Bible Strands
Numbers 13:23
When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The twelve scouts reach the Valley of Eshcol during their reconnaissance of Canaan after traveling through the Negev and Hebron.
The words — The text specifies זְמוֹרָה (ze.mo.rah, "a branch") and אֶשְׁכּוֹל ('esh.khol, "a cluster"), identifying the single grape cluster cut from that location.
The thread — This harvest is cited in Numbers 13:24 as the namesake of the valley, recalled in Numbers 32:9 as a catalyst for discouragement, and recorded in Deuteronomy 1:24 as part of the initial land survey.
Why it lands — The passage records the physical evidence collected by the scouts before any report is given, requiring the reader to note how tangible proof is documented alongside human observation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
Cross-references
- Numbers 13:24 Because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there, that place was called the Valley of Eshcol.
- Numbers 32:9 For when your fathers went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land that the LORD had given them.
- Deuteronomy 1:24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied out the land.
- Judges 16:4 Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.