 26:11-15 You shall rejoice in all the good which Yahweh your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is among you. When you have finished tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates and be filled. You shall say before Yahweh your God, “I have put away the holy things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandment which you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor given of it for the dead. I have listened to Yahweh my God’s voice. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
- Deuteronomy 27:3 You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have passed over, that you may go in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you.
- Leviticus 20:24 But I have said to you, “You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am Yahweh your God, who has separated you from the peoples.
- Joshua 5:6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness until all the nation, even the men of war who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they didn’t listen to Yahweh’s voice. Yahweh swore to them that he wouldn’t let them see the land which Yahweh swore to their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
- Jeremiah 11:5 that I may establish the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is today.” Then I answered, and said, “Amen, Yahweh.”
- Jeremiah 32:22 and gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.
- Ezekiel 20:6 in that day I swore to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.
- Ezekiel 20:15 Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Called also Kadesh Barnea.
Called also Kadesh Barnea.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 13:27 And they told him, and said, We…
Num 13:27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this [is] the fruit of it.
Ver. 27. And this is the fruit of it.] Plutarch {a} tells of the Gauls, that after they had once a taste of the sweet wine of the grapes that grew in Italy, they inquired in what country such sweet wine was: and after they had understood where such grapes grew, they would never be at rest, till they had got that country. Sextus Rufus, writing of Cyprus, saith, Cyprus famosa divitiis, paupertatem populi Rom. ut occuparetur, solicitavit, Cyprus by her wealth tempted the Romans to seize it into their hands. The pearls usually cast out with the flood, and gathered with the ebb, drew Caesar’s affection for the conquest of Britain, as Suetonius {b} saith: God hath given us here a grape of the heavenly Canaan, to edge our desires.
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{a} In Vita Camilli.
{b} In Vita Caesar.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They told him in the audience of the people,…
They told him in the audience of the people, as appears from Num 13:30. They craftily begin their relation with commendations, that their following slanders might be more easily believed.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And there we saw the giants,.... Not throughout the…
And there we saw the giants,.... Not throughout the land, and yet it is so expressed, and in such connection with what goes before, that it might be so understood, and as they might choose it should; that as there were men everywhere of an uncommon size, and were generally so, there were some larger than they in all places, of a prodigious size, of a gigantic stature; and yet this was only in Hebron where they saw them:
the sons of Anak; whose names are given, Num 13:22; and there were but three of them:
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which came of the giants; they, were of the race of giants; for not only Anak their father, but Arba their grandfather was one; Jos 14:15,
and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers; little diminutive creatures in comparison of them; an hyperbolical exaggeration of the greatness of the giants, and of their own littleness:
and so we were in their sight; but this they could not be so certain of, and could only make conjectures by their neglect or supercilious treatment of them. Jarchi makes them to speak of them more diminutively still, as that they heard those giants saying one to another,"there are ants in the vineyards like men.''
Next: Numbers Chapter 14
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain They told him - In the audience of the…
They told him - In the audience of the people.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 27. We came unto the land, &c.] It…
Verse 27. We came unto the land, &c.] It is astonishing that men so dastardly as these should have had courage enough to risk their persons in searching the land. But probably though destitute of valour they had a sufficiency of cunning, and this carried them through. The report they brought was exceedingly discouraging, and naturally tended to produce the effect mentioned in the next chapter. The conduct of Joshua and Caleb was alone magnanimous, and worthy of the cause in which they were embarked.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 13:27-29. They told him — In the audience…
Num 13:27-29. They told him — In the audience of the people. The Amalekites in the south — Where we are to enter the land; and they who were so fierce against us that they came into the wilderness to fight with us, will, without doubt, oppose us when we come close by their land, the rather, to revenge themselves for their former loss. Therefore they mention them, though they were not Canaanites. In the mountains — In the mountainous country, in the south-east part of the land, so that you cannot enter there without great difficulty, both because of the noted strength and valour of those people, and because of the advantage they have from the mountains. By the sea — Not the mid-land sea, which is commonly understood by that expression, but the Salt or Dead sea; as appears, 1st, Because it is that sea which is next to Jordan; 2d, Because the Canaanites dwelt principally in those parts, and not near the mid-land sea. So these guard the entrance on the east side, as the others do on the south.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Cades. The desert of Pharan, or of Cades, is…
Cades. The desert of Pharan, or of Cades, is the same. (Haydock) --- The town is sometimes called Cades-barne, or Recem, (Chaldean) which is Petra, the capital of the stony Arabia, and lies rather nearer to the Dead Sea than to the Mediterranean. It was on the high road from the Red Sea to Hebron. In one part of the desert of Cades, the people murmured for want of water, chap. xx. 1. But there was plenty near the city. Moses continued here a long time after the return of the spies, Deuteronomy i. 19, 46. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain they told him, and said, We came unto the…
they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey--The report was given publicly in the audience of the people, and it was artfully arranged to begin their narrative with commendations of the natural fertility of the country in order that their subsequent slanders might the more readily receive credit.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 27. Milk and honey — See Num_14:8, note. Thus…
27. Milk and honey — See Num_14:8, note. Thus far the report of the twelve is unanimous; they all commend the richness and fruitfulness of the soil. It is a common way with calumniators to begin by saying something good of the person or plan they wish to injure and to end by speaking evil of him or that they had first commended.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain It floweth with milk and honey. According to the…
It floweth with milk and honey. According to the promise of God in his first message of deliverance to the people. (see on Exo_3:8)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain It floweth with milk and honey.
Num_13:27
It floweth with milk and honey.
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A land flowing with milk and honey
The idea suggested is, that the true disciples of the Lord Jesus are expected to show to the world some illustration of the nature of the heavenly country to which they are journeying. In a sense they have been there, and have come back. But in what sense?
1. The idea with many persons is, that the future condition of man is so completely different from this, that it is out of the question to attempt to form a conception of it. Now, it is true, St. Paul tells us, that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But it is also true, as the apostle goes on to say, that God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. Some people, then, are in a position to understand what the heavenly kingdom is like. They have true ideas about it--foretastes. In fact, heaven is really the expansion of a life begun here below. He that hath the Son hath life.
2. What, then, has the true disciple to show as specimens of the produce of this unseen and unknown country? Briefly, the character of Christ reproduced in him, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is faintly, imperfectly reproduced; still it is reproduced (see 2Co_1:21, Hath Christed us). There is the strength which overcometh the world, the peace which passeth understanding, the blessedness of communion with God, the soul-thirst for God ever renewed and ever satisfied.
3. It is by the presentation of these fruits of the land that souls are won. No doubt there are some persons in the world to whom Christ and everything belonging to Christ, are only repulsive; and these will scrutinise the disciple with an unfriendly eye, and rejoice if ever they find, or fancy they find, any inconsistency in his conduct. But there are also many others of a different temper. They are halting between two opinions. They say, not of course in words, but by their feelings and manner, Be Christ to us; let us see in you and through you what the Divine Master is, and how He will treat us if we venture to apply to Him--or, to express it differently, Show us the fruits of the heavenly land, of which you think so much and speak so much. You are amongst us as a citizen of the heavenly city (Php_3:20). Enable us to gather from your conduct what are the characteristics of that noble land, of that bright and glorious companionship.
4. And lastly, what is the practical conclusion to be drawn from the whole subject thus discussed? Surely it is this--that we, who profess to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, should be careful to recognise the responsibility laid upon us to give a good report, like Caleb and Joshua, and not a bad report, like the ten other spies, of the unseen land. We shall give a bad report if our lives are not attractive, and are not consistent. We shall give a good report if our characters glow, even feebly, with the inner light of the life of Christ; and if, by deed as well as by word, we cry, The conflict may be a formidable one, but it is not too formidable; and if we trust as we should do, and may do, that we shall be more than conquerors through Him that loved us. (G. Calthrop, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 It certainly flows with milk and honey
It certainly flows with milk and honey
"Milk and honey certainly flow there." They spoke of the land being good for animals and plants as if the milk and honey from those animals and plants were flowing through the land. AT: "It is certainly excellent for raising livestock and growing crops" or "It is certainly very fertile land" (See: Metaphor and Metonymy)
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milk
Since milk comes from cows and goats, it represents livestock and the food produced from the livestock. AT: "food from livestock" (See: Metonymy)
honey
Since honey is produced from flowers, it represents crops and the food produced from the crops. AT: "food from crops" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
honey
stronghold
descend
Amalek
Negev
Hittite
Jebus
Amorite
Canaan
the sea
Jordan River
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 13:27 The Promised Land is often described as a…
13:27 The Promised Land is often described as a land flowing with milk and honey. Milk and dairy products constituted a major part of the diet in biblical times, and “milk” is used in figurative language for abundance (see Deut 32:14; Isa 55:1; Joel 3:18). Honey provided sweetness (see Pss 19:10; 119:103; Ezek 3:3; Rev 10:9-10). The phrase thus refers to a highly desirable destination, a land with an abundance of food and resources (cp. Num 16:13-14; see also Exod 3:8; Deut 6:3; 26:15; Jer 11:4-5; Ezek 20:6). The New Testament emphasizes the spiritual nature of God’s promises, pointing to a promised inheritance in heaven (see Rom 9:6-8; Gal 6:14-16; Rev 21:1-2).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.