Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 3:8
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.
8. am come down ] from heaven. A frequent anthropomorphism in J: cf. Gen 11:5; Gen 11:7; also Exo 19:11; Exo 19:18; Exo 19:20; Exo 34:5.
a land flowing with milk and honey ] a frequent designation of Canaan in the Pent.: in J (here, v. 17, Exo 13:5, Exo 33:3, Num 13:27; Num 14:8; Num 16:13 [of Egypt], 14): the compiler of H (Lev 20:24); Deu 6:3; Deu 11:9; Deu 26:9; Deu 26:15; Deu 27:3; Deu 31:20; also Jos 5:6 (D 2 [103] ); Jer 11:5; Jer 32:22; Eze 20:6; Eze 20:15 . Milk is an essential article of diet in the East, especially among an agricultural people: ‘honey’ includes probably not only the honey of bees, but also what is now called by the corresponding name in Arabic dibs, i.e. grape juice, boiled down to a dark golden-brown syrup, intensely sweet, and much used in Palestine as a condiment to food (cf. DB. ii. 32 b ; EB. ii. 2015).
[103] Deuteronomic passages in Josh., Jud., Kings.
of the Canaanite, &c.] Such rhetorical lists of the nations of Canaan whom the Israelites were to dispossess are frequent, esp. in the Hexateuch, in JE and Deuteronomic writers; see (in JE) Gen 15:19-21 (where ten are named); Exo 3:17; Exo 13:5; Exo 23:23; Exo 23:28; Exo 33:2; Exo 34:11; Deu 7:1 (seven), Exo 20:17; Jos 3:10; Jos 9:1; Jos 11:3; Jos 12:8; Jos 24:11 (all D 2 [104] ); Jdg 3:5; 1Ki 9:20.
[104] Deuteronomic passages in Josh., Jud., Kings.
the Canaanite ] more particularly, it seems (see Num 13:29), the inhabitants of the sea-coast, and of the Jordan-valley: but the term is often used, esp. by J (e.g. Gen 12:6), in a wider sense, of the pre-Israelitish population of Canaan generally (see further the writer’s note on Deu 1:6, p. 11 f., and Canaan in EB.).
the Hittite ] The ‘Hittites,’ 1 [105] as inscriptions now abundantly shew, were a great nation, whose home was N. of Phoenicia and Lebanon, Kadesh on the Orontes being one of their principal cities (see Hittites in EB. and DB.; or, more briefly, the writer’s note on Gen 10:15; and cf. 1Ki 10:29; 1Ki 11:1, 2Ki 7:6): but these Hittites were never conquered by the Israelites, and so cannot be referred to here. The reference may be to an offshoot settled in the far N. of Canaan (Jdg 1:26; Jdg 3:3 [read Hittite for Hivite ]; Jos 11:3 [interchange, with LXX., Hittite and Hivite ]); but a belief appears gradually to have sprung up, though how far it is grounded on fact is difficult to say (see the writer’s Book of Genesis, pp. 228 30), that there were once Hittites in the more southerly hill-country of Canaan (Num 13:29 in JE), and even in Hebron (Genesis 23 [P]); and it is possible that this is the view expressed in these enumerations.
[105] See now most fully Garstang’s Land of the Hittites (1910).
the Amorite ] in the Tel el-Amarna letters ( c. 1400 b.c.), the ‘land of Amurri’ is mentioned in such a way as to shew that it was the name of a canton, or district, N. of Canaan, behind Phoenicia 2 [106] . By the time of the Hebrew occupation, the Amorites appear to have extended themselves southwards; and so, in the OT., the term is used in two connexions: (1) Num 21:13 and often, of the people ruled by Sihon on the E. and NE. of the Dead Sea; (2) as a general designation of the pre-Israelitish population of the country W. of Jordan (so esp. in E and Dt., as Gen 15:6, Deu 1:7, cf. Amo 2:9-10), in Num 13:29 said specially to have inhabited the hill-country.
[106] See Hogarth’s Authority and Archaeology, p. 73 f.; or the writer’s Genesis, p. 125. It appears now that the Amurri extended eastwards much further than was once supposed: see the writer’s Schweich Lectures (1909), p. 36.
the Perizzite ] named alone in Jos 17:15; by the side of the ‘Canaanite’ only, Gen 13:7; Gen 34:30, Jdg 1:4-5; and found also in many of the lists cited above. To judge from the first-cited passages, apparently a people of Central Palestine; but more is not definitely known of them. It is thought by some that the word is not a proper name at all, but that it is connected with perz, ‘country-folk,’ ‘peasantry’ (Deu 3:5 ‘besides the towns of the peasantry ’; 1Sa 6:18 ‘the villages of the peasantry ’), and denoted the village population of Canaan, the fellain (or ‘labourers’ of the soil), as they are now called.
the Hivite ] a petty people of Central Palestine: Gen 34:2 (in Shechem); Jos 9:7; Jos 11:19 (in Gibeon).
the Jebusite ] the tribe which occupied the stronghold of Jerusalem, and maintained themselves there until expelled by David (Jos 15:8; Jos 15:63, 2Sa 5:6-9).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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. Soon after their expulsion by Joshua, they seem to have recovered possession of part of Jerusalem, probably Mount Zion, and to have retained it until the time of David.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Exo 3:8
I am come down to deliver them.
The worlds sorrow and Christs redemption
1. Christ came down from heaven.
2. Christ came at the call of the worlds sorrow.
3. Christ came to achieve the worlds moral freedom.
4. Christ came to destroy the kingship of sin..
5. Christ came to lead men into happiness.
6. Christ came to awaken holy agencies for the spiritual welfare of the race. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Jehovah resents the oppression of the Church
1. Surely.
2. Speedily.
3. Continually.
4. Retributively. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
I am come down
God is said to descend.
1. In accommodation to a human form of speech.
2. To show judgment on the wicked (Gen 18:1-33.).
3. Perhaps to indicate the situation of Egypt, which was a low country.
4. To indicate some notable event about to follow. Babel. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
To bring them up out of that land
1. Of bad rulership.
2. Of wicked companionship.
3. Of hostile religious influences.
4. Of servile bondage.
5. There are many countries in the world where it is dangerous for Gods people to reside. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Unto a good land, and a large
1. Canaan was large compared with Goshen.
2. God exchanges the situations of His people for their good.
3. God does not intend His people to remain long the slaves of any earthly power.
4. The spiritual Israel will in eternity enter into the fulness of these words. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The Canaanites and the Hittites
A disinherited people:–
1. Disinherited by God, as the Supreme Disposer of all territory.
2. As under a special (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The Divine resolution
Here the absolute, free, unconditional grace of the God of Abraham, and the God of Abrahams seed, shines forth in all its native brightness, unhindered by the ifs and buts, the vows, resolutions, and conditions of mans legal spirit. God had come down to display Himself, in sovereign grace, to do the whole work of salvation, to accomplish His promise made to Abraham, and repeated to Isaac and Jacob. He had not come down to see if, indeed, the subjects of His promise were in such a condition as to merit His salvation. It was sufficient for Him that they needed it. He was not attracted by their excellencies or their virtues. It was not on the ground of aught that was good in them, either seen or foreseen, that He was about to visit them, for He knew what was in them. In one word, we have the true ground of His gracious acting set before us in the words, I am the God of Abraham, and I have seen the affliction of My people. These words reveal a great fundamental principle in the ways of God. It is on the ground of what He is, that He ever acts. i am, secures all for my people. Assuredly He was not going to leave His people amid the brick-kilns of Egypt, and under the lash of Pharaohs taskmasters. They were His people, and He would act toward them in a manner worthy of Himself. Nothing should hinder the public display of His relationship with those for whom His eternal purpose had secured the land of Canaan. He had come down to deliver them; and the combined power of earth and hell could not hold them in captivity one hour beyond His appointed time. He might and did use Egypt as a school, and Pharaoh as a schoolmaster; but when the needed work was accomplished, both the school and the schoolmaster were set aside, and His people were brought forth with a high hand and an outstretched arm. (C. H. Mackintosh.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. 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 Ex 1:7, they were straitened for room, might be well called a large land. See a fine description of this land De 8:7.
A land flowing with milk and honey] Excellent for pasturage, because abounding in the most wholesome herbage and flowers; and from the latter an abundance of wild honey was collected by the bees. Though cultivation is now almost entirely neglected in this land, because of the badness of the government and the scantiness of the inhabitants, yet it is still good for pasturage, and yields an abundance of honey. The terms used in the text to express the fertility of this land, are commonly used by ancient authors on similar subjects. It is a metaphor taken from a breast producing copious streams of milk. Homer calls Argos , the breast of the country, as affording streams of milk and honey, Il. ix., ver. 141. So Virgil: –
Prima tulit tellus, eadem vos ubere laeto
Accipiet. AEn., lib. iii., ver. 95.
“The land that first produced you shall receive
you again into its joyous bosom.”
The poets feign that Bacchus, the fable of whom they have taken from the history of Moses, produced rivers of milk and honey, of water and wine: –
,
‘ ,
. EURIP. Bacch., ., ver. 8.
“The land flows with milk; it flows also with wine; it flows also with the nectar of bees, (honey.)” This seems to be a mere poetical copy from the Pentateuch, where the sameness of the metaphor and the correspondence of the descriptions are obvious.
Place of the Canaanites, &c.] See Ge 15:18, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I am come down: this word notes Gods manifestation of himself and his favour, and giving help from heaven. See Gen 18:21.
It was
a good land and a large, not only comparatively to Goshen, where they now dwelt, and to the number of the Israelites at that time; but absolutely, if you take the Land of Promise according to its true, and first, and ancient bounds of it, as you have them described, Gen 15:18; Deu 1:7; 11:24, and not according to those narrow limits to which they were afterwards confined for their unbelief, sloth, cowardice, and impiety.
Flowing with milk and honey, i.e. abounding with the choicest fruits, both for necessity and for delight. The excellency and singular fruitfulness of.this land, howsoever denied or disputed by some ill-minded persons, is sufficiently evident,
1. From express testimony, not only of Moses, Deu 8:7-9, but also of the spies who were sent to view it, and, though prejudiced against it, yet acknowledged it, Num 13:27; and of the holy prophets that lived long in it, as David, Psa 106:24; Joe 2:3; and Ezekiel, who calls it the glory of all lands, Eze 20:15. Which if it had not been true, it is ridiculous to think that they durst have said and writ so, when the people with whom they contested, and thousands of other persons there and then living, were able to confute them. After them Josephus, and St. Hierom, and others since, who lived long in that land, have highly commended it. And whereas Strabo speaks of the barrenness of the soil about Jerusalem, that is true, but by himself it is limited to the compass of sixty furlongs from Jerusalem. And if at this day the land be now grown barren in a great measure, it is not strange, considering both the great neglect and sloth of the people as to the improvement of it, and the great wickedness of its inhabitants, for which God hath threatened to turn a fruitful land into barrenness, Psa 107:34.
These people are diversely numbered, there are ten sorts reckoned, Gen 15:19-21, and seven, Deu 7:1, and here but six, because some of them were either destroyed or driven out of their land by others; or did by choice and design remove to some other place, as many in those times did, though it be not mentioned in Scripture; or by cohabitation and marriage with some of the other people, did make a coalition, and were incorporated with them, and so their name was swallowed up in the other; or because the names of some of these people, as particularly the Canaanites and the Amorites, were used sometimes more strictly, and sometimes more largely, so as to comprehend under them the other people, as the Girgashites, &c., whence it comes to pass that all the rest go under the names of the Canaanites, Gen 13:7, and of the Amorites in some places of Scripture, as hath been showed.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,…. Which must be understood consistent with the omnipresence of God, who is everywhere, and strictly speaking cannot be said to remove from place to place, or to descend; but such a way of speaking is used, when he gives some eminent display of his power or goodness, as here in a wonderful manner he appeared in a burning bush, and manifested himself in a way of grace and kindness to his people, signifying that he would shortly save them: so Christ in our nature came down from heaven to earth, to save his spiritual Israel out of the hands of all their enemies:
and to bring them out of that land; the land of Egypt, where they were in bondage, and greatly oppressed:
unto a good land, and a large; the land of Canaan, which was not only a good land, but a large one in comparison of Goshen, where the Israelites were pent up and straitened for room through their great increase; and though it was but a small country in itself, and when compared with some others, being but one hundred and sixty miles from Dan to Beersheba, and but forty six from Joppa to Bethlehem, and but sixty from Joppa to Jordan, yet, for so small a country, it had a great deal of good land in it; for Hecataeus t an Heathen writer, says it had in it three hundred myriads of acres of the best and most fruitful land:
unto a land flowing with milk and honey; which is not to be restrained merely to the abundance of cattle fed here, and the plenty of milk they produced, or the number of bees that swarmed here, and the quantity of honey they made; for the land abounded with other good things, and excellent fruits, as corn, and wine, and oil, and with figs, pomegranates, palm trees, c. but this is a proverbial and hyperbolical expression, setting forth the great affluence of all sorts of good things in it, for the necessity and delight of human life:
unto the place of the Canaanites who are mentioned first, as being the general name for the inhabitants of the land, as Aben Ezra suggests, though they are often spoken of as a distinct nation or tribe from the rest, and a principal one, denominated from Canaan the son of Ham:
and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites: the Hittites and Amorites had their names from Heth and Emor, sons of Canaan; the Perizzites, Aben Ezra says, are the same with Sidon, who was the firstborn of Canaan: and the Hivites and Jebusites were the descendants also of sons of Canaan,
Ge 15:19, the Girgashites are not here mentioned, either because they were a lesser people than the rest, as Aben Ezra thinks; or their land was not a land flowing with milk and honey, as Abendana observes; or they were gone out of the land before Israel went into it, according to other Jewish writers, or immediately yielded to Joshua, without fighting against him.
t Apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 22.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8. And I am come down to deliver them. He now more clearly announces his intention not only to relieve their present calamity, but to fulfill the promise given to Abraham as to the possession of Canaan. He therefore marks the end of their deliverance, that they might enjoy the rest and inheritance promised to them. It is a common manner of speaking to say, God descends to us, when he actually puts forth his power and shews that he is near us; as much as to say, that the Israelites would experience plainly that his help was at hand. The “large” land seems to be brought in comparison with the straits in which they now were; for although the land of Goshen was fertile and convenient, still it scarcely afforded room enough for their increasing multitude; besides, there they were kept shut in like slaves in a house of bondage. Finally, he again assures them that he would deal graciously with them, because he had heard their cry, and was not ignorant of their sorrows, although he might have long delayed to avenge them.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) I am come down.By condescension to human infirmity, which conceives of all things under the limitations of time and space, God is spoken of as dwelling ordinarily in heaven, or the heaven of heavens, whence sometimes He comes down to manifest Himself to men. That this was not understood literally, even by the Jews, appears from such passages as 1Ki. 8:27; Psa. 137:7-9; Pro. 15:3, &c.
A good land and a large.The land promised to Abraham (Gen. 15:18) well deserves this description. Besides Philistia, and Palestine on both sides of the Jordan, it included almost the whole of Syria from Galilee on the south, to Amanus, Taurus, and the Euphrates on the north and north-east. This tract of country is 450 miles long, and from sixty to a hundred and twenty miles broad. Its area is not much less than 50,000 square miles. Although some parts are unproductive, it is, on the whole, a region of great fertility, quite capable of forming the seat of a powerful empire.
A land flowing with milk and honey.This expression, here used for the first time, was already, it is probable, a proverbial one, denoting generally, richness and fertility. (See Num. 13:27.)
The Canaanites. . . . See the comment on Gen. (Exo. 10:15-17; Exo. 13:7).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 3:8. A good land and a large, &c. The land of Canaan is here described as good and large, and abounding with plenty; flowing with milk and honey, a proverbial expression, denoting plenty; and, as such, frequently used, not only in the Scriptures, but also in prophane writers. So Euripides, speaking of a country, says, that it flows with milk and honey, and the nectar of bees. The fertility of Canaan is manifest from the number of inhabitants which it maintained, as well as from the attestation of various writers: nor can any objection to the Scripture-account arise from its present barrenness, which is owing to its want of inhabitants and cultivation; though there may also be at present a curse resting upon it. It is called, a large land, not only with respect to the narrow tract of Goshen, to which the children of Israel were now confined; but also, in reference to the whole of the territories, to which their future conquests should extend.
REFLECTIONS.1. God here begins to open his designs toward his people. He observes their sorrows and oppression, and hears their cry; and will not only deliver them from it, but bring them into the land promised, to their fathers, and of slaves maketh them princes. Thus shall Jesus not only bring us from the bondage of our corruptions, but raise us up to be kings on thrones of glory.
2. He sends Moses his ambassador to demand their release. The weak things in God’s hands are mighty. A shepherd brings Israel from Egypt: afterwards, a few despised fishermen lay the foundations of the Christian church, against which all the powers of earth, or malice of devils, never could, and never shall prevail.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 63:4 . And doth not the Lord repeat this perpetually to all his tried family? Is not Jesus actually come down to bring his people up to the heavenly Canaan? What doth he say! Pray read that precious promise: Joh 14:1-3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 3:8 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.
Ver. 8. I am come down. ] Humanitus dictum, as in Gen 11:7 ; Gen 18:21 . See Trapp on “ Gen 11:7 “ See Trapp on “ Gen 18:21 “
Milk and honey.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
deliver. Connect this with “serve” in Exo 3:12; and connect both with 1Th 1:9, 1Th 1:10.
good. Five-fold description of the land: good, large, milk, honey, place of the nations. See App-10. milk and honey. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Species). App-6.
Canaanites. Six nations named. The number of man (see App-10).
and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton (App-6).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I am: Gen 11:5, Gen 11:7, Gen 18:21, Gen 50:24, Psa 18:9-19, Psa 12:5, Psa 22:4, Psa 22:5, Psa 34:8, Psa 91:15, Isa 64:1, Joh 3:13, Joh 6:38
deliver: Exo 6:6-8, Exo 12:51, Gen 15:14, Gen 50:24
unto a good: Exo 3:17, Exo 13:5, Exo 33:2, Exo 33:3, Gen 13:14, Gen 13:15, Gen 15:18, Num 13:19, Num 13:27, Num 14:7, Num 14:8, Deu 1:7, Deu 1:25, Deu 8:7-9, Deu 11:9-24, Deu 26:9-15, Deu 27:3, Deu 28:11, Neh 9:22-25, Jer 2:7, Jer 11:5, Jer 32:22, Eze 20:6
Canaanites: Exo 22:23-31, Exo 34:11, Gen 15:18-21, Deu 7:1, Jos 9:1, Neh 9:8
Reciprocal: Gen 10:15 – Heth Gen 35:12 – the land Gen 46:4 – and I will Exo 2:25 – had respect Exo 12:25 – according Exo 19:11 – the Lord Lev 20:24 – But I Num 10:29 – for the Lord Num 13:18 – General Num 13:29 – the Hittites Num 16:14 – Moreover Deu 3:25 – the good land Deu 6:3 – in the land Deu 31:20 – floweth Jos 3:10 – drive out from Jos 5:6 – a land Jos 9:7 – Hivites Jos 12:8 – the Hittites Jos 21:43 – General Jos 23:14 – not one thing Jdg 2:1 – I made Jdg 3:5 – Canaanites Jdg 18:10 – where there 1Sa 14:25 – honey 2Sa 7:23 – went 2Sa 16:12 – the Lord 2Sa 22:28 – afflicted 2Ki 18:32 – like your own 1Ch 1:15 – Hivite 1Ch 17:21 – redeem Psa 107:13 – General Psa 119:153 – Consider Isa 36:17 – a land of corn Jer 2:20 – For of Eze 16:6 – and saw Eze 20:5 – and made Amo 2:9 – I the Act 7:34 – and am Act 17:6 – These
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 3:8. I am come down to deliver them When God doth something very extraordinary, he is said to come down to do it, as Isa 64:1. This deliverance was typical of our redemption by Christ, and in that the eternal Word did indeed come down from heaven to deliver us. A large land So it was, according to its true and ancient bounds, as they are described, (Gen 15:18,) and not according to those narrow limits, to which they were afterward confined for their unbelief and impiety. A land flowing with milk and honey A proverbial expression: abounding with the choicest fruits, both for necessity and delight.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3:8 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 {i} 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.
(i) Most plentiful of all things.